We love this project because it’s a perfect example of what can be achieved with integrated permaculture.
San Isidro designed and constructed the residence with natural materials like straw bale, compressed earth block, and mud floors. No detail is accidental: from the orientation of the home to the placement of its windows, everything was designed with efficiency in mind. Solar panels handle the home’s electricity needs, and solar thermal technology provides heat.
Outdoors you will find a thriving perennial food forest. All of the wastewater, plus rainwater harvested from the roof, is used to support this layered garden of berries, fruit trees, and edible flowers. Rambling drifts of culinary herbs mix easily with hardy native shrubs bearing food for wildlife and humans. Amid a profusion of sunflowers, two raised beds are busy producing vegetables. Sure, the sound of hummingbirds and pollinators is thrumming in the air, but there’s magic here, too. It’s the result of a close partnership with the land; careful cultivation of resources to benefit all involved. That’s the beauty of Permaculture, and what San Isidro is proud to have created on this resilient site.
