May 2010

Upstairs at the Shojiko Minka

The upstairs at the Shojiko Lake House  ( currently for sale ), is a beautiful example of old Japanese woodworking.  We left the hand hewn beams exposed to give character and show the strength of the old home.

The house is available for viewing.  Call Jake @ 090-9346-3774.

Mulch, the Organic Farmer’s best friend.

The biggest challenges farming organically are bugs and weeds, and resisting the temptation to use chemicals. At the Earth Embassy, our basic method for weed control is mulch, mulch, mulch. The beauty of mulch is:
1) it can be harvested locally. We use fallen leaves from the forest and the trimmings from the grass and clover that line our fields.
2) it holds moisture and warmth in the soil by reducing evaporation, and thus limits our need for watering.
3) weeds dont like it! According to Robert’s professor at Cobelskill, you need mulch at least 3-5 inches (7-12cm) deep to keep the weed from sprouting.
4) as the mulch breaks down, it becomes fertilizer for the crops.

In this picture we have cleared and mulched fields ready for planting.

The greenhouse is planted!

Spring at Shojiko House

The antique Minka home we recently reformed is enjoying its first spring with all the new double pane windows letting lots of light in to warm the house. It is always a joy watching the gardens grow for the first season in a new home. The lilies and daffodils are coming up, the bamboo in the back garden looks healthy, and the yard is full of “sansai”, wild Japanese mountain vegetables that we didnt know about until they sprouted. In our small pond, the tadpoles are clamoring about the edges, hoping to make it soon to full frog-hood.

The 198m2 house is available for viewing for interested parties.
Call Jake @ 090-9346-3774 if you would like to arrange a visit.
Asking price Y34,500,000
More details here…. http://www.earthembassy.org/eden-homes/homes-for-sale/

New Mini Eco Home!

David Howenstien and the Jambo International crew have sponsored a new mini-eco house for our farm.   We got an old grain silo from a local farm and set it in the garden next to the cafe.  Koji Watanabe helped prepare the foundation and brought the big truck to drive it in and unload it.  In June, David and the Jambo team will come up for a weekend and help us put in the new floor.  We will be using twice recycled wood that was once floor boards in a barn, then used at the Tokyo International Flower Show for a country-style garden, then came to us!  Contact David if you would like to join the Jambo farming and building weekend on June 25-27.  jambodave@green.email.ne.jp

Some of our new staff this summer.

Robert Martin is a plant science major in his final year at  SUNY Cobleskill University in New York.  He has joined us for a 3 month internship.   Seigo Ota is a local Yamanashi boy whose family has a beef ranch nearby.  He is our new full-time handy man and helping around the farm as well as building projects at the Solar Cafe.   In this picture they are preparing the beds for our potato planting.  Welcome fellas and thanks for all your hard work!

the Desert at Night

one digital camera on the roof of my car, in a dark black night, with a 6 second shutter speed…..   speaks a thousand words….

Arcosanti, Sustainable City in the Dessert

This amazing project, Arcosanti, has  been going nearly 40 years.  With 100 residents, metal foundries, a music center and theater, olive groves, greenhouses built into the cliff side which provide heat for the entire city, a cafe, shops and so much more.  This is the original Arcology, 100 years ahead of its time.   Look it up online for more info…..

Sky City Pueblo

This is the longest inhabited Pueblo in America.  It was abandoned once when the plague came in the late 1600′s and the Apaches raided.  But they returned, rebuilt and have been living there ever since.  The valley was so beautiful, I could have stayed for a lifetime….

Shojiko High Village House – Sunroom & Dining

Restoring an old home is a new adventure in design everyday.  When we took out the southern kitchen wall at the Shojiko Lake House  ( currently for sale ), to add a sun room and dining area, we exposed the old beams which held up the thatched roof.  We hadn’t realized they were buried there in the ceiling, so when we saw how beautiful they looked, we redesigned the new ceiling on the spot to leave them visible.  It was an extra half day of consulting with the carpenters to figure it out, but well worth the result.

Carrizozo. A ghost town revived

The sweet little town of Carrizozo, you can still see the shadows of the dusty cowboys leaning against the sun bleached buildings.  The days of over-development and gleaming crap in Las Vegas are not behind us, but far far away, and in some small places, people see the value in the small and old.  This little town is a dimond in the rough, and some of the big city money is flowing back out to the quiet places, in the form of art galleries and very bright colored paints! (note the Post Apocalyptic Recycling Shop!!!!   lol !!!)

“The stairs to heaven are paved with stones our grandfather laid”

The Shojiko High Village House ( available May, 2010 ) , sits atop an ancient stone wall at the very highest point of the village.  The stones (and much of the woodwork in the house) predate power tools and were built long before the current road around the lake connected the village to the rest of the prefecture.  The stones and wood were mostly crafted right in the village, and the original thatching for the roof came on small boats from the grassy plains on lower My. Fuji from across the lake.

Man building Nature

The Spanish conquered the American South West, first through violence and disease, but ultimately through spiritual decay.  This massive stone cathedral was built by Indian labor, to honor the ‘one’ god. The natives were awestruck simply by the scale of the building, made from the same rock they had been building their tiny homes with for millennium.  But 400 years later, it has become a natural feature of the landscape.  Man made cliffs.

Handmade Staircase

This one was tricky.  The stairs in our restored Shojiko Home  (currently for sale ), had to fit in between the old beams, and not be too steep so as to allow easy access for kids or elderly.  We also wanted something with a massive feel, for solidity and to match the large structural beams of the home.   Akaike-san came up with this pine log solution.  On the side facing the entrance, the heavy stairs seems to float in the air, retaining lightness while giving strength at the same time.

Our Animal Family in the Southwest, going strong….

It is easy to think that the environment is going to hell in a handbasket made of polyester.  But traveling around the wide open lands of New Mexico, I saw so many of our wild brother and sisters still thriving and living well.  Not that the battle is yet won, but it was so good to see so many still living free under the clear blue sky.  Brother Coyote was still right behind Sister Road Runner, but not getting any closer.   The Ibix were once African, but now are well established on the grasslands of North America.  The bobcat sat and looked at us a long time before bounding off.  And the Thompson’s Gazelles are the sweetest looking little families you could imagine.  Greetings from all….