Last Friday, 12 UA students piled into two vehicles and drove east of Tucson. The goal of the trip was to see how people outside of Tucson live sustainable lives and to gain inspiration from their examples.The first destination for the eight members of Garden in the Desert, along with 4 other outdoor/permaculture enthusiasts, was Cascabel, Arizona. Cascabel rests within the San Pedro Valley east of Tucson along important biological corridors.
Above, André listens while David and Pearl explain their ingenious outdoor pantry.
David Omick and Pearl Mast live in a 128 square foot home within the Cascabel community. They decided to live a simple life, in terms of amenities, not enjoyment or passion. They welcomed us into their home with warmth and hospitality to show us how they live. Enough nice things cannot be said about David and Pearl.
David and Pearl built their house to maximize the amount of time they spend outside enjoying nature, hence the small indoor space. They have created some ingenious innovations to increase simplicity and reduce their impact on the environment.
To the right, Laura watches a solar oven bake an apple pie at around 400ºF. More can be found about their innovations at www.omick.net
What impressed me the most about David and Pearl was their respect for nature. Every decision and innovation was tackled with their ecological impact in mind. Not only did they live in a house made of reclaimed materials, they used water pumped from a solar pump. In order to become intimate with the amount of water used daily, they lift every drop of water they use.
All wastes are reused. Above, Pearl shows Annie some seedlings growing in a humanure garden. Human wastes are composted into workable soil full of nutrients that veggies love.
After a wonderful morning at David and Pearl's, we loaded up and headed to southwestern New Mexico. There we met with Guy McPherson, a champion of the idea that economic and industrial collapse will occur due to peak oil in the not-too-distant future. More of Guy's ideas can be found at guymcpherson.com. He built his house to also be off the grid, but with durability rather than environmental sustainability as his main focus.
Guy welcomed us to his home to enjoy his beautiful surroundings and some lovely company. Guy's house is larger and more technologically advanced than David and Pearl's house. It contains durable yet efficient electronic and appliances. He has secured himself many sources of food and water for a future without oil.
Guy has found himself a community that is based on a gorgeous piece of land. We were able to spend time exploring his property. We found the following birds along a perennial river, adjacent to his property: Belted Kingfishers, Peregrine Falcons, Bufflehead Ducks, Killdeer, and a healthy population of Sandhill Cranes.
I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the two properties in a 24-hour period. The homes were an inspiration to a student who is interested in living off the land. As my professor and mentor stated, the two off-grid structures may appear very similar to an outsider, but a closer look will reveal much different purpose. The homes are in stark contrast to each other - one was built for the celebration of nature, the other built for the celebration of man.
