Earthship Building

When it comes to sustainable housing there is no doubt Earthships are in a class of their own.  I absolutely respect what Mick Reynolds has done.  He rejected the dominant paradigm of what a house should look like and started from the premise that housing should nurture and provide for the occupants.  He designed a house, and later a housing system, were function dictates form.  That function being nurturing human life and minimising its impact on the rest of the planet.

Another significant fact, which often gets lost, is Mick specifically designed a house that could be built without specialist tradesman knowledge.  Thats right, with a bit of self education (and a lot of hard work) anyone can build an Earthship, they were designed that way.

I spent a month learning how to build Earthships alongside the Earthship Biotecture building crew in Taos, New Mexico.

Here is a link to the article I wrote about the experience.

Las Cubanitas - An Article in Surfgirl Magazine

In 2012 the female surf community of Cuba has a population of two, Lorena and Yaya. Luck for me, I had the chance to sit down and have a chat with them.
It was a cool experience, often I daydream of a surfing experience without all the hype and commercialism of modern surfing. Surfing in Cuba is just that.

To read more about cuban surfing as seen through the eyes of the only two girls who surf in Cuba there is a link to the full article below. The article was printed in the UK magazine Surfgirl.

Las Cubanits - The lone girl surfers of Cuba

Cuba Article in G Magazine

For a traveler, Cuba is an alluringly enigmatic nation.  A small tropical island that has a defiant sense of identity and a fiery culture with a sizzlingly sensuality.  It is a place that begs to be visited and absorbed through experience.

For an environmentalist, Cuba is a case study in national self-sufficiency and policy that includes widespread, local, organic food production and drastically reduced fossil fuel consumption.

For me, it was one of my most savored countries in 3 years traveling the latin world and a productive writing subject.

I wrote a travel article on Cuba for G magazine.  If you would like to read the article below is a link.

The Green Republic of Cuba

Guest Blogger for THE SURFBOARD MAN

photo courtesy of Alicia Fox

I was recently guest blogger for The Surfboard Man

This article was on the basics of surfing.

Beginners Tips For Waxing A Surfboard

Applying a good wax job is integral to good surfing, without it you are destined to slide off your board like a seal off rocks, (only a seal looks co-ordinated when it does it). The wax is your main source of traction to the board and there is an art to a good wax job.

To read the full article go here.

A Short Article on Training for Surfing (and having fun)

To read the full article visit here

Munich To Panama

Panama’s signature, world class, surf break is Santa Catalina, but up until a year ago you couldn’t even buy a block of wax in town. There was no surf shop. Now, Catalina has a surf shop and it’s run by 2 German girls, Elli & Patricia.

Their story is so cool, I had to write about it. They are from the same town in Germany, Munich, but they met in Panama were they were learning to surf and living in paradise. When it came time to go home they didn’t want the dream to end, so they started a surf shop.

That was a big move for 2 girls who knew nothing about the surf industry, had no connections or know-how on running a shop, couldn’t speak Spanish and were only learning to surf, but they did it and did it in style. Now they have half a day to surf, everyday, only open when they like, are their own bosses and are living the surfers dream.

Vegetarianism

Nothing adds credibility to a writers voice like quoting a more famous and credible source. I think I found a good one for this topic.

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet” Albert Einstein.

I like how he used the term evolution to a vegetarian diet. Albert was quite succinct in his argument, I took a few more words in saying vegetarian motherhood and raising vege kids is absolutely healthy and a huge step towards saving the planet, from us.

Read on…

Is a Vegetarian Diet Suitable During Pregnancy?

Raising Vegetarian Children