Mission Accomplished

Since we are doing our Fall fund-raising drive, we thought we'd share a little more about what we do here at Rainbow Law...

For those of you did not know, we've spent the last 3 years building a house out of recycled materials.

Today we are pleased to announce that the exterior shell -- poured walls made from papercrete (a mixture of pulped newspapers, sifted clay and Portland cement) is FINISHED!

The foundation was made from old tires, with the sidewall cut off and then tamped with clay until it is like a solid, 30 inch block. We laid the tires like bricks or blocks and then built forms in which to pour the papercrete on top of the tires.

The papercrete walls are 1 foot thick.

We scavenged some of the windows -- others we bought at a surplus store and the roof is made of surplus metal from a scrap yard.

We made an indoor greenhouse (on the south facing end) from old sliding glass doors.

Last week we installed the septic tank (we dug the pit by hand and bought the tank online) and are still digging (about 5 foot deep and 50 foot long through clay and rock) a trench for the French drain along the hill.

On the agenda for next year:

• solar panels to generate electricity we hope one day to get completely off the grid.

• use the excess windows to build a free standing greenhouse to extend the growing season.

• build a goat shed and chicken coop then get a couple of nanny goats for milking and chickens for eggs.
  

• put in a garden

• build a workshop

This Winter we will try to get as much of the interior done as possible. In fact, we just hooked up the toilet and had our first flush today!

We are literally doing everything ourselves so that we can show people that they can do it to.

Just the two of us -- no backhoes, no bulldozers and no MORTGAGE!

In the photo we are standing in front of the Rainbow Law office. Our desks are just inside the big window.

We wanted to build something that was eco-friendly and where we could operate Rainbow Law, do our activism and keep the costs low.

Next summer we will be offering classes here to teach others how to build out of materials that others just throw away.

In the meantime, check out the website, http://www.builtfromtrash.com for more photos and information about the project.

Let us know what you think and please, donate to Rainbow Law!