eastside ecohome tour

Last Saturday ecohomes on LA's eastside opened their doors for all us looky-loos to wander through and get ideas for our own homes. What we liked most about this tour is that most of the homes were incorporating green elements that regular folks with regular incomes could do. It wasn't a showcase of the newest, most expensive "green" products. We saw things like greywater systems, rain barrels, organic raised vegetable beds, and even bees.

Ryan and I were impressed with the number of homes utilizing greywater systems. Maybe half the homes on the tour had greywater systems, and one home was owned by a real live greywater system installer, california graywater corps:

Out of all the homes, Susan Carpenter's was our hands-down favorite in terms of the green home improvement projects she has done. Read her great article here on what she thinks were the best and not so good projects she did.

Even though she says in her article that the raised garden beds aren't her favorite thing, they sure do look sweet and lovely.

We didn't get to look inside anyone's fridge, but we believe the most eco-friendly move anyone can make is toward a plant-based diet. If this is news, check out the UN Report, Livestock's Long Shadow.

Great job, eastside ecotour planners, and thanks to everyone who generously opened up their homes. We can't wait for next year's tour!

greywater system

Back in February we hosted a workshop on installing a greywater system. The Greywater Guerrillas (www.greywaterguerrillas.com) trekked down from the Bay Area and taught 17 people how to re-use the greywater coming out from their washing machines. In the afternoon, folks braved the rain, dug trenches, and laid out the pipes for the system so the greywater will reach the fruit trees we have planted in the yard. The greywater guerrillas are super smart women - catch a workshop with them next time they are in town.