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I live outside of Wimberley, Texas and decided to grow some of our own food. It's been so dry here that I've had to water everyday. However, I've got some great tomatoes coming! Last year was my first attempt at growing and was a disappointment due too much rain! This year sure is different. I do sometimes worry about the water I'm using. It's not a big garden but we have discussed increasing the size and adding a little peach and pear orchard. I'm going to have to figure out how to keep racoons out of the garden before the melons come. They could climb the fence and get my hard won bounty! I read your articles in the Wimberley publication and get so much out them. THANKS!

This section is not designed for soliciting business. It is a place for people to share their PERSONAL experiences -- things they have accomplished personally and with their family members, toward living more sustainably. Please do not post solicitations for businesses here.

Living without a car

I live in San Francisco with my husband, a 6 month old baby, and a cat in a one bedroom apartment near the beach. We have no car but don't need one since the public transportation system in this city takes us where we NEED to go (not always where we WANT to go.)

When we need groceries, we walk about 1/2 mile to Safeway or a just few blocks to a small organic co-op market. We have a shopping cart with wheels and a telescoping handle (similar to a wheeled suicase but it's open on top and constructed of mesh instead of thick material) and we take this with us when we need to get heavier things. I walked to the store with this cart through my entire pregnancy and now I put the baby in a carrier or sling and walk, pulling the cart behind me full of groceries. The walk takes about 20 minutes, it's a scenic path along Highway 1 near the ocean, and it's good exercise!

In addition to walking wherever we can, we frequently ride buses and streetcars with our baby. We even took the streetcar to the hospital when I went into labor! Not only is riding transit less stressful than highway traffic, you really get more exposure to different types of people in your community (some admittedly not so savory, but it's a good dose of reality nevertheless.)


I grew up in a spacious house in Texas and drove everywhere since the age of 15, but living carless now isn't as hard as I thought it would be. It saves gas money, insurance, prevents unnecessary shopping excursions to mega strip malls, curbs carbon emissions, etc... In some areas of the world it's much easier to be green, and San Francisco is one of those places. No heating bill, no air conditioning bill, no car bills.

Living in a small apartment (less than 600sf) also has surprising benefits, including avoiding unnecessary stuff that adds clutter. Efficiency, simplicity, diligent cleanliness, frugality...these things I've had to learn just to maintain sanity and a budget on one salary, but they've given me more peace in my life than I expected in return.

I would like everyone to know about a new company that I am involved in. I don't want to spread the word because I want to make money, but because of the impact I hope that this company will have on the environment and for underdeveloped and economically disadvantaged regions and people.

The company is called Tri-Taurian Developments, Inc., and it's main focus is the execution of environmental cleanup and self sustainability projects. Initially, the company intends to target specific regions that are in desparate need of clean drinking water systems, or solutions to solid waste polution. We will solicit funding for those projects from various charities and government agencies that have been set up for that purpose. Our technologies are patented, so we will also license out the technology to other companies that wish to execute similar projects. At some point in the future, we hope to establish our own charitable organization that will continue on our work long after the original founders of the company and organization have passed.

We believe in healing the earth from the harm that we have done to it. We personally cannot obviously do everything though, so it is going to take generation after generation to work hard to accomplish that goal, and even then there will probably not be complete healing.

I read a book about Rolling Thunder, the Native American Medicine Man and his predictions and answers for how to turn things around on the earth. One of the areas that Tri-Taurian Development is going to work is in the Native American Reservation and Trust lands--if those nations will allow us to help them with these projects and we can collect the funding to perform the tasks. The Native American Indians have a knowledge of the earth beyond what most of us could possibly understand. There is healing knowledge hidden away, which of course could help lots of people, but it cannot be revealed until the time is right because of how people are today. Those medicines, knowledge, and rituals for improving our lives on earth would be exploited for monetary gain before they could truly help enough people. And if the government or private industry didn't like those solutions, they would destroy them--as they have done throughout our history.

So, to make a long story short, Tri-Taurian Development, Inc. is looking for specific projects that will have an immediate and lasting affect on the quality of life for specific areas, be it a city, township, village, or Tribal Nation.

Please feel free to send information to the temporary address of timferland@hotmail.com. Also, if you are aware of financial resources that are focused on providing funding for environmental improvement projects, please forward that information as well.

It's a good feeling.

It finally happened. The last truck pulled out of the driveway last Friday around 6:00 p.m. . . . we now operate our little corner of the world with solar energy, sprinkle it with rainwater we’ve harvested, and keep it cool with mother earth’s geo thermal (as well as heat it when the time comes).

It’s a good feeling.

We used Armadillo Solar for not only our solar installation, but also for our rainwater collection system. Adrian, who ran the job for Armadillo Solar, worked tirelessly to work out the kinks and get us up-and -running. We have an “Intertie System,” so we are not totally off the grid . . . and are still tied to our co-op electric (P.E.C.). We pull electricity from them as needed and return it to them when we produce extra, greatly reducing our utility bill. (During the daylight, if we use less electricity than we generate, our meter runs backwards!) We also have a small battery back up that will keep our critical load running (refrigerator, lights in the utility area, etc.) even if PEC is down.

Our geo thermal AC/Heat unit was installed and fully operational at the beginning of June, installed by Austin Mechanical Services. Comparing kilowatts to June last year, we used more that 1/3 fewer kW (889 kW). And, we weren’t on solar in June. We’re also running a more energy efficient refrigerator and being extra mindful to turn off what’s not in use. (Even I, who had always been the one to conserve, backslid into consumerism.) Now, with our solar energy system in place, it will be fun to watch our utility bill drop even more. That is, after all, how my husband justified the expense of the utility up grade. So, if you can’t convince someone that it’s worth the peace of mind for doing what’s right for the environment, show them the money!

Our well water was so smelly and hard it had to be hammered with lots of potassium salts to soften it into a liquid state. I couldn’t wait to get rid of that softener and the salty water. Our rainwater collection tanks were installed just over a month ago so we could begin collecting rain. Everyone said, “What are you going to do? It hasn’t rained!” They are amazed to hear that our tanks are almost full – just from the few rains in June. Once our solar was in place, they connected our rainwater to our existing pressure tank and waterlines. It’s amazing stuff – I’ve already noticed spot free dishes! And again, not only do we have a superior product we no longer have the monthly expense of the softener and salts. The rainwater, of course, does go through filtration and a UV filter, but that should be much cheaper to operate, again justifying the initial expense.

As soon as possible we will replace a couple of other appliances to improve our efficiency.

It’s a good feeling.

How We Got Off the Grid......

Well it started about 8 or 9 years ago in June of 97 when Marc and I were on our 3rd date. We decided to go for a drive out in Wimberley and discover something, a creek or just a spot for a picnic and a hike, when we came across a ranch that had just been subdivided into 5 and 10 acre lots. For fun we decided to take a look, when we got to THE property we both saw a flash of our future there on that raw land with a stone bottomed creek, waterfalls and all of its views.... We just knew it was our property. Marc went back to the little cabin where the sales guy was and signed a contract. I think seeing this property so pristine and untouched and hearing of the wildlife that existed out here is what made Marc and me both decide to become conservationists. Not only did we not want to do anything to change it, we wanted to somehow figure out how to live on it without destroying any part of why we bought it. It took us about 7 years but with a lot of planning, collecting, architects and just plain wishful thinking, we got out here.
When you decide to walk lightly on the earth it seems that all the stars line up for you and open new doors so that you can do it right. As soon as we made the decision that waiting for all the money to come was not the answer, that we just had to jump in and start. Well, it happened; we just knew what to do and how to do it. First, instead of building the whole house we started by building a third of it. With the budget, we just started with what was most important, the solar and the rainwater, the house came next. After 7 years of not knowing what to do or how to start, all of a sudden, we had momentum; it took just 11 weeks to go from setting foundation forms to move-in!
We started collecting materials for the house years ago, we have stained glass, long-leaf pine hardwood floors and beams, old metal roofing from when our house (which at the time needed a new roof, and I just couldn't throw the old metal in a land fill), old sinks and cabinets that we wanted to build in and lots of old doors. We decided we wanted to use only antique doors throughout the inside of the house. I know it sounds like a mess - collecting and keeping all that stuff for years - and yes, we have always had at least 2 storage units and full garages where ever we have lived, but the end result, as you will see, was worth it.
In November of 2004, we started the studio. With me working as the general contractor, we saved between 15 and 20% on the house. If you can read blueprints, are able to visualize things well, are pretty organized and know general building techniques, I highly recommend doing this. Anyway, with good plans, we poured the slab on Thanksgiving weekend. The crew, as per our request, used generators to power their equipment. Even if our solar system was up and running it would not have been a good idea to have that much drain on our system when it was soooo new (with a big battery bank it can take two to three weeks or more to fully charge those batteries).
Working with really good people is a must as is frequently being on-site - at least 2 or 3 times a day - so as to constantly catch any mistake before it is too late, thus avoiding delay and expense, is the key to being a good contractor. That said, after the framing was up and it was mostly dried in, it was time for the battery bank to be installed. The batteries even have a story. To our sheer good fortune and divine timing, a woman in Dripping Springs that had a grid tied system and our "dream battery bank," and 12 pole mounted 64 watt Unisolars, was selling her only-1-year-old stash for about half of what she paid for it, so she could move to California. "Woo hoo!" we said. We added 24 more 64 watt Unisolars, two more pole mounts and an all new charge controller and inverter. How did we hook it all up, knowing next to nothing about the nuts and bolts of solar power? Well, I will happily refer you to Kenny at Armadillo Solar, a guy who really knows what he is doing and is a good guy to boot. He carefully put all of the components together, creating a 2.3 kilowatt system. That may sound small, but Kenny said "trust me," and he was correct; we have never had a problem with our energy supply and typically only run our backup generator to exercise it every few weeks (in fact we forgot to exercise it for almost 3 months at one point). In the winter when it is cloudy for weeks at a time we do run the generator, but that is very rare.
When the system was put in we had to keep the construction guys off of it because they were really impressed that it could run all their tools. It was really cool to witness the non-believers starting to believe in solar power!!! Even the electricians, good guys as they are, didn't believe we could do it. Neither did the plumbers, neither did the neighbors, it's been fun proving them all wrong. It is so wonderful when your 3 year old asks you," Mom, what are those poles with wires on them," referring to the other, grid-tied houses in the subdivision.
As for our rainwater system, we love it. We have been told by our rainwater guy that our collection area, since we have only built a third of our house so far, is too small for 3 people. And unfortunately he was right. But to our credit, we have made it all year until just this January before we needed to order water. We are proud to say that with just 940 sq. ft of collection area and only half of the average rainfall this year, we still made it almost an entire year without needing a delivery.
As soon as we build the rest of our home we have no doubt that we will collect plenty of water. Yes, even in Texas.....
The biggest challenge since moving in has been trying to get decent phone coverage out here. We were determined not to have poles and lines run to our house, so we put up a couple of different cell phone antennas until we found the right one. We now are happy with our Cingular service using our cell phones as our house phones with an 18" cellular repeater antenna on the roof. It took a few weeks to figure it out but now we have 5 bars in our dining room! Internet service was another challenge but we settled on Direcway, a satellite service that is pretty fast. In fact, this story is being posted to the website via that very dish.
We will have been here in our lovely home one year this February and will definitely be celebrating that. That is our story so far, but I'm sure we will have more to add soon. We still have 3 storage units of wood, doors and antique cabinets to use, and finally, we have finished main-house plans!

The greenguru team would like you to tell your stories, too. Sharing stories of success makes us all more courageous, and keeps us from having to reinvent the wheel. So, share those stories!