The community is invited to check out the innovative construction practices currently underway at the new Lopez Community Land Trust housing project.
On August 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. the Land Trust and its Common Ground neighborhood will be hosting an open house for the recently completed office and two rentals and a work-in-progress look at the 11 new homes.
There will be formal as well as self-guided tours, demonstrations on earthen plaster and straw bale techniques, an auction with such items as fresco paintings by Neil Anderson and Jan Scilipoti and an overnight boat trip on Jeff Dyer’s sailboat, and refreshments. There will also be fun activities for kids that involve mud, so wear clothes that can get a little dirty.
The site location is at 758 Lopez Road, and the Land Trust encourages people to walk, bike, scooter, or drive an electric vehicle or hybrid. Parking will be available near the site.
This is the fourth Land Trust project, and the first to implement straw bale construction, earthen plaster, rain water catchment, dual flush toilets, solar hot water systems, and more. The goal is to create a light footprint.
The first phase of construction began in September 2007. The work is being done by residents of Common Ground, who put in around 24 hours a week, 22 interns from throughout the country, community volunteers, and professional subcontractors, many of whom are local.
“We’re in the midst of an economy that is certainly challenging. Fuel prices have driven some of our costs up 50 percent. There is so much transportation in construction. But we’ve got lots of great interns helping and we’ve completed 90 percent of our fundraising. The project has been going great, and the homeowners are really excited about it. But it definitely has its challenges on many levels,” said Bishop.
The office and two rental units are finished and the 11 single family homes are in various stages of completion. “Basically, we are having the open house to celebrate one building being complete and to show people the different stages of straw bale homes. We wanted to give people a way to see all that,” said Bishop.
This week the residents and interns are learning metal roofing and solar hot water installation and stacking straw bales for the walls and earthen plaster preparation. They’ve hand-sifted 70 yards of sand and clay and collected “lots of llama and cow dung for the plaster recipe,” says Bishop.
The Land Trust is currently accepting applications for the rentals, which are studio-size and run $400 a month. There are also two house openings, as a few people recently dropped out. Bishop says the open house is a great time to check out the neighborhood.
For more information, call the Lopez Community Land Trust at 468-3723 or go to www.lopezclt.org.
