Intersted in Natural living, close to nature,low impact eco living. Any advice on Suitable courses?

Question

Looking for information on Eco building courses/design/build, sustainable,low impact living courses have no experience, organic farming courses. Any suitable advice much appreciated. Thanks, merry xmas

Answer 1

nope

Answer 2

You could try the Defra website, it has quite a bit on the environment, you might get ideas for other links there. Also Natural Heritage, countryside alliance...try their websites too. Good luck and Merry Christmas to you too!

Answer 3

Where are you located? Cal Poly Pomona in LA area has a place called the John T Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies (CRS). CRS is a fancy name for a place based on the idea of going beyond sustainability and actually regenerating nature. They have a masters degree available, but if that is too formal, they also have some really cool workshops open to the public in areas like solar power, eco-design, biodiesel etc. A spinoff from CRS' early (ie radical) days is the Regen cooperative in downtown Pomona. I think if you google "Regen House" you will find the website. Regen has an annual "Sustainability Seminar". This is what I know in southern California.

Answer 4

Ray Mearers survival guide and some ordanance survey maps.

Answer 5

Most of the stuff online can be found by searching for "homesteading".

Answer 6

Do a search on the term permaculture.

Consider another term 'energy neutral housing', and Straw-bale housing.

I live in a passive solar home on a small acreage and grow just part of our own food. But we have somewhat retired from our energy kick of 30 years ago. Now we also burn limbs from our trees to keep warm in a Canadian winter.

The walnuts that provided a lot of our food are now mostly being sold because the price is so high. Not a complete success story.

Answer 7

I am going to recommend two great books for you to get to get you started.  Both are excellent for what you are looking for and for a few dollars ob eBay or Amazon.com may be the cheapest course that you could find.  

Back to Basics by Readers Digest

About this title: A how-to reference on everything from braiding a rug to building a log cabin. Everything about growing your own food to preserving it. You will love this book.

The other book is the FoxFire book.  It actually is a series of books, but I found the first one and maybe the second more what you are looking for. If you read these books your blood will be boiling to start natural living. Luck.

Answer 8

Check out the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, and if you are on the East coast, Rob Roy has some cool cordwood classes and there is also a community college in ny that does cob building.  CA has loads of cool classes.  

For books, I like Rob Roy's "Mortgage Free" and about a million others you can find in the Real Goods Catalog.  Also Backwoods Solar and the Lehman's Non-Electric Catalogs have books as well as supplies.

For organic farming, talk to your local extension agent.  They should be able to get you in touch with some good classes.  Check out the PASA conference and NOFA meetings below.  This is the time of year most states have their conferences.

Have fun!  We have been off grid and "growing our own" for several years.  It is a labor intensive, but rewarding life.