85
108 127

Building a Tiny House #3 (on-site planning and start of cladding)

13:18

Irrigating trees with discarded pipes

8:52

Building a Tiny House #2 (installing a window)

3:05

Making Olive oil at home

13:26

Going Dark with a Wind Charger#3: lengthening the tower and bracing with steel cable

9:50

You can own a piece of Africa. Here's how.

13:59

Cheap DIY irrigation System for my Food Forest

I had a bunch of old irrigation pipes lying around and decided to re-use them. A few years ago they helped to establish an amazing patch of Spinach and was now just lying around. I rounded the lot up, dragged them to the Large Food Forest, bought a bunch of little sprinklers and t-pieces, then assembled everything.
The whole operation took about 3-4 days and resulted in an irrigation system that can water the entire food forest from one single tap.

Відео

Building a Tiny House #3 (on-site planning and start of cladding)

13:18

Building a Tiny House #3 (on-site planning and start of cladding)

Переглядів 61День тому

In #3 I walk you through my on-site planning steps. While the plans on paper are all well and good (and critical) you will also need to walk your plan at the location. The interior is gradually starting to look very good and I'm delighted to see the progress.

8:52

Irrigating trees with discarded pipes

Переглядів 864Місяць тому

I had some pipe offcuts lying around. Looking at Olla pots, I got the idea that I can use these pipes to irrigate my trees. I cut the pipes off at about 40 cm lengths and buried the end in the ground/clay. Placing a tile on the open end prevents evaporation as well as stop lizards and other creatures from falling in. Asbestos pipes are safe for this purpose. Asbestos is dangerous if the fibers ...

Building a Tiny House #2 (installing a window)

3:05

Building a Tiny House #2 (installing a window)

Переглядів 26Місяць тому

At first I wasn't even going to upload this short little video, but then I thought; perhaps someone else can get a flash of inspiration or it solves a problem that they've been having. The window was donated to me, so that didn't cost anything. The pieces of wood were scrap that was lying around. In fact, the only new thing in the entire process was the screws. The tools used were a chainsaw (!...

13:26

Making Olive oil at home

Переглядів 1,8 тис.8 місяців тому

My Olive trees (unirrigated - except for stones) are in their second year of production, so I decided to try my hand at making some oil. It is an extremely labour intensive job and takes several days (at least). Of course if you have an industrial set up all of this can be done by machines, but I'm not planning on selling any of the oil - it is entirely for home use. It is really satisfying pra...

Going Dark with a Wind Charger#3: lengthening the tower and bracing with steel cable

9:50

Going Dark with a Wind Charger#3: lengthening the tower and bracing with steel cable

Переглядів 879 місяців тому

After realizing that my tower was (probably) too short I added another 3 meters to its height - raising it 6 meters over the ground. The increase in height came from an old steam pipe that was lying around and I secured the services of a friend to come and help with the welding - since I dont trust my own welding skills. Once it was up and secure (you wont believe the effort that went into this...

You can own a piece of Africa. Here's how.

13:59

You can own a piece of Africa. Here's how.

Переглядів 1809 місяців тому

Imagine the response when you casually mention your "piece of Africa in the Hex River Valley". And for the unitiated - this is in South Africa. This undeveloped 1081 square meters piece of property is part of an estate that needs to be finalized and is for sale: maps.app.goo.gl/Y5bcNZ4VRfuVogkx5 You pay off the outstanding bond (R300 000 {$15 000}) and its yours. Bordered on 2 sides by ashphalt...

Growing Water Chestnuts in an old bathtub

6:49

Growing Water Chestnuts in an old bathtub

Переглядів 1069 місяців тому

The Water Chestnut is an edible aquatic vegetable that is high in nutrients and fibre, but low in calories. I received a handful as a gift some time back and since I had an old bathtub lying around that was just breeding mosquitoes I decided to make use of it. Initially only about 3 of the 10-odd chestnuts that I planted sprouted, but we left them in the water and one day when I walked past the...

Building a no-cost Shadeport for my car #2

11:37

Building a no-cost Shadeport for my car #2

Переглядів 819 місяців тому

This is the 2nd part of the video. In part 1 we put up the frame, but there wasn't any real shade yet. In the interim I placed some palm fronds over it, but they were pretty dusty, and the wind was likely to blow them around. It was finally time to shade the top. We harvested eucalyptus poles from the forest and cleaned them, then put them in position before attaching and straightening them. Th...

5:31

Releasing a (really) big Puff Adder

Переглядів 51310 місяців тому

On 6 March 2023 I had just finished work when I heard a commotion by my mom's house. On closer investigation I discovered that her dogs had cornered a large Puff Adder and had it surrounded. We finally managed to get the dogs into the house so I could catch the snake. Since there is work being done on the road at my favourite release spot, I had to take him to another place, which wasn't ideal,...

I tried a pheromone lure for mediterranean fruitfly. Here are the results #1

5:51

I tried a pheromone lure for mediterranean fruitfly. Here are the results #1

Переглядів 8211 місяців тому

The Medfly or Ceratitis capitata (not to be confused with Drosophila - what the Americans call fruit flies) is one of the most destructive insect pests in the world. One female can sting 1000's of fruit and I contacted Fruitfly Africa for advice (www.fruitfly.co.za/ ) . I bought the traps and lures from a local agri business (www.inteligro.co.za/ ). There are 2 types of lures - one for females ...

Building a no-cost Shadeport for my car #1

4:30

Building a no-cost Shadeport for my car #1

Переглядів 10511 місяців тому

My little long-suffering car has been parking in the same, sunny, spot for several years now. The problem was that 'sunny' part. So, I thought to myself; why not build a shady spot for it? I have access to lots of eucalyptus poles that I can harvest directly here from my property and know a little woodwork. The initial idea was to build a traditional square shed, but something about it didn't f...

5:19

How to debark fresh eucalyptus poles

Переглядів 18311 місяців тому

In an effort to cut costs and in the spirit of doing things by myself, I have been using eucalyptus poles, of which I have a lot, for several building projects. I have need of a bit of shade for my car and a lot of shade for myself. My next 2 building projects will be shading for my pathway (which will in fact also serve as an air conditioner for my house) and a shade port for my car. In the pa...

Building a Tiny House #1 (Ceiling and Floor)

23:40

Building a Tiny House #1 (Ceiling and Floor)

Переглядів 141Рік тому

My first excursion into the tiny house movement came about when I was asked to convert an old Wendy Hut into a living space. This is a 3m x 6m wooden construction, so its rather small, but I got out some paper and a pencil and soon it started taking shape. My friend Marlon @SimpleEarthSelfReliance suggested placing the hand-basin inside the shower, which I would never have thought of - thereby ...

4:19

Going Dark with a Wind charger #2

Переглядів 90Рік тому

In the previous video I showed the unboxing of the wind charger on its arrival. Now a year has gone by (which was 11 months more than I wished!), and I finally found someone to help me with the concrete (my Kryptonite). This video was filmed over a little more than a week and shows mixing of the concrete (riveting viewing material in itself), the filling of the hole (fascinating - I know), and ...