Life
at Fort Awesome
an experiment in community and a statement of urban sustainable
living. Humans and animals co-habitate our large property that is
always full of buidling projects. Residents share everything from
chores to democractic decision-making.
In this photo
you can see two important facets of life at Fort Awesome: bikes
and chickens. We have more bikes than people at the house; we use
our bikes, and avoid using private cars, as much as possible. Our
chickens (now full-grown) also help us live sustainably, by laying
more than enough eggs for the entire population of the house.
Our
house makes decisions through weekly council meetings that are run
by consensus. Every Monday evening at dinner, all house members
are asked to meet in our spacious living room, where we collectively
discuss and decide on all issues that are of importance to the house.
The requirement that all house decisions be reached by consensus
encourages cooperative decision-making and thorough discussion,
ensuring that the result is the product of everyone in the house.
Our
chickens, shown here at a tender young age, are an important part
of our community. They are fed organic chicken feed and food scraps
from our kitchen, and in return they give us 60-70 eggs per week.
They also seve
as an example of how food can be provided locally, even in an urban
setting.
Like
many other things in our house, we found our redwood hot tub on
Craigslist; its former owners didn't want it anymore, and agreed
to give it to us for free if we could get it out of the four-foot-deep
hole it was submerged in in their backyard. The tub, which was formerly
a wine barrel, is five feet deep; it is heated with solarthermal
panels, and the water is kept clean using an environmentally friendly
UV water filter.
Life
at Fort Awesome
an experiment in community and a statement of urban sustainable
living. Humans and animals co-habitate our large property that is
always full of buidling projects. Residents share everything from
chores to democractic decision-making.
In this photo
you can see two important facets of life at Fort Awesome: bikes
and chickens. We have more bikes than people at the house; we use
our bikes, and avoid using private cars, as much as possible. Our
chickens (now full-grown) also help us live sustainably, by laying
more than enough eggs for the entire population of the house.
Our
house makes decisions through weekly council meetings that are run
by consensus. Every Monday evening at dinner, all house members
are asked to meet in our spacious living room, where we collectively
discuss and decide on all issues that are of importance to the house.
The requirement that all house decisions be reached by consensus
encourages cooperative decision-making and thorough discussion,
ensuring that the result is the product of everyone in the house.
We
currently cook oh-so-tasty vegetarian and vegan dinners six nights
a week. We buy local and organic products whenever they're available
for a reasonable price. Much of our food is purchased through the
Our
chickens, shown here at a tender young age, are an important part
of our community. They are fed organic chicken feed and food scraps
from our kitchen, and in return they give us 60-70 eggs per week.
Like
many other things in our house, we found our redwood hot tub on
Craigslist; its former owners didn't want it anymore, and agreed
to give it to us for free if we could get it out of the four-foot-deep
hole it was submerged in in their backyard. The tub, which was formerly
a wine barrel, is five feet deep; it is heated with solarthermal
panels, and the water is kept clean using an environmentally friendly
UV water filter.