Earthship Florida
In Manatee County, builders, architects, environmentalists and many, many others are all coming to have a look at the Earthship Florida project initiated by College Green Campus, as an earthship home is built – Florida’s first. As part of the busy Bahia Realty Group team that serviced the Tampa Bay area, I’m fascinated by this new type of housing. Who knows – maybe we’ll start seeing these homes on our listings before long? We’ve certainly got the bare land blocks that might be suitable.
One of the intriguing things about earthships is how they use water. Earthships are designed to be self-sufficient, so it’s not surprise that they use rainwater for all the household needs. But that’s not all. Earthships are designed to recycle and treat water so it can be used again and again – up to four times for greywater. Part of this treatment program includes a “jungle room” where plants help to purify the water (yes, it’s got filters and so forth, too). If you like houseplants, you’ll love the jungle rooms in earthship homes.
If you’re curious about what happens with toilet waste, it depends on the design of earthship. So far, I’m not sure which sort the Florida Earthship uses, but both designs have no environmental impact and don’t taint the water system. One design uses a composting toilet, and the other sort uses solar energy and parabolic mirrors to reduce anything noxious to bacteria-free ash. Amazingly, it’s all odor free. What you do after that is up to you, but most often, it goes into the garden – back to nature where it belongs.
The Earthship Florida project began construction on June 15th
I can’t wait to see the first Earthship home built in Tampa Bay!
Jenn Cook