Posts

Light-earth sanctuary

Theresa Sjoquist

  Earth building is cheaper than conventional building – but only if you do it yourself, says Sam Southward. He built four light-earth constructions at the delightfully named Absurdistan Community near Kaiwaka.  Sam was happy to chat and share what it takes to build in light-earth. Sam (74) and his partner, Prasado Straub, have lived […]

Low-tech Living in a light-earth house

Theresa Sjoquist

  No fridge, the laundry by hand, and wheelbarrowing composted humanure around are not everyone’s lifestyle cup of tea, but for Wolfgang Hiepe and his wife, Sabine Drueckler-Hiepe, it’s a good lifestyle. Learn why they’ve prioritised resilience and independence over convenience. Wolfgang and Sabine emigrated from Germany in 1987, full of verve and the pioneering […]

Beauty and the Feast

Theresa Sjoquist

A passion for our natural heritage, an imaginative artistic vision, and some determined scrounge-hounding has resulted in the destination café that is Eutopia, in Northland’s Kaiwaka. Here’s to checking the coffee and finding out what’s behind the scenes. First opened in 2001, Eutopia Café had fallen into disrepair when Marijke Valkenburg and her husband Robert […]