Tiny House Fest Attracts Thousands to St Pete Ecovillage Pt 1

Tiny houses are a big thing in Florida. The St Pete Ecovillage put itself on the map in a lot of ways by hosting their first tiny house festival on April 1st this year. It was a great demonstration of living lighter on the planet and was part of a larger effort to make tiny living more viable in St Petersburg. I was at the festival, since that’s where I was living, and have made a couple videos about my experience.

Comparing Two Ecovillages: Dancing Rabbit and St. Pete

This is a little video of my musings on the differences between, positive and negative, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and the newly started St Pete Ecovillage. Both of these villages are providing a great model for living more sustainably, but they are located in completely different places geographically, demographically, and politically. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each location? Find out in this exploration of different factors.

Making Biodigesters, Aquaponics, and Other Self Sufficient Systems from Everyday Materials at ECHO

Continuing my tour of ECHO Farm, this time I talk about the demonstrations of their sustainable systems. So many incredible things to see at ECHO. Rocket stoves, water filters, aquaponic systems, biodigesters, water heating, oil pressing, and many other appropriate technologies mostly made from reused and reclaimed materials. You can also find open source directions and how to info about making all of these sustainable systems at their website echocommunity.org.

The Permaculture Potential of Florida at ECHO Farm: Pt 2

When most people think of Florida, they think of retirees, vacation resorts, and strange politics, but I think this place shows the potential of Florida. It could be a permaculture paradise instead of an eyesore. In this video, I continue the tour of ECHO Farm in Ft Myers, FL. Useful plants familiar to us, used-everyday-but-never-seen, and very unusual are on display in this tropical oasis in the desert of malls and condos. You should go there sometime in person, but until then you can take a little trip there in this video.

ECHO Farm: A Botanical Garden of Edible and Useful Tropical Plants

If you are ever in Florida, you have to check this place out. I was able to catch a ride down to ECHO Farms in Ft Myers, FL with the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition of St Pete for their annual open house event. I’d known about this place for years, but hadn’t ever been. It surpassed even all the amazing things I’d heard about it. These next two videos are about the established gardens at ECHO, but I’ve also got footage about the many different sustainable systems they’ve implemented at their farm and that they share with people in Third World countries to help them become more self sufficient. But these systems aren’t just for people somewhere else. They are perfectly usable anywhere in the world. I’ll be doing separate videos about those systems and about the fruit tree nursery, where you can buy potted versions of everything you see in this video, plus much more.