Ripples...

photo by Loren Luyendyk

Loren and the Composting Toilet he built at Nexpa out of 100% salvaged materials

Aubrey’s sign for the toilet instructions

Recent Projects

Journey to Mexico- mid July to... November, 2008

October 4th, 2008 update

Team SWoBs are in the state of Oaxaca at Barra de la Cruz. We’ve had good swells and have been working on some projects:

Water Bottle Refill Program: Creating art projects for youth from used juice jars for re-useable water bottles and souvenirs. Also encouraging local businesses to offer refills of water bottles to reduce the use of plastic by making signs and providing hand pumps for 5 gallon jugs.

Slow Sand Filter: Using a 50 gallon plastic drum filled with rocks, gravel, charcoal, and sand to purify water for domestic use. The filter can be made inexpensively with locally available materials. download sandfiltration.pdf Slow Sand Filter Plans.pdf

Composting Toilet: Using a 50 gallon plastic drum to collect and biodegrade human waste. Worms present in the toilet convert the waste into valuable fertilizer. Uses no water!

download Compost Toilet Plans.pdf

...and all the while we have been getting fun surf!

August 27th, 2008 update

SWoBs are now in the state of Michoacan at Barra de Nexpa. We have been scoring some great waves and finding a lot of support for sustainability along the way.

Here at Nexpa, we built a composting toilet and are doing beach clean ups. It is really inspiring to see the local people excited about Permaculture. It is their roots, they already know it.

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Past Projects

Permaculture Design Workshop, May 2008

Compost pile hot water heater. The pile consisted of brush, straw, and manure. A hose inside the pile heats water as it passes through. After 24 hours, the temperature reached 120 degrees F. Workshop facilitated by Loren Luyendyk on the Orella Ranch in Gaviota, California.

photo by Aubrey Falk

Electrolytic Hydrogen Fuel Generator demo at the Permaculture Design Workshop. An electrical current generated by the car’s alternator is passed through a bath of distilled water and baking soda. The electricity breaks the water into Hydrogen and Oxygen gas (HHO or hydroxy), which is then routed through the air intake on the carburetor, improving fuel economy. The goal is to use sea or waste water as fuel.

photo by Loren Luyendyk

Natural Building on the Orella Ranch

Cob and Ferro-cement building with an earthen oven. Over the last two years, many volunteers have come together to create this amazing structure made mainly from clay, sand, and straw.

photo by Loren Luyendyk

Nias Island, Indonesia Art Project Fall 2007

Art supplies were stuffed into board bags to be distributed to local children. The kids were enthralled by the bright colors of the paints and captivated by their own ability to use them.

Trash cleanup on Nias

A group of local children played a game of “pick-up” on the beach. Each child received a prize of surf and art stuff for their participation.

back to home

photo by Aubrey Falk

Aubrey getting some shade

School Art Projects: SWoBs visited the local elementary school and provided pastels and paints for children to play with. The children were excited for the opportunity to be creative and play with a variety of colors and mediums. They portrayed their favorites subjects from the town.