A guinea hen coop. I know that I have not finished the story of the house yet, but there is something exciting about a new spring project that will bring new life to our little corner of the world.
Recently I re-read one of the books that encouraged us to change (Radical Simplicity). The first time, I did not do any of the worksheets and read it for the global meaning. It was written by Jim Merkel who gave up a "lucrative" job in weapons development to live the simple life. This time I did the worksheets. Instead of calculating your carbon footprint you actually calculate the number of acres that you need to sustain your life.
Currently I need 5.84 acres to sustain me. This may seem good, but we would need 1.66 planets if everyone lived like me. I only know of one. (The average US citizen uses about 23 acres.) I make out good in the housing, goods/services, auto and air travel. Where I run into issues is my carnivorous ways. So in comes the guinea hen coop, which someday will be the chicken coop. Which someday will provide eggs and meat (don't tell Michelle, but chicken may show up in the freezer mysteriously wrapped in a nice package just like from the store).
I can decrease my footprint by the following:
- Eat no meat
- Eat less meat
- Eat only meat that is raised humanely and has it life honored
- Eat meat that we produce here on our own land
Any of these gets me to about 4.74 acres. Option one is not likely as I am an omnivore (so get over it). So on to the other options. The coop is almost finished. I was able to use some of the wood from the land and other scraps, but these hens are going to live in style. I will be posting photos of the house and coop soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment