This weekend´s mission was meant to be to visit an organic/eco house (the vid´s in Portuguese but you get the picture) that was built in a small city about 2h from Sao Paulo, and was modeled on an eco house that was built in Brighton, UK (the vid´s also in Portuguese, but there are loads of links to others detailing the same concepts in various parts of the world).

The idea is that the house is made of used tyres which are filled with earth to make them weigh about 100kg each, then piled on top of each other to form walls. The gaps between the tyres are then filled with old cans and a combination of mud, cement and straw, and the floor is sealed with a shredded-tyred and concrete combo. Even the wood that´s used as moulds to make the pillars and beams is then used as furniture, so everything is either made from recycled goods or is then recycled to be reused in the house. FAB idea!!!

Unfortunately, no one was around this weekend to give us a tour and offer some tips on building houses in that way (yes we called first, no we didn't drive all that way to discover this fact), so we'll have to wait until next weekend to quench our curiosity.

In the meantime, we're a bit like caged dogs in our eagerness (and frustration, to be honest, given that we know what awaits but are stuck here in the city for another month!) to get onto the property and get started preparing the ground, building greenhouses, and planning the future layout of the land.

Guess we just have to be patient.