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Down in the pit
Finally it was time to be done with aesthetic finishes and get involved in something I was really interested in, the leach field, I’m not your average gal. For me food and water are the keys to sustainability, a super comfortable and pretty stained glass bunker is all very nice, but in temperate Melbourne unnecessary to survival. Wouldn’t you agree? Most people I’ve talked to on the Mesa are more interested in the novelty of food growing with the ubiquitous banana plant and habitually take the 30-40 minute drive to town to stock up at CID’s. It just seems a little strange to me, a eco house with a greenhouse full of tropical ornamentals. It’s just the attitude to food of people everywhere I guess, but I didn’t expect it here. I’ve heard there is a guy called Danny here who is knee deep in humanure production and permaculture so I need to hunt him down.
Just because people don’t, doesn’t mean they can’t though.In the middle of the desert, the earthships can collect enough water and heat to grow year round. The black water system is not dissimilar to the grey water and they’re surprisingly simple so whilst I’ll refer you to the earthship website for particulars I’ll talk you through what we did.
We lined the pit with used plastic to prevent the EPDM waterproof membrane from getting holes. the membrane was cut so it was only a foot or so below the top of the hole. (Excuse the imperial, I’m not in metric land anymore.) We folded over an inch of the edge and nailed it to the pit’s earth walls making sure it was not too tight to avoid the nails ripping the membrane when it is weighed down with gravel and earth.
the inlet brings in the blackwater, the solids have been separated out by the septic. It is very important that the overflow on the other end is lower than the inlet by at lest 4 inches to prevent blackwater flowing back into the building. The holes in the pipe allow the water to enter the leach field. It must be level and the “rock bulb” of river rocks holds the pipe in place.
In the grey water botanical cell the water from the basins and shower are filtered through the inlet by what use to be a woman’s stocking before entering the botanical cell, once it has gone through the rocks and plant roots it’s used to flush toilets, a pump is required for thisat the outlet end.
The perforated pipe is covered with plastic so the gravel doesn;t block the holes.
The waterproof membrane must be above the outlet pipe and when the whole is made in the membrane a clamping collar it fitted so water doesn’t leach under the liner.
Then 2 feet of gravel for the black water to drain through.
Then straw and sand to weigh it down. Then after this you can pretty much fill it like a no dig garden bed with compost, straw, etc. then when it’s finished they plant deciduous trees due to the harsh climate. It’s funny that if you don’t use enough water this system actually gets into trouble, people really need to know their house to have it working right, as it should be. Don’t flush too much without washing your hands or having a shower! That’s why the system would have to be modified for commercial use. Anyway that’s enough about blackwater, what of the intern shenanigans of the day?
Do as the weeks wore on the interns got tired of sand and dirt and there was a lot more hijinks on site between wheelbarrows full of mortar. When filling barrows with dirt stopped being fun Joe wheeled Jason around between breaks, Ron knew exactly the right time to deliver donuts to keep up moral and rocks became juggling balls.
Then after a hard day in the dust we let our hair down at the Alley Cantina. Dancing to a live band and an introduction to shuttleboard; wordplay duels with a cowboy and rocking out to RESPECT by Aretha. Then home in high spirits with a slightly worse for wear Jason coming out of his shell and speaking in an Irish accent he didn’t have before and a penchant for touching people’s faces (how the hell did he keep his fingers so soft in this dry climate, tell me your secret!). It was all a great time, one of our best nights, but all things must be tempered with a little sobriety. Poor old “Minnesota, you betcha” Jason fell asleep in his chair at the Towers and clonked his eyebrow on the floor. Woken by a sheepish Sam we checked him for concussion and then when he checked out left him be too his incoherent grumbling, Good luck Sam. It was funny once we knew it wasn’t going to end in tragedy. Ah youths.
