The countryside is green and beautiful and actually reminds me of parts of the hwy 95 drive between Burley and Moscow - except instead of deer, horses, or cows, I only see sheep.
Many of the stations have a lot of character, and some even have wall art that could maybe be called graffiti but is rather controlled for that title!
Once we arrive, we are carted off in taxi vans to CAT - the Centre for Alternative Technology. Once at the car park there, we are told that with us and our luggage, we are too heavy for the water tram so we must lug everything up the hill to the Ecocabin where we will be staying for the next 5 nights. This lodging is designed to educate its inhabitants about the energy and resources used in everyday activities. We reach the door to the cabin and see a sign that makes me grin ear-to-ear while the rest of the group grumbles:
So, the shoes come off and we step inside to check it out. It has a kitchen with range oven and sink but no refrigerator, and a wood stove for heating and hot water. Only one faucet has drinking water, the others are only for washing up. If we want warm water, we have to start a fire and keep it going while very low-pressure showers are taken.
The living room consists of reupholstered chairs arranged together to create couches.
On the wall hangs a meter showing us power gained from the wind turbine and solar panels outside, which is stored in a battery under the cabin. The lad introducing us to the cabin tells us how to monitor our energy usage and what numbers to avoid going below. He also shows us a new meter on the opposite wall that hasn't been set up quite yet. It will be more sophisticated and show guests more information during their visit.
Behind a fire door, is a long corridor with shower, toilet rooms, and bunk rooms. It is really well-lit through a skylight, and I notice the fire door also serves as a sound barrier from the living room which will probably benefit us in the days to follow. The rooms are tiny and it isn't long before we realize that luggage will be staying in the hallway and living room.
On my way back out the door to attend our initiation gathering, I notice an important sign posted on the wall there. And, as I read, I cannot help but laugh at steps 1 & 2 by night:
Right outside the cabins is the campus garden. I happily walk along the muddy walkways, checking out the veggies and herbs growing well - itching to pull weeds or something but it looks like somebody has done that recently. They use this garden to supply the on-campus cafeteria.
We are given a short tour of the CAT campus in order to orient ourselves, then we have dinner with the students and tutors of CAT in the vegetarian cafe there and attend a lecture by our professor in the straw bale theater. Bruce talks about projects he has organized with students back in Idaho, his involvement with teaching regenerative design practices, and his involvement in an organization that travels to conferences to teach other professors and professionals about sustainable, regenerative, and zero carbon design. In his talk, he mentions a student project I was involved in during my 4th year in the interior design program. It turns out that it has continued on through other studios and even some bioregional planning students' thesis projects and now part of it will be built in the next year or so! What a pleasant surprise!After Bruce's talk, we walk with the CAT students to the nearest pub - a mile and a half down the road for some socializing and hopefully some bonding. A pool tournament gets underway and an intense darts game they call "killer".
Tomorrow, we will start the serious part of being here - working in teams with these stranger-students...
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