Earth Day 2011!

We hope you all had a great Earth Day!  We decided to celebrate by transforming a local eyesore (abandoned tires dumped off the side of our lovely rural road in Madison Heights) into something useful. Jason climbed down from the road and hauled up 20 tires, which are now being used for a sustainable construction project back at our garage, the JTF Renewable D&B headquarters.  We are using the rammed earth method to build a retaining wall behind the garage, which involves tamping soil into the repurposed tires which are then stacked like bricks to form a sturdy wall or other structure.

Rammed earth and "found objects" are popular green building tools.  We've seen them used all over the world, from Trinidad and Tobago to New Mexico where resourceful folks have transformed piles of unwanted tires, glass bottles, and soda cans into breathtaking works of architecture.  

For our part, we're thrilled to use sustainable building methods whenever possible.  We'll share pictures of our new retaining wall as soon as it's done!