Eco-Friendly Homes For Poor and Low Income Families?

I was watching Aljazeera English the other day and I saw this segment on a plastic bottle house in Yelwa, Nigeria that has been made from plastic bottles filled with dirt and string. The bottles were much stronger than regular bricks and cement. Also they are bullet proof and earthquake proof. Here are some pictures:

The bottle house is solar powered, fuel-efficient with a clean stove, it has urine flirtation fertilization systems and water purification tanks. Hopefully there would more of these house made and this idea can expand to different nations. Habitat for Humanity and other non-profits that involve building homes for the poor and homeless should adopt this technique.

I’m not a wealthy person and I lived in crappy places before. I always see poorer people in the US receive the worst housing that is insufficient, unsafe and harmful to their health. I really hope that there is some type of initiative or program that starts in America that mimics what the people in Yelwa, Nigeria are doing. 

Pickling, Fermenting, and Preserving Foods: An Important Survival Skill That Everyone Should Know!

Pickling or preserving food can be a life saver. For centuries people, preserved many types of food items such a veggies, fruits, and meats by letting them ferment over time. Certain food items don’t come cheap such as certain meats and certain produce items might be affected by a severe drought or serious infection. These days times are very unsure. In the US and in other global economies, there are horrible economic res cessions and possible depressions.

During The Great Depression in the 1930s’, nearly all food banks and bread lines were often filled with thousands of people in need of food. These centers were often overwhelmed and ran out of supplies and food. Many people would go home empty handed and walk away with small and insufficient rations. Families would often have food that is preserved or pickled in these harsh times. During the 1930s and toward the end of WWII, it was a everyday thing because so much food in the US was being used for the army and citizens received modest rations and took food from their own community gardens.

Pickling/Preseving foods is an endangered practice in the US. I’ve only seen older Americans do it, those who are the parents of baby boomers. Since there are so many fast food restaurants in American and so few Americans actually cook and buy from the grocery store often. Many people don’t know of preserving foods or how to make them.  I really want to get into not just to save cash and be prepared for a disaster. Here are some popular choices and recipes on how to make them:

PICKLES(The most common one) 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/homemade-refrigerator-pickles/detail.aspx

KIMCHI (Classic Korean Side Dish, that is very high in nutrients.It’s considered to be the healthiest food in the world. There are many variations of this dish, but this is best one to me) 

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-kaktugi

Smoked Salmon(Yum!)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-salmon-recipe/index.html

Pickled Eggs(They have a lot of these at Bars and Pubs. They are so good)

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pickled_eggs/

SAUERKRAUT(I feel like I’m one of the very few non-German people who actually like the taste of Sauerkraut. It’s an acquired taste, I think it’s amazing. It is a great side with meat.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/slow-cooker-sauerkraut-and-sausage/detail.aspx

CHEESE(Yes, Cheese!)

http://www.cheesemakingrecipe.com/index.html

DRYING FRUITS (When I was younger I used to be afraid of raisins and prunes. I would always think they resembled roaches or bugs. I love all dried fruits now!) 

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09309.html

Making Alcohol (Hopefully, I don’t think it’s really legal to do this. But if shit happens and there are no stores with alcohol just do it yourself)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Beer/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-wine/