Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: How much living space to you need?

[melanie griffin (melgrif]

yes, in costa rica we were asked to put used toilet paper in a waste can
next to the toilet rather than flushing it. makes you think about what
you're sending down river. i have indian friends who don't have toilet paper
in their upstairs bathrooms (where there are not normally guests) and now i
know why.

melanie

On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 5:33 PM, <balaji [at] ouraynet.com> wrote:

>
> Almost any kind of kind of herbivore dung will do.  Seriously.  You just
> pick it up when its fresh and slap it up against a wall in circles about
> 6" across.  It dries for a day.  You collect it and take it home, and it
> burns with very little smoke and no odor. You can stack it up like
> firewood.  I used it for years in South India.
>
> And as long as I am recommending Indian-style:  How about giving up toilet
> paper?  You don't need it, and it is wasteful of recourses that could be
> better used for other things.  No one in India uses TP.  In fact, it would
> be considered extremely unhygenic.  Water is quite sufficient, and much
> more effective.  Gandhi did not use toilet paper.  If you need further
> instructions, I can supply them, but I dare say anyone can figure it the
> required technique.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Charles Nuckolls
> Utah Valley Commons
> www.utahvalleycommons.com
>
>
> >
> > Sounds fascinating.  Does anyone know where I could buy some buffalo
> dung?
> >
> >
> >
> > Date sent:            Mon, 19 May 2008 23:59:03 -0600 (MDT)
> > From:                 balaji [at] ouraynet.com
> > To:                   "Cohousing-L" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> > Subject:              Re: [C-L]_ How much living space to you need?
> > Send reply to:        Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> >       <mailto:cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org?subject=unsubscribe>
> >       <mailto:cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org?subject=subscribe>
> >
> >>
> >> It is certainly true one can get by for less.  I lived in a fishing
> >> village on the southeastern coast of India for seven years.  The house
> >> was
> >> one room and had about 500 square feet.  That was for six people.  We
> >> cooked on a buffalo dung fire on the verandah, and the "facility" was
> >> the
> >> nearby sea shore.  Most life was lived in public -- in the alleys
> >> between
> >> the huts, on the road, on the beach.  And that, for an American, took a
> >> bit of getting used to.  But I miss it, and that's why I go back for a
> >> few
> >> weeks every year or two.  In a few weeks, we (my wife and 3 children)
> >> leave New Zealand for the Amazon (eastern Ecuador) were we will live in
> >> a
> >> tiny house on the edge of the rainforest, just down the road from the
> >> erupting volcano, Tungarahua.  Our friends are all hunters and
> >> gatherers,
> >> and small-time horticulturalists.  It's great.
> >>
> >> Well, perhaps we're a bit extreme -- we're both anthropologists -- but
> >> we
> >> appreciate the pleasures of community:  a lesson we have learned from
> >> the
> >> Indians and Ecuadorians who never gave it up for the suburban alienation
> >> we take for granted in America.
> >>
> >> Charles Nuckolls
> >> Utah Valley Cohousing
> >> www.utahvalleycommons.com
> >>
> >>
> >> >
> >> > At 7:44 AM -0400 5/19/08, Sharon Villines wrote:
> >> >>In Manhattan, small apartments are also possible because people live
> >> >>in public more. They tend to meet for dinner instead of entertaining
> >> >>in because they have no cars and it is a pain to get uptown or
> >> >>downtown. They meet in between instead. Go out for  the paper and
> >> >>breakfast in the morning. Hang out in Starbucks with a laptop or a
> >> >>book. People even meet clients in hotel lobbies -- the ones with the
> >> >>comfortable furniture and a bar. A fern place.
> >> >
> >> > This is true in many cultures (other than the United States). I
> >> > recall reading a report about how many square feet (on average) a
> >> > person needs to 'live'. Can't remember exact numbers, but people in
> >> > the U.S. required more square feet than any other culture. People in
> >> > Japan do very well in less than 200 square feet because they 'live'
> >> > outside as you describe above. There is a condo project in Seattle
> >> > that primarily houses moderate to high-income working class Asians.
> >> > The condos are less than 200 square feet.
> >> >
> >> > I find 460 square feet a bit too tight for myself and my two cats. I
> >> > don't think I could handle living here very long if my only view was
> >> > the brick building next door.
> >> >
> >> > Cheers!
> >> > Marganne
> >> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
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> >>
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> >
> > ------------------------------------
> > Dick Kohlhaas <rlkohl [at] earthlink.net>
> > (719)633-8170
> > Colorado Springs (Colorado) Cohousing Community (Casa Verde Commons)
> > Completed March 2003. 34 units on 4 acres 1.5 mi from downtown. We have a
> > few resales available.   Visit us at http://www.casaverde.us)
> >
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