“In Taos there seems to be three Anglo populations. There are the class of working professionals, like you and me. Then there are the trust-fund inheritors and intensely rich beyond what we understand. Then there are the people who are almost expatriots within their own country. They’re usually living outside of town. You know?” * Kristofic seems fascinated by this third group. Almost everyone he recognizes as a significant figure in his (story) comes with strange packaging, either physically, culturally or both. For the first part of this book, I found this very distracting. I wanted to know what this person had to contribute to the topic of earthships, rather than where he had acquired that rather threatening tattoo and where could I get one like it.
However, as I read through the book, listened to the conversations between the various people involved in the construction of these buildings that seemed to defy all laws of architecture and physics, I began to understand. These were people who were willing to question the laws that they had been told were unbreakable, people who were not worried about what the neighbors might think. And, throughout, these people produce the information needed that can help anyone who is considering going off the grid and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle. Solar heating, pit toilets, gray-water systems and many other practical, real-life solutions to tightening energy and water supplies are explained in great detail. If alternative solutions to common problems is something you would like to know more about, this book may help you out.
*Not my words; direct from Kristofic, pages 108 - 109