by ziddina 62 Replies latest social current
BTS, I gotta warn you. The women held out better than the men. The women all went through three "rounds". Some of the men held out for only two. The sweatlodge is hotter than the sauna. Watch out for big rocks.
The ladies started out chatty, but by the end we had all gone very, very quiet. I would say we had all entered that state of mind where only endurance mattered.
The guys who supervised our sweat were really great, explaining everything that was going on.
BTS,
I tried it. A friend had a sweat lodge ceremony instead of the traditional bachelor party. Get ready to experience heat like you've never experienced before. It does feel good . . . when it's over.
In an effort to keep this thread 'on topic', since it is about 'relatively safe housing', take a look at the monolithic domes.
These are structures that will survive earthquakes - in tact. no 'relatively safe' needs to be applied to these. They will also survive tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, etc.
Their strength comes from their shape - a dome.
I won't post photos of monolithic domes - I'll leave that to the experts here. I will also state that they keep very warm in the winters, and cool in the summers.
One family that has a dome in Alaska (I believe it was in Alaska), was going through the winter, and ran out of propane for heating. Only... they didn't know about it until two days later, as the warmth inside was adequate.
Another monolithic home owner in Kansas went through a tornado - which did a dance on top of the dome, before it went away to carry on its' massive destruction. (There was a pock mark on the exterior where the tornado struck the dome).
Domes along the Florida coast have survived hurricanes.
Domes in California have survived fires that have decimated entire forests and other homes.
Gary, an employee at Monolithic even took a rifle and fired it at a monolithic dome (kiddies, don't try this at home), at almost point blank range. It did not penetrate the shell, and only went through the foam and stopped at the concrete layer.
Personally - I don't want to live in a home that is 'relatively safe', I want to live in a home that is DEFINITELY safe.
But - to each their own.
Regards,
Jim TX
I have had a dome project in mind for a long time-- now that I have a truck I can start looking for scrap material.
i did a sweat lodge once.
Just dont die like those people in sedona.
BTS, not to worry. It's all done in the dark. Perfect, I looked up the Sedona incident. So irresponsible. My sweat lodge experience was conducted by the local Mountain Cree. The tent materials and herbs were all natural, and we all took regular breaks to cool off. Anyone could leave at any time and the leader of our sweat regularly checked on how we were doing.
This is the kind of "YURT" housing I could deal with . . .
We have a very large back yard, and I have actually thought of building a yurt like structure. Living in Texas though, it would get very hot, unless it were insulated well against the heat, and had adequate circulation. I have also thought about a building Tipi or some other unusual type of dwelling. the main purpose would be a rec room type of space, with a jacuzzi and bar set up-(Even though we don't usually drink).
After reading this thread, I am more excited about building something!
Ah, Guys...
Not to rain on your parade or anything, but...
Need I remind you again that yurts/gers evolved in a COLD climate??? 
On the other hand, if you're looking for something that would work well in a hot climate, you might want to take a look at the Bedouin tents and Berber/North African tents made from black goats' hair...
Old-time version...
more modern versions...
