Verge Permaculture Information and Contemplations

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65602544528110375262012-02-15T23:57:46.875-07:00Verge Permaculture Information and ContemplationsWelcome to our blog site! Michelle and I will be posting information on this site and telling stories of our projects and adventures relating to permaculture, renewable energy, energy efficiency, peak oil and sustainable agriculture.Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-39128620676405710202010-03-30T01:33:00.004-06:002010-03-30T01:38:20.646-06:00We are now VERGE Permaculture

We have re-named our business, re-branded and have a new website:www.vergepermaculture.caOur new website has an integrated blog - we will no longer be maintaining blogger. Please check us out and sign up for our newsletter to receive updates. Also, do not use our old domain name (www.ravissustainable.com), this domain is hijacked. Thanks!

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-63068799920697525202010-03-13T21:56:00.004-07:002010-03-30T01:33:20.177-06:00WARNING - www.ravissustainable.com is FAKE!

Please be aware that the www.ravissutainable.com domain name has been hijacked. A phony website is currently posted impersonating our business. Please do not visit this website and do not use email addresses from/to @ravissustainable.com.We are working closely with our web developer and laywer to resolve this issue. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-79567842032575558282009-11-06T21:59:00.009-07:002010-02-04T06:58:31.185-07:00The Transformation of our Urban Home

In August 2008, my wife Michelle and I returned to Calgary, Canada, after spending one year travelling abroad in search of sustainability solutions. With backgrounds in mechanical engineering, our “sabbatical” started off in Denmark – we were drawn there by the lure of technological solutions to energy issues. After several months of volunteering and filling our brains with information (wind

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-72412626022486628422009-08-25T21:15:00.003-06:002009-12-07T21:49:09.665-07:00Gull Lake Permaculture Design Certificate Course

Ravis Sustainable teamed up with Pacific Permaculture to offer our inaugural Permaculture Design Certificate Course in central Alberta.It was an amazing experience - in fact hard to put words to. I will default to feedback and comments received from our students:"Fantastic Experience. Life Changing. Thanks!" Martin Scholz, Red Deer."I knew that this would be a life changing course going into it

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-21777576091206115382009-07-22T08:56:00.004-06:002009-12-06T22:16:23.244-07:00Clean Calgary Introduction to Permaculture

We are very excited about our new partnership with Clean Calgary and the first Introduction to Permaculture course that Rob facilitated for their organization. Clean Calgary is an urban environmental organization with a mission to empower Calgarians to create healthy homes and communities through environmental education, products, and services.The course spanned six Thursday evenings, with the

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-63337793821172648782009-07-20T21:10:00.000-06:002009-12-06T21:59:21.461-07:00Grass is sooo 80's!

Another food forest installation in Calgary - yipee! The group of students from our Springtime Introduction to Permaculture class taught through Clean Calgary got together one beautiful Saturday and helped turned fellow classmate, Barry Clements, front yard grass into an ecological and permaculture inspired garden. The goal - replicate, as much as possible, the forest ecology. Forest ecologies

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-90259773259819087872009-07-13T09:18:00.001-06:002009-12-06T18:00:29.663-07:00Wildcrafting with Blaine Andrusek

Wildcrafting is the fusion between an indigenous survival skill and modern botany. Southern Alberta boasts hundreds of wild edible and medicinal plants right outside our front door that we all take for granted. Some of these plants are on the verge of extinction while other plants have just been forgotten. The indigenous people of southern Alberta not only survived in Southern Alberta - they

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-83027996552027719712009-05-27T21:39:00.005-06:002009-12-06T18:02:38.575-07:00The Bownesian Urban Permaculture Project

This past week-end, we set out to help Rob Sinclair & Lauren Mangion transform their urban Bowness lot into a permaculture-inspired oasis & garden. Lauren took my “Intro to Permaculture” course in January and was inspired to take some next steps….. I offered to help them out with the design and implementation.With some basic principles in mind we wanted to create a place where conscious garden

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-20988396379072403062009-03-17T23:05:00.003-06:002009-07-17T23:07:55.546-06:00Transfering our Blogs

Hey Everyone - We are in the process of transfering our articles and blogs from our previous Travel Website, to this new blog site.We've started, but still have a ways to go. For now, see the remainder of our articles here.

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-52518463891325972832008-06-23T17:26:00.001-06:002009-12-06T18:33:17.269-07:00How to Build an Earthship - Our Adventure in New Mexico

Throughout the last year Michelle and I have been searching for green building methods that use little to know grid energy for space conditioning and electrification. So far we have seen a straw bale house, and underground concrete building, adobe brick and Michelle has extensively studied the envelope of the passive haus standard in Germany. All of them provided various pros and cons and

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-81353003415780980402007-12-20T18:18:00.000-07:002009-12-06T18:31:01.358-07:00Biofuels - Fueling the World or Fooling the World?

Just over a month ago, I (Michelle) sat through a presentation called the "Myths of Agrofuels". Most of the information was new to me, and I found the facts presented rather astonishing as I had always thought of agrofuels as a legitimate part of the transition mix. I felt compelled to research the topic thoroughly and draw up some conclusions of my own based on scientific research, reputable

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-81835382138632785612007-12-06T09:32:00.003-07:002009-12-06T17:56:41.146-07:00The High Cost of Cheap Fuel

I saw things in Cairo that I thought were only true in the movies. This whirlwind trip has been a real eye opener for me, an enormous culture shock and I have come to realize my own naivety surrounding mega cities in developing countries. To give you an idea of the conditions: - the city is home to 18 million people - the sixteenth most populous city in the world - a diameter of 15 km

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-1070693599492888862007-11-20T18:14:00.000-07:002009-12-06T18:31:09.592-07:00Combined Heat and Power District Heating in Denmark - A Case Study

The change to Combined Heat and Power (CHP) in Denmark created a decentralized heat and power structure that gradually can be transitioned entirely to renewable energy.By establishing local consumer-owned and municipality-owned Combined Heat and Power plants (CHPs) ownership of power production gradually shifted from centralized power production to local, independent, not-for-profit energy supply

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-18375064356748304172007-11-15T23:00:00.000-07:002009-12-06T18:03:34.433-07:00An Emerging Wind Industry Amongst the Pyramids

I recently embarked on a short, unexpected adventure to the ancient country of Egypt. The Folkecenter received a contract to teach a course in Cairo to a group of manufacturing companies looking to get into the wind industry, the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI). Preben, the director of the Folkecenter and Tupac, our wind expert and course teacher, asked me if I would like to assist

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-9598194567361021752007-11-05T22:34:00.003-07:002009-12-06T18:03:34.434-07:00A Windy Excursion with Rob's Parents

Rob and I were very happy to host Robs parents, Jon and Thea, for a few days here at the Folkecenter at the end of October. Keen to expose them to some of the neat things that we have experienced, we organized a field trip packed with renewable energy exhibitions. In the morning we visited (i) a straw-bale fired community district heating plant and (ii) a cooperatively owned biogas facility

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-13199883382804915032007-11-02T15:19:00.000-06:002009-12-06T17:56:41.146-07:00Producing Plant Oil Fuel at the Folkecenter

Plant Oil Processing The Folkecenter has a demonstration lab which contains all of the equipment to press, filter and test vegetable oil for engine use. As Europe has pioneered the use of vegetable oil for fuel it was realized very quickly here that a vegetable oil standard was going to be needed in order to ensure that oil quality met a certain criteria. The standard that was adopted was the

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-74909751221962958872007-11-01T15:17:00.000-06:002009-12-06T17:56:41.147-07:00Plant oil engines & plant-based fuels

One of the reasons that Michelle and I found the Folkecenter was because of plant oil. Just over a year ago, Michelle and I converted our VW Westfalia van to run on used vegetable oil, usually from deep fryers. Before I did this I had a lot of help from my good buddy and fellow greaser, Adam Gagnon. Adam has been on the plant oil beat for a number of years now and knows the system inside and out.

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-12883258267037545032007-10-30T15:12:00.004-06:002009-12-06T18:03:34.434-07:00A Wind-Cooled Beer Fridge

As most of Robs friends and family know Rob has three loves in his life:1) his wife, of course2) good beer3) Renewable EnergyWell, being at the Folkecenter has allowed Rob to experience all three of these things in one swoop! Here at the Folkecenter small wind turbines are constantly showing up from various manufactures from around the world in order to get a shot at the Danish test bench. In

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-14221385209271363242007-10-28T21:37:00.000-06:002009-12-06T18:03:34.434-07:00Wave Power at the Folkecenter and its potential in Canda - Updated!

{After initially publishing this blog I came across a Vancouver-based company, Finavera Renewables, looking to develop a wave energy project (I think that it may be the first commercial application in Canada) off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in Ucluelet, BC. Check out this very interesting short clip of the technology:}I was sitting around on a Saturday Morning this weekend tired of

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-30073447401716043992007-10-27T21:53:00.002-06:002009-12-06T18:04:38.096-07:00The Biodome- Combining aquaculture and gardening is so smart!

The Biodome is a large dome located here at the Folkecenter that combines a hydroponic greenhouse with an aquaculture system. It utilizes an integrated approach to water and nutrient reuse, heating resulting in organic fish and plant food production. Inside, enough food to feed seven families can easily be produced. The geodesic 5/8th dome construction has a high volume-to-surface area which

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-60638124918937839902007-10-15T16:30:00.000-06:002009-12-06T17:58:25.516-07:00The Most Energy Efficient Buildings in the World!

[Rob recently connected with Katrin Klingenberg, the Director of Ecological Construction Laboratory in Illinois and one of the founding members of Passive House Institute US. She had some great feedback for our blog and additional comments about passive houses in cold climates, which I've added in square brakets and in Italics.]The Passivhaus Institute (or Passive House Institute), located in

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-72252538782768557882007-10-10T15:46:00.001-06:002009-12-06T18:03:34.434-07:00The Future of Our Energy Supply

In this blog, we discuss that because the World is so dependant on oil society needs to start moving in the direction of other energy sources immediately to offset future economic, social and political consequences of peak oil. Add in the environmental reasons and the direction is obvious: Renewable Energies must be integrated into the energy mix starting now. Currently the World

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-21279828365316638062007-10-05T16:00:00.003-06:002009-12-06T18:10:13.227-07:00Calgary engineers study renewable energy in Denmark

Michelle and I were featured in an article published in the Calgary Herald on Friday, the 5th of October, 2007. Check out the University of Alberta Alumni website, where the article has been re-published or you can go direct to the Calgary Herald.

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-32828855148580986112007-09-18T15:41:00.001-06:002009-12-06T18:03:34.435-07:00Husum Wind Energy Conference

Rob and I attended the Husum Wind Energy Conference on September 18th. The largest wind industry trade show in the world is held every second year in Northern Germany in a small town called... you guessed it, Husum. In a lot of ways we found it similar to the giant Oil and Gas show in Calgary.All of the big names in wind were there: Vestas, GE, Siemens, as well as small wind turbine companies and

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-1586399840190845262007-09-09T15:35:00.000-06:002009-12-06T18:03:34.435-07:00Windsmithing - Not Recommended on a Windy Day

The Nordic Folkecenter (NFC) is full of wind turbines, some big, some small and even more that don't work. There is a Test Field with platforms and foundations for testing of electricity producing windmills of 1 KW up to 30 KW as well as mechanical wind pumps. The Test Field is equipped with data loggers, wind measurement masts, towers for installation of wind turbines and water wells where the

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-14596614401446845462007-08-26T13:59:00.006-06:002009-12-06T18:03:34.436-07:00A Car Powered by Wind

Here at the Folkecenter there are numerous vehicles running on alternative fuels.Pure Plant Oil (PPO)There is a rape seed refinery here where they have the ability to press and filter rape seed (purchased from nearby farmers) to produce rape seed oil. The only byproduct from this process (seed cake) is fed to cattle. There is a large tank and a filling station to fuel up the Folkecenter diesel

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560254452811037526.post-82377300793546472052007-02-12T07:02:00.003-07:002009-12-06T18:03:34.436-07:00Off we go to Denmark!

After living and working in Calgary Alberta for the past 4 years in the Oil patch, Rob and I have decided to leave our jobs for a year and explore renewable energy, various eco-sites, alternative building types, sustainable communities and sustainable agriculture. We'll be gone from July 2007 to August 2008.Our first stop is the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Denmark. The Folkecenter

Rob and Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730274864490515980noreply@blogger.com0