 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our New Home
Uncommon Good is embarking on a building campaign that will give a whole new meaning to the term "model home." This new "home" for Uncommon Good will demonstrate how caring for the poor, for each other, and for the environment have become one and the same. Our building project has been endorsed by Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.
Click below to find out more about Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Claremont United Methodist Church is making this project possible by generously allowing us to build on their property.
For the past eight years, Uncommon Good has been the grateful recipient of office space on the campus of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Claremont. Now, the growing church needs the space that we are occupying. Instead of using our funds to pay rent in a storefront, we have decided to build a beautiful, affordable, 100% eco-friendly building. This will save us money that we can then use to provide services to the poor. The building will serve as our office and as an environmental education and activity center for youth and the community.
The Claremont United Methodist Church has come forward to partner with us in this endeavor and is allowing us to build on its property. We are incredibly fortunate to have a relationship with this generous and visionary church, whose partnership will allow us to continue our work on behalf of the poor and the planet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Environmentally Sound Building
Buildings account for nearly 40% of carbon emissions in this country. Our new office will demonstrate how this "carbon footprint" can be reduced to zero by changing our construction practices. Our building will be made of little more than earth alone, constructed by the Superadobe method invented by the great environmental architect, Nader Khalili, of the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth). Click here to view a 30 second video of Superadobe architecture.
Superadobe allows one to build using the earth under one's feet, without having to cut down trees, or produce and transport energy intensive and environmentally harmful materials such as steel and concrete. It is much more affordable than typical construction, and enables a family to build a beautiful comfortable home without a mortgage. This structure will be the first commercial application of the Superadobe construction technique in the United States. Already it has sparked global interest from as far away as Europe.
Watch a Cal Earth Sustainable Village being built.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our Building's Features
 | Roof top garden of native plants and wildflowers |
| Murals and mosaics |
| Passive heating and cooling |
| Solar panels |
| Rainwater catchment |
| Wind scoop |
| Interior decorations and furnishings made of natural, nontoxic materials |
| Composting toilet |
| Earthen walls and roof |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ecology and the Poor
To combat poverty effectively, we must conserve and share the planet's resources so that all have enough to survive. We must wean ourselves off coal and oil, which are creating climate changes leading to famine, natural disasters, and millions of climate refugees. Yet at the same time we must learn to conserve energy so that our demand for biofuels does not take agricultural land out of food production, leading to food shortages for the poor. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must learn to live simply so that others may simply live."
Here at Uncommon Good we are taking these words to heart and acting upon them by creating a simple building out of natural materials that does not rob the earth of resources. We will show that it is possible to live and work without harming our environment and at the same time save energy, water, land and trees to help meet the needs of the poor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Housing-Economy-Environment Connection
The affordable housing/mortgage lending crisis is at the root of the recent economic collapse. Americans trying to provide homes for their families could not afford to do so without taking out mortgages that were beyond their means. Now, a problem that started in the United States housing market has rippled across the globe and entire national economies are sinking.
Our Superadobe building demonstrates a way to begin recreating a stable economy where citizens' basic needs for housing (or workplaces) can be met without a crushing mortgage. At the same time, these buildings contribute to a healthy, sustainable environment that can provide the foundation for a healthy economy. For in the end, the health of a society is dependent upon the health of its people, which is dependent upon the health of the water they drink, the air they breathe, and soil which produces the food and other commodities necessary to support their lives.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How You Can Help
If you would like to help Uncommon Good to create this landmark destination building from which it will serve the poor and work to preserve the environment, you may make a tax deductible donation online through our Donate page, or by mail to:
Uncommon Good
435 Berkeley Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711
|
|
|
|
|
|
