Ecologia (www.ecologiadesign.com) founder Michael Judd has spent nearly 20 years working throughout North and South America to promote edible and ecological landscape design. In Nicaragua his non-profit organization Project Bona Fide helps to develop solutions to provide food security and sustainable crops with higher market values in rural communities. He has recently published his first book, Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist, and is now working building his own home.

Judd’s home is located on 24 acres of woodland at the entrance to Gambrill State Park and is inspired by a house he helped build at the Earthaven Permaculture in Asheville, North Carolina. It is a round frame made using poplar, cherry and locust from the property itself. The walls are strawbale infill with earthen plasters on the interior and lime plaster on the exterior. The roof is a living roof design for drought tolerant plants.

Expected to be finished in early 2015, this house will be a true showcase of Judd’s philosophy and aesthetic. It will feature a hand crafted sunken tub, and a soap stone style stove as the main heat source and will be approximately 1300 square feet with a loft when complete. As much of the house as possible will be constructed using recycled materials including doors, windows and insulation.

You can attend one of Michael’s workshops (schedule available on his website). His next workshop about mushroom growing is sure to be a fun event about fungi.