In The Grow Home, Avi Friedman, winner of the United Nations World Habitat Award and internationally acclaimed architect, recounts the genesis and development of his innovative project in. Like the auto industry's approach to the economy car, Friedman's Grow Home gives people what they need in a house at an affordable price - a quality product that allows both the perimeter and interior of a house to be expanded and changed to fit the space needs and budget of its owners. Frills are extra. With economic restructuring, demographic shifts, and lifestyle changes, the traditional family - working father, stay-at-home mother, two to three children - is no longer the norm and the need for smaller homes at moderate cost has skyrocketed. The first prototype of the Grow Home was built on the campus of McGill University in 1990 and more than one thousand units were built across North America and Europe in the first year alone. In this illustrated guide, Friedman describes the background, conception, and construction of these modest (14' x 36') homes. He details their construction for prospective owners, builders, and architects, showing how past and contemporary precedents were transformed and how the first versions were adapted by the building industry. Visits to completed Grow Homes shed light on why such homes were purchased and the process by which they "grew." Friedman also shows how the design has been adapted for prefabrication to meet the needs of the developing world. He describes the contribution that small-unit design makes to saving valuable natural resources and shares his experiences in planning communities based on the Grow Home. The Grow Home reveals the development and history of a concept that revolutionizes the home and building industry, has been translated into over 10,000 housing units and has received, among many accolades, the United Nations World Habitat Award

Grow your own food and medicine with a step-by-step guide from the founder of The Grow Network Imagine cultivating enough food to slash your grocery shopping in half--all in less than an hour a day in your own backyard. Sounds impossible, right? Marjory Wildcraft says it's not: She's been homesteading for almost twenty years and founded The Grow Network to teach hundreds of thousands of others--some with very little space or time, some city dwellers with rooftop gardens--how to do the same, from gardening, to raising chickens, to composting, to medicine-making. Wildcraft started her homesteading journey in search of a more sustainable and financially secure way of life. As she says, self-sufficiency offers practical rewards, but the real payoff is "true wealth": health, family, community, meaningful work, and living a life with purpose. This empowering way of life is possible for anyone who has a patch of dirt, small or large. The Grow System includes: • Essential advice for creating a balanced ecosystem in your backyard, with a basic recipe for homemade fertilizer • Step-by-step instructions for setting up a chicken coop and information on choosing the right breed • Home remedies for 12 common ailments, with 8 must-know medicine preparations. The Grow System provides a comprehensive strategy for producing healthy food and herbal medicine at home, and reclaiming the skills our ancestors used every day. It helps connect us to the environment and empowers us to lead healthier lives, without relying on big systems that are out of our control and insecure. It offers a path to a rich, reliable, and deeply satisfying life.

With economic restructuring, demographic shifts, and lifestyle changes, the traditional family - working father, stay-at-home mother, two to three children - is no longer the norm and the need for smaller homes at moderate cost has skyrocketed. The first prototype of the Grow Home was built on the campus of McGill University in 1990 and more than one thousand units were built across North America and Europe in the first year alone. In this illustrated guide, Friedman describes the background, conception, and construction of these modest (14" x 36") homes. He details their construction for prospective owners, builders, and architects, showing how past and contemporary precedents have been transformed and how the first versions were adapted by the building industry. Visits to completed Grow Homes shed light on why such homes were purchased and the process by which they "grew." Friedman also shows how the design has been adapted for prefabrication to meet the needs of the developing world. He describes the contribution that small-unit design makes to saving valuable natural resources and shares his experiences in planning communities based on the Grow Home. The Grow Home reveals the development and history of a concept that revolutionizes the home and building industry, has been translated into over 10,000 housing units, and has received, among many accolades, the United Nations World Habitat Award.

Everything you need to know to grow good food without a yard Grow food for freshness. Grow food organically. Grow food to connect with nature. Whatever the goal, you don’t need a lot of space to enjoy the benefits of homegrown veggies, herbs, and fruits. In Grow Food at Home, gardening expert John Tullock shows readers just how easy it is to enjoy “farm”-fresh produce grown right on the windowsill, the porch, or in a tiny backyard. Covering artificial lighting, hydroponics, vertical gardening, straw-bale planters, and more, the book offers even the most confined apartment dwellers plenty of options to get growing. Tullock shares all the tips and tricks readers need to make small-space gardening a success, with information on starting seeds, transplanting, succession planting, “crop” rotation, and other procedures—all tailored to the small-space garden—plus recipes to make the most of the harvest. Readers will be energized to grow a mouth-watering selection of micro-crops, from lettuces and herbs to tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, and even small fruits—no matter how little room they have available.