Mutanthouse Wants YOU!!!

 The Mutanthouse project was originally just designed as blog that was to follow the transformation of my house and property into a self-sustaining eco-Earthship-tree-house-hybrid.  I wanted to  make my home a place that would  reflect my beliefs and  provide a better living  quality for my Dog’s  and myself .  At some point I realised that there had to be  others out there that where struggling  that did not have the home base which  they could build upon , that was the moment I decided that I wanted to expand the project  and open it up to others in need of a home and security. The idea to transform my property into a self-sustaining microcomutinty with a communal man house and smaller interconnected personal units began to form.  Having a place to call home, where you can express your self is more valuable than one thinks, and I want to provide this for others. You can find some of my general ideas for the project on the mutant house blog mentioned above but also a condensed version on my TMS blog (http://www.tzmnetwork.com/blogs/658/17/mutanthouse-project-as-functioni  ).

If you are interested in assisting with the project with ideas, labour or resources please contact me here and we can exchange emails if needed ;). I am in dire need of help, architecture students who want to go wild and build something are welcome as is anyone with any idea or contribution they would like to realise on the premises that is in alignment with the general ideology of mutant house.

If you think you would like to become a part of the Mutant house family as permanent resident of the project, please read the blog first and be aware that we will need to be in agreement with a few key factors. A community can only work if there is a common ideology and shared core beliefs, while there are always variations and one must be willing to compromise there are some points I am not willing to compromise on when it comes to sharing my life and living space:

1) Religious tolerance – I personally believe in GOD, but my view does not necessarily fit any margin. My belief enriches my life but it is not the focal point of my humanitarian or eco-political work. If you ask me  what I believe I will tell you but seriously it is not  really important to me  when it comes to interpersonal  communication and friendship . Your actions are what are important to me, and the things you stand for.   I have friends from all faiths as well as agnostic and Atheist friends. I will not tolerate any bashing from any side, logical discussions are fine  but anyone living here should feel comfortable  living their  belief, or lack of ,  without having the feeling of being  belittled , force-converted or looked down upon .

If you are of faith and cannot live with an atheist without constantly trying to convert them and telling them that they will go to hell or whatever other thing you might believe- Mutant house is not for you.

If you are an Atheist and constantly feel the need to make fun of or belittle another’s faith, or make snide comments on their intelligence  just for believing something  Mutant house is not for you – Pure and simple.

 

2) I am a vegan for both ethical but also for ecological reasons. At this current point of our history the support of the meat/Dairy /egg industry is one of the least publicised crimes towards the sustainability of resources and our planets survival.  Considering that it is one of the largest contributing factors to Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and the depletion of our rainforests, I cannot compromise on the following- within Mutanthouse; anyone wanting to become permanent resident within the project should be either Vegan or Vegetarian.

3) Animals, trees and children at Mutant house are to be treated with respect and none violently. No animal will be killed, or physically punished on the premises. Parents who are permanent residents should be in agreement that children raised here will never be subject to physical or emotional violence. None of the trees on the property will be chopped down just because they might be “in the way!”  These trees have lived here long before we did and we will find ways to build around them!

4) Any person applying for permanent residentship  will have to live here for a trial period  of six months, which will either be extended if the existing residents need more time to decide , or a final decision will be agreed upon by the existing residents.  A permanent resident will then receive all rights to vote on major decisions within the project, create projects of their own as well as claiming permanent living space on the compound which will be designed and agreed upon in communion with the existing residents.

All this being said  I am  really looking for people  who want to live and work with me on this project , so if you need a place to stay , live and grow  let me know !

Mutanthouse as functioning micro community

I haven’t been posting   much of late, mostly because I have been crunching numbers, intaking new ideas and concepts. In the last  month I have realised something , while  it is inherently important to me  to  make  this home a safe please for my animals and myself , The idea of  sharing this  space with other like minded people has become  equally important.

My property might be in a less favourable part of town, but it is inherently beautiful with wonderful trees and vast opportunities. My neighbourhood in many ways reflects the global issues we are facing so it is actually the ideal vintage point to prove that change is possible.

If I ( I hope one day we )  succeed into making this place  a functioning  micro community , it will not only  turn this  piece of land into  an example of  a functioning concept, but also become a beckon of hope  for this struggling  town. Not only could this place become home to people, but we could also actively help the community, by sharing the produce grown here with our struggling neighbours.  We could also help make life better for the multitude of stray animals in this neighbourhood , as well as provide  help with homework  for kids, a safe place to play (playground ) … things like that . If we run out of space and we find the funding we could expand   , there is a lot of unstructured property surrounding mine as well as an array of abandoned and deteriorating properties.

We could offer services to the community which they could intern exchange for services of their own. Maybe at some point we could open a small onsite and online school because education is a great platform to implement change.

Right now a lot of people are hurting, they have nowhere to go, or the existing family-structures have failed them. This could be an opportunity to be a different kind of family, a sanctuary for those who have not found their spot yet: or/and a transition gateway for those who want to build similar projects of their own. I am aware that  in the end I cannot do this on my own  but I am sort of  bopping that the magic of “if you build it they will come “ will work here , and that  something valuable will come of this.

I am aware that  there are things  that will need to be , thought out more in detail : that maybe not all people interested will turn out to be compatible , but we will  have to just  go though the trial and error  process.  It is definitely better than doing nothing or giving up.

If it works however this place could become a little utopian island in a rocky sea, it could also inspire others that might be in a similar situation like me to do the same. We could incorporate and teach awesome philosophies such as Resourced based economy, sustainable living and renewable energy, holistic medicine ect.  The things we invent and create could be placed under creative commons and open source, there is just so much that could be done.   I would really like it to come to that  🙂

Animal residents of the Mutant house Project

 

At this current time my Dog’s and I are the only residents of the Mutanthouse project, in time and once more living space becomes liveable, I am hoping to open it to artists and families who need or want a fresh start, as well as domestic violence  survivors who want to  turn a new leaf. The final goal is to build a solid community that is willing to change the world around them, though action art and by being a living example how balanced living can function in an imperfect world. By offering community services, such as a vegan soup kitchen, community garden and helping people get off the grid; I also hope to improve the life quality of the impoverished neighbourhood and town I reside in. In the long run maybe even engage in worldwide projects, such as helping other create their own sustainable communities and projects, and occasional trips into disaster areas to help people rebuild.

 

Mutanthouse is however not only supposed to be a refuge for humans but also for the animal population. I would like to transform a portion of the property into a Dog playground and sanctuary for the existing rescue dogs living here, as well as further additions in the future. A cat garden with little cat houses is planned for the multitude of stray cats of my neighbourhood, who live sad and desperate lives. Once the cat garden is set up I am hoping to get funds together to spay and neuter the strays and to get them the medical attention they need. Most of them are born and bred outside and extremely feral, so a beautiful cat garden with climate controlled sleeping houses and regular food would be the best option for them. But that is all in the Future, The current Animal residents are mostly older dogs, dogs with behavioural problems and seniors. From some of my other posts you might know that I have been out of work for the last two years and keeping this roof over our head has been a struggle, if it were not for help from amazing people, like Sue Rogers from Ruff love rescue we would have been in dire straits a long time ago.

 

Quantum physics tell us that in many ways we create our reality with our mindset so I would like to see our struggles as part of our past but give t no power in the now and in our future. In the now the Animal residents of Mutant house are eight dogs of varying age. Who I would like to introduce here:

Luna my oldest came with me to the United States from Berlin. She is 10yesrs old and a peaceful gentile soul, who has fostered many puppies and kittens as her own. Luna was rescued in 2001 when she and her siblings where left to starve to death on the property of her mother’s owner. At the time my vet and I got him to give the puppies to us and I decided to keep Luna.

 

Romeo and April moon flower Aka (moo) are bull mastiff chow mixes, If you did not know it you would never think they where siblings. Romeo is very friendly and outgoing; his sister is a lovable mess with some fear aggression tendencies that she exhibits mostly towards men. Once she gets to know and trust people she is very caring and timid, but fear aggression did not make her a good candidate to be adopted.  Romeo had been adopted out but was returned to me because the new family decided that he was going to be too big and was going to end up on a chain. Once returned he looked so happy to be back home I never had the heart to adopt him out, both Romeo and Moo are eight years old.

Shadow and her sister summer were left in my care for what was supposed to be a two week vacation trip of her owner. In the end the owner  never picked them up , after four weeks I called her and she  told me she had decided to give them up , she worded it exactly so . Not one minute did she ask or inform me of these plans -some people are just incredible 😛  Summer stayed with me for 3 years and then found a great forever home through Ruff love Rescue. Shadow stayed with me because she has some behavioural issues. She is too smart for her own good, knows how to open the fridge, kitchen cabinets and the like, she gets along with other dogs but occasionally picks fights over food. She also has a strong preference for women and does not like children, while these traits are manageable for me, combined with her black colouring it makes her an unlikely candidate for adoption; Shadow is six years old.

Lucky is Romeos son with Shadows Sister Summer. Summer-yup my fault entirely because I had not yet spayed and neutered either of them and my boyfriend of the time thought it was funny to let them breed. Ditched the boyfriend kept the dog 😛 …Lucky is a sweet, friendly, most generously loving dog and it is a tragedy that he did not adopted out like his siblings . Mostly it is attributed to his colouring; sadly people generally do not want black dogs 😦 Lucky is 5 years old

 

Summer and Moo where in heat at the same time and the day my ex let Romeo into the room where I kept the girls both of them where knocked up.  The whole situation at the time was volatile with my ex, and  domestic violence  was prominent during that time of my life , he had control over my finances, my life and in many parts my freedom –  and I at the time was to weak to protest.  I guess you live and you learn I am no longer that woman, and the stronger me has evolved into a strong advocate of spaying and neutering. Considering all the poor unwanted animals living amongst us it is for now the only responsible choice.

 

Well back to the puppies, Romeo knocked Moo up as well thankfully though she birthed only two children Moobert Oi and Mooria Georgina. Both were born premature and needed a lot of care, both have some behaviour issues that make them unlikely candidates for adoption. Mooria is extremely dominant and needs to be supervised with other dogs; Moobert Oi has severe anxiety, but is otherwise sweet and friendly. Still they will need special surroundings and care for the rest of their life and would probably be put down anywhere else.  Both Moobert and Mooria are five years old.

When I left Paul I took my dogs with me and was at full capacity Animal wise, but there was this little pit-bull 2 month old left on a chain in the full NC, heat, no water no shelter, she was dying and I couldn’t just walk away and do nothing. I talked to her owner and he told me well why you don’t get her water I just don’t have the time , I couldn’t leave he  there that is how Jubilee became part of my family , and the entity taking most of the room in my bed. Jubilee is the sweetest thing; guess she did not read her job description as Pittbull 😉 Jubilee is three and half years old.

None of my Dogs are up for adoption we have been family for too long, I do not consider myself their owner either, I am their guardian, in many ways their Alpha and mother. When I call people owners it is more of a derogatory stamen reserved for those who treat their animals like property. My animals are family and Mutanthouse is just as much, If not more, for them as for me.  And my house transforms I will be transformed and maybe  find healing in the process, and when others come  they will hopefully  find it a place to rest a while , or longer and find  the balance that we as a spices  so direly lack .

 

Thoughts on mutanthouse

 

 

 

The last few day’s I have been letting some basic ideas go through my head on what I would like to accomplish , with mutant house. The basic premise is transforming and raping my house as the funding arises; so basically one small project at a time, as funds come in. The finished project, as I envision it, will combine some of the architecture of earth houses, with tree-houses, hanging gardens and the existing structure of my house. At some point I would like to open my home to people who would love to live and work on the project grounds. Of course I am in the imagining phase of the project, and things will be in flux for a while but these are some of the basic things I would like to eventually establish on the property.

1- Green house, vegetable garden, smaller in house gardens.

2- Water cistern, water capturing unites, Maybe dig a well, a two way water system, meaning a separate system for washing and potable water, coal filtering system.

3- Both wind and solar energy system, the solar systems incorporating both passive and active solar energy.

4- An outside haven for my dogs – dog playground, as well as a Cat garden for the local stay cats with little insulated houses for winter.

5- A play ground for the local kids and maybe a community garden for local kids in my neighbourhood.
6- A small vegan soup kitchen giving out one meal a day for local residents.

7- An in house recording studio, gallery, pottery workshop and carpentry work shop.
8- A swimming pool 🙂

9- Maybe a small school and rooms to be able to take in foster children.

10-Roof and wall gardens.

Now how this will develop will depend on how can find financing and how many people will join the project. If it is just me alone it might take years to accomplish, the more people are part of it the easier it will become to realise it.I am going to have to look into permits , see if the city will work with me on this ect. The thing is that if this project functions it might attract others who would like to establish similar projects in their struggling communities. If I fail, I fail, but it cannot hurt to try to get creative and try to establish a new way of living when the old one does not seem to work anymore.
There are dangers of course -communes /slash off the grid communities can often turn into volatile sects, but honesty and rigorous self monitoring might be able to keep those dangers at bay. The alternative is doing nothing, and that is not an option!
I will keep you all posted on future idea and progress 🙂