Last week, I read an article about a family of six living above the Arctic Circle in Norway in a cob (a building material made from sand, water, clay, and straw) and timber house inside a geodesic solar dome. So it's as if the house and its gardens are all encased in a giant greenhouse. One of the family's goals was to grow some of their food—tricky above the Arctic Circle—so those protected gardens were essential.
The family lives on an island in the Norwegian Sea, Sandhornoya. (The parents are both natives of the island.) They have beautiful water views and enjoy the northern lights. Of course, a lot of snow falls on that part of the world, and there's essentially no sunshine for some of the year, so you have to be okay with that sort of thing.
Looking at a home like this is inspiring, and also fun in a particular voyeuristic kind of way. But these kinds of projects suggest some Struggling Goddess questions, e.g.:
*They started building their home in 2012, and worked on it for eighteen months before moving in. The home and dome cost £340,000 ($439,824) to build. Where'd this young couple get that kind of dough?
*Also: Is waterfront property really affordable on Sandhornoya? Because how'd they bankroll that?
*Because I'm pretty sure they're not meeting all of their food needs with their gardens, how do they pay for other stuff to eat?
*And while we're on the topic: What do they do for money to pay property tax, insurance, car costs, et cetera and so forth?
Here's a short video about the domed home. It really is lovely: