Frank and Melissa (both Permaculturists and Engineers) designed and built Calgary’s first Passive House and have lived in it since 2016. Their house uses about 90% less energy to heat than a conventional home and is very quiet, bright and comfortable.
Between them they have taken a Permaculture Design Course (PDC), two food forest courses and a rocket stove course. They’ve applied their learnings to design and build their front yard food forest, greenhouse and annual garden beds. They harvest rain water for all irrigation and have over 5000L of storage.
Their 1900 square foot food forest was installed for less than $200 by taking advantage of waste streams (food scraps, leaves, cardboard and wood mulch), propagating plants from cuttings and having generous friends willing to divide and share their plants.