Vermicompost Utopia: 50 years building off-grid Tea Homestead 🪱
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- Опубликовано: 11 фев 2023
- David Lee Hoffman has spent 50 years building a composting compound where waste - whether grey water from the kitchen or sanitation - is cleaned by worms, plants, and filters, then reused in the personal garden.
Water flows through ponds, moats, and even a boat (which hides a 30-foot column that taps into groundwater), and everything is powered by solar, using a series of 12-volt pumps.
Most of Hoffman’s system isn’t legal, according to his local county (Marin, California), and Hoffman has spent decades fighting the local government.
TIMELINE:
- David's compound, The Last Resort, his home and tea production: 00:10
- Original property value: David paid $38K for it: 00:25
- Visiting the chicken coop: 01:15
- Boat pond reservoir, early structure in a property relying on circular water management: 02:00
- 30 feet well with solar-pumped water: 02:20
- Property's motto, as explained by David Lee Hoffman in 3 Eastern characters (he lived abroad for years at a time): 03:00
- Water-flushed composting toilet: 03:30
- Fish tank connected to plants and to the toilet (biodigestion): 04:00
- Rainwater wash faucet (using a solar-powered 12-volt pump). Four 12-volt pumps circulate the water system, all connected to a single solar panel: 05:00
- The Last Resort's "intestines," or purification system: 05:50
- Composting toilet inner workings, using vermicomposting: 06:50
- Introducing the Worm Palace at The Last Resort: 07:50
- The worm colony descends from the worms David brought to the property 50 years ago: 08:20
- Feeding the Worm Palace (main worm composting bin, built on the shape of an Eastern pagoda): 08:30
- "The magic of worms," as explained by David Lee Hoffman: 08:50
- Efficiency of the biodigestive system: "no odors": 09:40
- Worms take care of food scraps and treat water. The black water composting bin "goes through more steps of decomposition": 10:15
- Scalability of Hoffman's biodigestive system, according to its creator: 11:10
- Difficulty in permitting unusual structures & systems in areas with zoning restrictions. David Lee Hoffman's experience with the county: 11:30
- David's kitchen furnace and slow cooking philosophy: 12:20
- Wood-ash activation with water for washing: 12:30
- David Lee Hoffman's "lick your hands after washing them" test: 14:30
- Putting food on the table: 14:50
- Stone pots for cooking and storing food. First designed for the solar cooker: 15:20
- Chatting with David's friend, movie director Martin Brest (Meet Joe Black, Midnight Run): 16:30
- Structural details, inspired by Eastern and Northern California vernaculars; tea storage: 17:10
- "Tea-heated" bedroom atop the proper, made of pencil factory scraps: 18:30
- Visiting the rest of the compound: 20:00
- Meet David's 70-year-old working fridge, bought second-hand already "old" but still going strong: 20:35
- A paradise for hummingbirds and other species: 21:40
- David Lee Hoffman's philosophy and drive: "it all works; the systems work": 23:00
On the day we arrived at his worm-topia, he’d been told he had just one more day to evacuate the 2-acre sanctuary he calls “The Last Resort.” One of his supporters (he has many helping him raise money for his legal battle) opened the door for us and turned out to be Oscar-nominated director Martin Brest (Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black, Midnight Run) who recently penned a letter to the county calling The Last Resort “an environmental laboratory that has perfected systems that-among other invaluable achievements-have turned it into one that uses only 10-20% of the water of comparable properties, even while maintaining an extensive organic vegetable garden.”
For Hoffman, “water is life,” not just because he wants clean water to grow his own food but also to create the teas (the Phoenix collection of rare, artisanal teas) that help support his lifestyle (he opens up his property every Saturday for tea tasting). He doesn’t believe in waste “until it’s wasted” and lives by the principles: “Water is precious, soil is sacred, shit is a resource.”
His bedroom is a shack the size of a bed built from wood salvaged from a pencil factory. He has plans to place it directly on top of a tea fermentation room to capture the waste heat via piping to warm up his bedroom.
The Last Resort: thelastresortlagunitas.org/
Phoenix Collection teas: www.thephoenixcollection.com/
David Lee Hoffman on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L...
Martin Brest's letter: thelastresortlagunitas.org/mar...
Save The Last Resort: www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-l...
David's video: • The Last Resort: Gofundme
Close-up picture of David's hat since some of you are asking: media.faircompanies.com/p/202...
On *faircompanies: faircompanies.com/videos/verm... 
Хобби
thank you Kirsten for bringing this amazing man to our attention, what an incredible set up he has built. Genius
So nice of you Gaz, thanks for spreading the word. You’ll find details on David’s situation within the text. Thanks for spreading the word! Keep up the great work.
HE NEEDS A HELPER. I CAN HELP.
HES A GREAT GUY. I'M SERIOUS
CONTACT ME
the County is kicking him off his land.. how horrible!! go to his website and learn what this wonderful man and wife have been going thru.. I think that he has a gofundme too.. thelastrestortlagunitas.org
It's so obvious that place is healthy, look at all that life. People don't seem to understand that sterile means there is no life present.
A dump got plenty of life to ;) not healthy necissarily though :p
Burying children from diarrheal diseases in third world isn’t fun, it’s been one of greatest killers in our species. In an average family at least one child was lost before age five.
@@aryanprivilege9651 I understand what can go wrong when things are not done properly and that most people are too ignorant or lazy to figure it out. It’s the same reason local governments don’t want people storing rain water, horrible things are born in mismanaged water supplies.
@Sparky's Malarkey I don't agree as there are streams, rivers, duck ponds & swamps. The Government wants everyone to BUY water ... pretty simple, it's all about $money$
Spot on!
A perfect example of how powerful the human mind is. The passion and vision of this man is so amazing. I can't imagine how rich his life must be in that environment. So jealous!!!
Amazing Man ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍
Just beautiful
Everything is in the mind, and this man's is a beautiful one.
The human mind.... Look around, all you see is greed and corruption. This man is an island... The human mind : "did you get a permit for this?"
Spot on!
Wishing them well with their legal battle to preserve the property. He has created a fascinating home worthy of being preserved.
It's astounding that the inspectors don't consider that this property has weathered multiple quakes.
Really fantastic on so many level. Well done. I loved watching how every part relates…and those tiny birds. I hope the inspectors can do an about turn….just like what happened with Brad Lancaster….now a huge part of the community are learning and following his lead. Once illegal…now encouraged by councils. Vermiculture is incredible…..
@@hhwippedcreamhey are bureaucrats no logic no reason, just a book of regulations that tells them there is is only one way anything can be done.
@@socalpumpballerThe whole idea of "authority" is the Most Dangerous Superstition.
A little contribution: this isn't too *really* unprecedented: it's actually common (through all history, and today) to build systems that recycle/purify/decon fecal matter and then use it as fertilizer, to filter and reuse both gray and black water for appropriate purposes (depending on the filtration) several times before releasing it (often more clean) back into any kind of natural waterway or public treatment system.
There's a whole lot of scholarship on the use of human manure as being a likely CAUSE enabling human agriculture, and I've seen such systems documented as common throughout e.g. Mexico City where water is limited and so households must find ways to capture and filter and reuse water several times.
Almost 80! This is what happens when you keep active. Good for him.
I agree with him! American made, English made, German made are all quality made! Glad he does not like plastic! Love his approach to living his life! Live on, Mister!
Even the Chinese make decent stuff. Stonework , wood etc.but yeah most junk that is derived from petroleum and consumed by the masses is.... well.. junk!!
I've had the good fortune to have known David since 1961. We met as Seniors in Auto Shop during the inaugural year of Skyline High School in the Oakland Hills. He had a bitchin Chevy powered 32 Ford roadster with a rumble seat. I had a Chevy powered 33 Plymouth coupe, also with a rumble seat. We were living American Graffiti and didn't know it.
Then he left the country and we didn't see one another for almost 50 years. Somehow we reconnected and we spent a whole day at his home.
My wife and I were blown away by what he has created on that hillside.
Thank-you for continuing to post THE best quality, and most inspiring videos on RUclips!
Totally appreciate your work, Kirsten. Thank you.
The number of subscribers speaks to the quality of her videos. The first Kirsten Dirksen/faircompanies video I ever saw was the story of Dee Williams' tiny house in her friend's backyard in Olympia. Kirsten's got talent, energy and passion. Such good stuff.
I'm so sad after reading in the description that this amazing man and his wife have been told to leave their HOME that they own. Not to mention the amazing science he has perfected on his property that we need so we can learn from people like him
That's horrible. Anyone can see that this place is in a class above - in beauty, quality, sustainability and environment. Kirsten's channel has shown through the years how the home can become bio-compatible and self-sustaining, and this is one of the best examples I've seen. I hope this video further helps these people defend themselves against the county, because forcing them to leave this place is horrible. Just horrible. :(
A lot of these systems weren't in use when I went there. And he made them overly complicated and hard to access. Also, he didn't need a permit for the wastewater systems since he was already on septic.
There' s more to the story.
Don't listen when they tell you to leave your home... They will have to commit crimes to move you...
Sadly the system proactively tries to destroy any independent threat to their monopolies, anyone who wants to live in a sovereign manner is a threat, this is the state of the western “democracies” today, and it has to change.
Awestruck! Love the whole system. Does he have a book? Those stone bowls are amazing. Looking forward to the documentary. Amazed by his age too. He looks to be at least 20 years younger. I guess it is
all the building work and activity. Kudos to him!
Kirsten: thank you for finding David, this is lovely. Even if we can't build his fantastical black water system, we can all have a worm bin and put our food scraps back into the soil. I never bought any worms; I just pulled some out of the garden and now I have thousands in a bin with holes drilled in the bottom. I put in food scraps and paper shreds and a little bit of water and I harvest out brilliant worm casting fertilizer. It's easy!
I can’t believe he’s almost 80. He seems so young. I hope his knowledge is preserved for future generations. Thank you!
This guy has figured out every angle of sustainable eco way to do it. The fact they don’t understand the system tells you they don’t know what their doing or it’s just about money( the permit). This guys amazing
OMG! This is such a beautiful , whimsical environment. I LMAO when he talked about fecal phobia. It is so true, but manure (feces) is one of the richest ways to feed plants. This is my favorite, by far of your fabulous videos! He is right, this is the future. This system completes the cycle. Thank you so much for this fabulous video.
we used to collect all poop and pee and sell it for fertilizer and laundry soap. maybe too many drugs in our system now though
yeah, the whole "f3c@l phobia" thing also struck a nerve with me. Even the compost you buy in a shop has been sterilized... when in actual fact the whole point of compost is to add microbial life to the soil. You can't do that with sterile compost (you can feed the microbes that are there but you're not adding any variety)
The original 3DBenchy!
Beyond genius and someone we should all aspire to be.
There was a man named Jim Bumgarner in Sylva, NC who had a setup like this. He built it with a special concrete like they do at zoo exhibits. He learned of this type of aquaculture and duck and pheasant raising in Vietnam. Sadly he passed but the place is still there. It is otherworldly
What a great guy. I really hope he gets to stay on his own land.
Brilliant, brave man in tune with that small inner voice that most of us ignore most of the time. I'm so glad you found him, Kristen.
Thank you for doing this story on David, he needs all the support he can get, I pray the county will come around. I am so happy you were able to share the magic of his small piece of land with everyone. He is such a dear soul, its wonderful to read the comments and see the appreciation for his work.
So many times after these videos are over, I find myself sitting in silence at what I'd watched, amazed at the deeply wonderful levels of humanity that should be, need to be an everyday part of our lives. And if we can't find it in the world, I believe it's imperative to find it in ourselves.
Thank you Kirsten! This tops your great content. Pretty mind-blowing set of systems and under perpetual evolution. …not to mention that everything he has built stands the test of time in such a shaky part of the country. Genius put to good use. I hope somehow he gets through the self-interest of the bureaucracy.
May God bless him and strengthen him and protect him. He cares and understands mother Earth. He is also doing the right thing for her and the environment. We need more people like him to show others especially those who are so commercial in spirit and thought. The survival of our planet should never be left up to such a commercial state of mind. May this man and others like him grow and prosper. And So It Must Be.
Yea those people serve satans agenda wether they knownit or not.
MY PEOPLE DIE DAILY FROM LACK OFKNOWLEDGE
- Jesus Christ
Amazing. Level 100 engineering zen master. I hope I can reach this in my life. Will definitely be trying the woodash soap!
Wow. I would definitely buy an ebook of his plans / drawings / ideas to help support the cause.
The hummingbirds sure agree with his created/borrowed environment. We appreciate and respect this working laboratory of living design. Although I'd love to see more of his systems design, from your interview/discussion and his descriptions of what is happening throughout his home, I might be able to work out the general ideas of his systems to imitate for my own. Fascinating work. Wishes of peace and health for David Lee Hoffman and others who share this aspiration for smarter ecological living.
Yes! Mr.Hoffman is a genius of nature !🍀🎖🍀
Both of them..
Fond memories of Lagunitas in the 80's. Thanks for the tour.
God Bless You! These methods will be life-saving when the power grid goes down, and it will soon!
Wow! Wow! I can't stop saying wow throughout this entire video!
THIS is what I look for! Absolutely incredibly magical. I love to see people's imaginations manifest into reality. I wish we could find more people like him and the $50 house guy
Wood ash plus water yields lye. Lye plus oil/grease yields soap.
I love this man and his philosophy of life, such peace and harmony. Thank you so much for introducing him to us.
One of my favorites. Thanks for sharing his world with others.
This guy is awesome. So logical, so reasonable. I love how he explains this amazing setup.
We all could be doing this if we each could be satisfied with our own little plot of land, nobody would be homeless or hungry
AMEN Carly 🙏💝 No more homelessness and hunger ❗🙏
@@Vikingshop Exactly, how many homes does one person/family need?! One.
This guy need a podcast/youtube to simply share all the information he has
Sonoma County permitted water (flushable toilet) compost system for Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. Much more cumbersome system designed for many users. BUT it did get permitted.
i was told by them it was grandfathered in
Amazing! Thank you for showing us the insight of this man. What better teacher than one who does.
Look forward to your videos each week. The fact that you often make it a family affair means all that much more b/c you're teaching the next generation important skills.
What a beautiful place. I love what he created.
I bought tea from this man something like 15ish years ago. Saw a documentary on his tea back then! Such a unique soul!
What a paradise he's made for himself and all of the nature he's surrounded by smart man! Old soul ! He's correct about mother earth, to long have humans been wreaking havock on this gift we all have!
Splendidly gorgeous & at multiple levels. A true visionary, calm & assured..easy to see his internal Buddha 🎈
Damn government always stepping in for their cut. This man lives such a beautiful lifestyle.
The people can change it if they care.
David Lee Hoffman - what a visionary. Thank you Kirsten for yet again another wonderful video
Happy I could recognize a 'Solar cooker' during the tour. Albeit a custom handmade one. I wonder if if he does other ferments beside tea? Those stone pots are incredible. This gentlemen reminds me of the one with the redwood grove. A time capsule of Mother Earth News from the '70s as a sustainable homestead. The CA version of an 'earthship'. If he was doing a dry composting setup, I wonder, if that would get accepted? Chickens & worms & water conservation could feed people in most climates year round, well gardens too.
Fascinating. And I’m just awestruck by these amazing humans. Who create these valuable sustainable resources.
Could you please update us on his battle (with of course a city built on profiting off people’s lives..when it should be a model city)…🙏🏽
David Lee Hoffman is my hero. I have always dreamt of creating similar paradise and I am working towards this goal still. Knowing that somebody pulled this off despite idiocracy gives me hope. Thank you :)
brilliant!!!
Wow! This is amazing! I would love to be a part of something like this.
Thank you so much for this video and for all your videos. I loved this one because I would love to live this way too. He is a man after my own heart!
Coincidently, many years ago, I watched a documentary film he was in - All In This Tea. Really interesting, intelligent and creative individual. So refreshingly himself and unique.
I knew this guy would be a genius when I saw him wearing both a leather belt and leather suspenders (with shoulder pads!). I've seen a few similar concept homes (not to the extent this guy has created) and the one thing they all have in common is the ability to take advantage of potential energy - especially when it comes to water systems for either irrigation or power generation. 10:49 - I'm really glad you made this edit because it would have really bugged me to wonder how he keeps the raccoons out of the "worm palace"? "That's what I keep telling the county" he says 5-10 times. Ironically, the county where he lives is filled with people who are supposedly sympathetic to his views on ecology and keeping a light human footprint but the difference between them and this guy is that this guy lives those values while the county only espouse those values as a way to exercise power and control over others. I'm assuming he has loads of mosquito fish around there to keep those numbers down. I could have watched another hour if you had produce it. Well done. I'm anxious to see what the county says when he spells out in his will that his body is to be composted in the worm palace!
This looks absolutely glorious. What a place of simple abundance and beauty. I hope he has apprentices.
I hope so too
Thanks for sharing his story. As someone who's studied permaculture, his water systems are very very impressive!
WoW. What a great place and He is doing what all people on this great planet should be doing, It would change the way we deal with waste and make it reusable in a safe manner. Absolutely love the way he has that place set up with 🚰 WATER. 🌊 Because water is LIFE to all that live on earth. Amazing Fella and place.
My 85-year-old mother says the same thing: they don't make them like they used to. Especially refrigerators; fancy, but breaks down.
Ancient, rusty but still working problem free since new.
I am so impressed with his creation.
building a home with trash scraps always looks like somethings out of place
but somehow here everything looks placed and weathered like a movie set
@user-ep4kc6kl8p the whole world feeds their shit to worms and eat tomatoes grown from his own shit but me?
This is truly amazing! This man is a genius!
Sadly, if his system doesn't bring a big chunk of money to the county. The county does not care. It doesn't matter how earth friendly it is.
They are going to keep harassing him with building violations because they don't care about anything but money.
That's the sad truth of the world we live in.
The swarm of hummingbirds is wonderful 🐸
A ma zing! Paradise.
👍
This level of interconnectedness is incredible! If he has not already, this man should write a book detailing how these systems work and how they could be implemented on a large scale! I am an artist, writer and avid permaculturalist, I would love to help him write this book if he has not done so already! If that is a possibility, I would love to get in contact with him through you Kirsten! Thank you for making this amazing human being known to the world!
What an outstanding, inspiring weirdo. Truly the best kind of person. I'm making the heck out of some stone bowls when I get the chance.
What a beautiful soul. Glad he chose that hat. Showing the amazing diversity in the growing sustainable culture
Absolutely mind blowing! So inspiring, thank you Kirsten!
I love this video and this visionary man! I kept thinking of the almost mythical Hanging Gardens of Babylon and how he has brought that story to real time. It is a living, breathing system that everyone could learn from--especially the "Experts". I would most definitely buy a book shoud he get one written and published. Thank you Kirstin for this most extraordinary experience.
The hanging gardens of Babylon were not mythical but historical. It was described as one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” by none other than Herodotus,”the Father of History.” The king of Babylon ordered the gardens because his new bride so missed the beautiful mountains of her native land of Media(Iran.)
I hesitated using tthe word "mythical" because I couldn't immediately conjure up a sentence saying "of mythical proportions"--but I went with it anyway. The "mythical proportions" of the gardens got more lush and wonderful as the centuries marched on and the telling of them. I figured somebody would call me on my weak choice 🙃
I would have guessed he was mid-60's. What a project, what a life!
At the risk of repetition... "one of THE best channels on YT, or TV, or anything". Thank you 😌🕉🙏💚
I agree 100%!
Of COURSE the city wants to know about his permits 🙄 his home is beautiful and eco friendly from what I could see. Maybe he should be the one teaching the city something rather than the reverse lol
One if the most important videos. This way needed to have been implemented DECADES ago. Imagine what the environment could've looked like.
You should watch animagrafs video on how a sewage processing plant works, then then think about how this dude's solution would scale for use by millions of people. It works just fine for hippie intentional communities.. not in cities.
Aside from the subject, this was a wonderfully shot and produced video.
Love listening to his calm, melifulus voice. Such a contrast!! May we all have such a sweet voice
I got a feeling of harmony and abundance watching this work. Contrast this system with the violence and sterility of modern agriculture. What a magnificent achievement!
So inspirational! Thank you again for documenting these extraordinary people, the lessons we can learn from them through your work are truly invaluable❤
this s the most informative show ever shown on this sight, thank you for the courage to discuss the processing of "black water". All the while showing the care, intelligence and care taken for every living being on sight. What a wonderful human.....
What a beautiful treasure this man and his home are!! I do believe this might be the most interesting and soul-filled home I have ever seen in a video. So very tranquil, so very much part of the landscape and nature.
Good example of someone with an enduring passion and belief.
Excellent work, I hope this video serves as a level of advocacy for this gentleman and his homestead. That this culture does have a real "fecal-phobia" is undeniably true. Thank you for doing what you do.
Wormfully Majestic...
No Villa nor Castle can Defeat this Imaginary Rich Constructive Creativity!!
Another exceptional video. THANK YOU :) "Our planet feeds us - it connects us" In the word of David :)
Even in rural India, people used wood ash to wash utensils. A very natural alternative for soap
We know that. Also, my nearest goshala is using Vermiculture to address the cow dung.
It’s basically lye and some wood ashes are more caustic than others.
Fantastic. Love this man's brain and philosophy. Thank you.
Smart man - amazing place.
Very interesting place and I love what this guy is doing. So different to the way that the rest of the world works around him, and yet a lesson to us all of how to work in harmony with nature, not harming, but working with the systems that already exist. There is one process around which everything else exists - entropy - it cannot be stopped, cannot be interfered with without catastrophic consequences for ecosystems regardless of size. We need to embrace it, as he has done, and use it to live in harmony with the world around us. Great video, thanks for sharing. 👍🙂❤
I remember when I was 23 I quit my job and moved to David’s house to study tea and work on his property. Wild times!
This is awesome 🙏 and hope in the current times when we have begun seeing consequences of bad choices and lifestyle on climate and planet 🙏 hope county realizes too!
Dudes mind blown when someone introduces him to the simple humble composting toilet.
Incredible! A true visionary, pushing the confines of this system. All the solutions so elegant is their simplicity, to follow the wisdom of our earth, our mother.
It's inspiring when people do what they need to do despite the red tape of permitting. It's so important to follow our soul/heart's calling.
Thank you, Kirsten. I have enjoyed your videos for years. Honestly, it's the ONLY thing i look forward to and actually seek out on RUclips! I've seen every video ( wish you would philosophies more. I love your perspective on the world)
You create the best content, and i hope you continue for decades to come! We'll need your insight and perspective on the Moon and Mars. The dude in this video is AMAZING! He needs to be building without restriction and should be mentoring hundreds to carry on his brilliance. Makes me think of that incredible Apt complex that was so self sustained, that guy was amazing too! We need to get them huge plots of land and let them do Eco-Cities (eco-villages)! I'd move to one in a heartbeat.
Thanks for making me feel good!
I love your videos. His work and yours, are both important. Thanks! ❤we’d be in a better place now if we had adopted his ideas 50 years ago.
Thank you for this, the two of you. Another wonderful und sensitive exploration of a different way of being! I really appreciate the sensitivity with which you look at things, ask questions and simply allow things to unfold when editing. Its not just what you're looking at, but also how you're looking at it, that makes this so special. :)
It's unfair that a man like this only get's at most 100 years on this planet. He deserves 10X more and I can only imagine the good he would do if he got that. Watching people like this makes me guilty for being young and not being as productive as I could be.
I wish we could have seen his Pu’erh tea cave 😊
Beautiful! Thank you for filming this brilliant man!
Wow this guy put so much work and enginuity into this property
Thank You Kirsten this Film / Documentary you have sourced and presented is utterly ****FASCINATING****.
Wow! Beautiful story. I hope this man's system is documented so others can replicate his principles.
OMG so frickn cool, be lyke come out of Ghibli's Howl Moving Castle vibe so strong here. Just wanna be Sophie there w/ all the sustainability stuff there. Amazing!
totally 🪷awesome
Yes! This man is a genius of nature!
I would like to say, it's a like a sanctuary......your home is beautiful... it's nice that someone has gone the extra miles to forge forward.... and have a great respect for the land...I've learned alot....thank you
I dont even have words for this place..