Walking the Narrow Ridge (Page 3 of 4)

Nickle says composting toilets insure a safe water supply. East Tennessee’s immense cave systems create limestone crevices and sink holes that leak toxic water into aquifers, but septic systems are also responsible for water pollution.

“In [our] situation, it all goes into compost chambers so you can put it along your fruit trees, and it doesn’t contaminate your water and your neighbor’s water,” Nickle says. “We realize that even though East Tennessee does have a lot of water, right now, we’re in a drought and people all over the U.S. and across the globe face a crisis with pure water to drink.”

Rainwater is also stored and treated for bathing and cooking at Narrow Ridge, with a ceramic device called a “candle” used to filter 99 percent of the impurities.

These measures not only conserve water, they also conserve money — the utility expense of composting toilets is approximately 50 percent less than using traditional sewage systems, Nickle says. For those not swayed by the importance of environmental responsibility, the impact of conservation on the pocketbook is an added benefit of sustainability.

Narrow Ridge uses solar heaters and on-demand water heaters to provide hot water when needed without the energy usage required to constantly store and heat 60 to 70 gallons of water. Nickle hosted a 2-day workshop in May to teach participants how to construct solar heat collectors for air and water.

On-demand or “tankless” water heaters don’t require any water storage —water flows as needed and is circulated through a series of burners or electrical coils that can heat it almost instantaneously with temperatures matching those of traditional models. These are more common and can be purchased at most stores. Although they cost more than traditional water heaters initially, “tankless” models can reduce utility bills by up to 95 percent, Wallace says, a significant savings at a time when KUB has announced proposals to increase gas and water rates.

“Hot water heaters are certainly a big factor in making the meter roll around fast, but if you don’t want to invest in an on-demand heater, you could even put a timer on your water heater so the electricity on the heater will cut off at midnight and not come on until six in the morning,” Nickle says.

Another simple way to “get off the grid” is to construct smaller homes that maximize solar power and the natural rhythm of the seasons.

“The winter sun is lower on the horizon, so you want to have the long side of your house receiving that southern exposure with most of your windows facing south so that low sun drops into the house and provides light and heat,” Nickle says. “You also don’t want coniferous trees, like pines, spruces, and hemlocks on the southern side, you want deciduous trees that lose leaves in winter to provide more sunlight and shade the house from that sunlight in the warmer months. It’s an easy way to build and be in harmony with the earth.”

Many of the dwellings at Narrow Ridge were constructed by Nickle and volunteers, and all using sound ecological practices, but they are far from ramshackle — most resemble cozy wooden cabins that would rent for hundreds of dollars a weekend in the Smoky Mountains, complete with rocking chairs on the front porches, open lofts for sleeping quarters and large windows with amazing views of the surrounding mountains and countryside.

Nickle, Wallace and volunteer staff members offer regular workshops and classes throughout the area on these practical ways to promote sustainability and also welcome visitors to Narrow Ridge to see the benefits of the lifestyle for themselves.

“Our strongest suit is education, we try to educate and reconnect people with that life-support system, make them appreciate it more, and be a community, not just of people, but of all life-forms,” Wallace says.

That goal is also achieved through the center’s Vision Quest program, a three-day and night guided journey on Log Mountain that encourages participants to revisit their daily habits through introspection, meditation and fasting.