permaculture

[Arpilling@aol.com]

At Permaculture Drylands Institute in Santa Fe, NM, Bessim Hakim, an architect
and specialist on traditional Middle Eastern village design, showed slides and
talked about ice houses in different Arab towns and villages. They are large
structures built to provide ice for the townspeople throughout the year. Ice
is harvested in colder months in ice fields situated on the North side of
large walls and fed by a water source. It is stored in beehive-shaped
structures (I believe they are built out of adobe or stone). Most of the
structure is built under ground with a beehive dome sticking up above the
surface of the ground. The slides were astounding! Also, imagine fruit sherbet
and shaved ice served during the summer in a Middle Eastern desert town with
no electricity! Your environment may be different, but maybe some of the
principles could apply. I wish I had more specific info -- if you would like I
could find out more from Bessim or put you in touch with him.

Amy