Sustainable Community in Texas Hill Country: A Review by Steve Chambers, AIA
Photography by Stephen B. Chambers Architects, Stephanie Chambers
Above: Waterwheel that powers the mill and turns the antique French millstone to grind grains into flour
By Stephanie M. Chambers
A small community near the Texas town of Elm Mott is a worthwhile trip ‘down the road on 35,’ whether you are a professional needing advice on sustainable farming or building practices, or a family seeking fun in an idyllic educational setting. Homemade pastries and lunch at an affordable price is a surprise bonus. Work and craft are practiced as art in this Hill Country setting.
We have a strong personal relationship with and regard for the Heritage Homestead Community. They don’t just talk about sustainability they live it. We re-visited them recently to taste what’s new and to photograph the setting and craft making. Heritage Village continues to hone their trades and message to “make well what needs making.” After watching cheeses being formed, flour being milled, pastries being baked, and iron being wrought for home furnishings, we left there re-invigorated, remembering that carefulcraftsmanship is actually a cutting-edge idea needed to balance the leanings toward a high-output quantity-based society. Heritage is leading the way ‘back to the future’ in the creation of sustainable communities that really work by growing food and producing usable goods. They engage the natural resources of family, community, and the earth to demonstrate exemplary stewardship of it all.
Heritage Restorations locates, dismantles, restores, and re-erects 18th and 19th century timber frame barns, hand-hewn log cabins, gristmills, and other historic buildings worldwide. Their time-tested, handcrafted structures are then finished with modern, innovative, energy-efficient designs and materials. The completed structures result in uniquely beautiful homes, guesthouses, and ranches. In addition to the sustainable practice of preserving the ‘embodied energy’ of older structures, Heritage Construction builds new homes with unparalleled craftsmanship and integrity, in the tradition of a bygone era when quality, not quantity, was the standard in our country’s built environment. The Heritage community of craftsmen has assisted Stephen B. Chambers Architects, Inc. with these services for many years.
The sustainable lifestyle can best be summarized by a way of thinking that architects often term ‘The Seven R’s:’
Respect what came before you
Receive, borrow the best of what is already there
Reduce to the smallest you need
Restore to a better state than you found it
Reuse what you can
Recycle by use in same manner or new way
Remember to share what you learn with others
As the final step in a sustainable lifestyle dictates, Heritage remembers to share what they learn. A belief they espouse is that, with assistance, everyone can achieve some level of self-sufficiency. Ploughshare is the public education program that teaches people how to establish sustainable farms and communities. Through their onsite classes and on-the-road speaking engagements, they transmit their vision to rediscover and perpetuate knowledge about basic crafts and skills that founded this country (socially, spiritually, and materially). Sustainable communities of this kind can be created and serve to act in the best interest of their citizens. Their mission states that “we can’t live in the past, but we can preserve the values and traditions that have enduring worth. By teaching some of these lost arts, both of life and work, people discover a more direct, satisfying, and relational way to provide for their essential needs. The model they use is craft, defined by the Heritage Community as “the art of work built with quality, consideration, and love.” The philosophy is simple, really. Don’t place things that are still vital on the shelf. Maintain what still works by “planting and re-planting” heirloom ideas and values. The proof is in the fruits of their labors. The homes they build and restore are of the highest quality, as are their milled grains, homemade food products, furniture, pottery, woven fabrics, cheeses, honey, soaps and candles. The honor and integrity with which they conduct every business transaction is the grounding sustainable principle that nurtures all other standards of ‘living green.’
(Photo legend: top-water wheel that powers grist mill; top left-restored antique log home; middle right-Ploughshare ‘classroom’ in restored timber frame barn; below: cheeses on aging racks; Caleb with wrought iron roses; Steve discussing blacksmithing with Caleb; one of many scenic trails; gift shop selling handmade itmes in a restored 18th century timber frame barn; Steve inside the grist mill with antique French millstones; one of the award-winning Brazos Valley Cheeses wrapped in fig leaves; pastries cabinet in the deli; side view of timber frame cafe serving homemade lunches, cheese, and pastries.)
One of the award-winning Brazos Valley cheeses wrapped in fig leaves, made by Rebeccah and sold onsite at the Heritage deli
