Do you live in Gauteng? Would you like to get hands-on experience with various natural building techniques, permaculture gardening, renewable energies, managing grey water and a host of other topics? You can do it all - or you can get help with doing it all - right on your doorstep! We had a fascinating chat with Alastair from Insynch Sustainable Technologies.

Alastair istalling an Aeromax wind turbine

GG: Hi Alastair! Tell us a bit about InSynch.

Installing a solar hot water system

InSynch Sustainable Technologies PTY (Ltd) is an environmentally conscious, 'Eco-friendly' company based in Gauteng, South Africa. Our aim is to provide our clients with affordable and Eco-friendly solutions to their building and living environment needs. We are specialists in various forms of Green Building and Renewable Energy. We Consult, Design, Construct & Install.

GG: What inspired you to get into this field and how did you get started?

Sonia and myself come from an animal rights and welfare background, so we have always been in touch with nature and 'fighting the good fight', so to speak. But what really got us into this field, was us buying our dream property in the country about 6 years ago and wanting to build our dream home that was not an eye-sore, blended into it's natural surroundings and was a home for our family not just a house to come home to. So this started us on a journey to finding an alternative method or style of building. Also our farm, 'River Bend Farm' is not too close to a local building supply place or the local shops, so trying to build from the local available resources made a lot of sense. Also, when we bought the property, it had no electricity supply so we lived entirely on Solar Power for about four year until we were forced to get Eskom power, to secure a bond to build the house - Crazy aint' it? So this was what set us on a quest for more information and expertise on sustainable building and related technologies.

GG: Insynch offers a wide variety of DIY green living and building courses. Which one do people enjoy most and why?

Learning all about straw bale building

This is really difficult to say as we seem to have a lot of fun and meet great people on all of the courses we present. But I must say, that two courses seem to stick out and they are the Straw Bale and Cob Building courses. The Straw Bale Building course, in particular - we really had some lovely people who really seemed to enjoy what we were doing and what they were learning. On that course we built a fairly large bedroom onto our existing house, done entirely from straw bale, local rock and soil.

GG: You certainly have a broad range of expertise! How and where did the team learn about all these activities?

You know, when you start learning about one technology, say Cob Building for instance, you very quickly realise that there are many inter-linked and related technologies that go hand in hand with the first. So while studying and experimenting with Cob building you start learning about permaculture, about composting toilets, about grey water, wetlands, other forms of natural building etc, never mind us already living on solar power. So by implementing as many of these ideas and skills into your own living space, you very quickly become a local expert in some. Also passion takes over, and before you know it, all the research and hard work comes together where you now have many skills in this one but very diverse field of sustainable living and building.

A natural paint course

GG: You must have done many projects already. Which project has been the most interesting so far and what did you enjoy most about it?

Mixing manure into the natural plaster

We were requested to look into the possibility of applying a natural plaster onto a conventional brick and mortar home. The architect had come into contact with natural building and wanted to implement where possible into his own home. We and a colleague, Florian Kroll from Open Synergy, did a lot of research and experimentation to prove the plaster and the mix would stick, would look good and most importantly would be durable. We also did a lot of experimentation in terms of mixing in pigments and oxides for a permanent colour into the plaster. Finally the local natural soil colour mixed with lime and horse manure was chosen, and it looked stunning when we were finished. See our web site for some photos.

GG: What was the most unusual request that you have had, but still managed to fulfil?

I think the most unusual project we worked on was for a client that had a severe drainage problem. Their wine cellar which was underground and below their very up-market house, would fill up with ground water during power blackouts, as the existing pump in the external water sump would stop pumping. So we installed a solar powered backup supply system, to power the existing pump and also installed a custom alarm system that would send SMS's to us and the client, if anything went wrong. My old skills and qualification as an electrical engineer came full circle on this project.

GG: Which Eco-friendly idea or technology do you think everyone should try and which one would they enjoy most?

A branched drain

All of them.. No just kidding! You know the cheapest and easiest way of implementing real renewable energy into your home is by installing a solar hot water system. It can be done as a DIY project, but I would recommend you let a specialist do it for you, unless you know a little about plumbing. But in terms of a really nice, cheap, easy and very fulfilling project that can be done in weekend: is putting in a 'branched drain' grey water system. This is where we run our waste water from the baths, basins and showers directly into certain parts of the garden using a series of underground inter-connected pipes that branch out to a number of release points. Just please note: that with such a system you must be very particular with the types of soaps and cosmetics you use, they should all be bio-degradable and as natural as possible. You can contact me, and I will send out easy plans to follow on how to construct such a system, otherwise there is a lot of information out there on the Internet.

GG: From your experience - which ideas and technologies would you recommend people rather not try and why?

Installing a PV panel

You know, there is not really any one technology that people should not try and do on their own if they think they have the necessary skills and knowledge. But where I would like to send a warning about one technology which I think, often is under underestimated, is Solar Electrical technology. Unfortunately I have seen a number of systems that have been put together that really makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. People normally don't realise that such a system can pose a serious electrical threat or hazard. On the DC side alone, we can sometimes see up to 170 Amps flowing between the battery and inverter. If the necessary safety technology and precautions in terms of isolator switches, circuit breakers, earth leakage systems and correct wire sizing are not put in place, any number of disasters may occur. Unless someone really knows what they are doing, I really advise that you get a professional in and also check their credentials.

GG: We hear that you are planning to produce an electric driven motor vehicle specifically aimed at the people and conditions of Sub-Saharan Africa and other similar environments and conditions. This is certainly an ambitious project! How are things going and what has the feedback been like from the public and media?

When Insynch Sustainable Technologies first started, we dabbled in building and manufacturing electric cars (EV's) and low cost micro wind turbines. We have moved away from manufacturing in the mean time. Who knows, maybe in the future we may go back there, so watch this space..!

GG: What would you say has been the most rewarding aspect of what you've accomplished thus far?

Alastair teaching a class

The most rewarding, apart from actually building a stunning, healthy and beautiful home for my family in a very beautiful part of our country, is finally fulfilling a life time dream of mine and that is running our own business. It is hard work but it is really enjoyable.

Finally, I must add.. talking about exciting projects, we are currently working on a number of big and really nice projects, so if we can conclude the deals, that is when real exciting times will kick in!! So watch our website for the latest news!

If you'd like to find out more about any of these exciting activities or projects contact Alastair .