The Rhizome Collective

 Features included:

• Rainwater harvesting
• Closed loop waste processing
  • constructed wetlands
  • composting
  • vermicomposting
• Urban food production
  • organic gardening
  • micro-livestock
  • mushroom culture
• Autonomous energy
  • windmills
  • passive and active solar
  • biogas and biofuels
  • bikes!
• Bioremediation of contaminated soils
  • phyto, myco and phyco remediation
  • compost teas.
• Earth materials construction
  • strawbale
  • slipstraw
  • aliz
  • salvaged materials
• Aquatic polyculture
  • edible water plants
  • algae culture
  • green manures
  • fish
  • floating islands

The Rhizosphere operated out of a warehouse in East Austin from 2000-2009. The Rhizosphere focused on the design and display of functioning ecological tools and technologies. Our goal is to create environmentally sustainable systems that provide for people's basic needs: food, water, waste management, energy, and shelter. By having these systems on display, we hoped to educate and inspire others to continue the work of building sustainable infrastructures.

Our design criteria include: affordability, simplicity, space efficiency, beauty, and the utilization of recycled and low energy materials. Special attention is given to forming a closed loop system, where the yields of one system provide for the needs of another. The systems of the Rhizosphere are based on the design principles of permaculture.

We encourage the development of systems which are decentralized and locally based, that empower individuals, villages and communities with greater self-reliance. When our needs are provided for in a small, intensively cultivated space, we reduce the impact we have on the environment at large, as well as our reliance upon systems of oppression.

These techniques can be applied in the global north or south, and while our design focus is on urban environments, they can easily be adapted to rural spaces.

To learn more about the rhizosphere, click on the virtual Rhizosphere tour.