Houston Access to Urban Sustainability Project

The Permacyclists are a couple traveling around the world via bike to have an adventure, raise awareness about environmental issues, and document grass roots environmental projects around the world. They visited the Rosalie Haus on their way south to Mexico and eventually to South America.

Green Living in Oil Country – Permacyclists #2 from Permacyclists on Vimeo.

About the permacyclists:

Fall 2009 became our official departure date; Africa became our first destination.  We spent 16 unbelievable months cycling through twelve countries before deciding to leave our bikes behind and continue on by public transportation.  We are currently en route to Rio de Janeiro, hoping to arrive in time for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012.

On the way we’re making short documentary films about grassroots environmental projects. Are we professional filmmakers?  No.  But we’re not letting that get to us.  We’re also visiting cafes and bookstores to show our movies and talk some about the amazing work being done every day to make a better future for us all.

If you’d like to join us and hear about all the latest news, feel free to “Like” us on Facebook, “Follow” us on Twitter, or “Google” us on our Google Group.   No spam, we promise, we’re vegetarians…

Located on Rosalie Street in downtown Houston, the HAUS co-op is a stunning example of eco-conscious living in action. For the eleven passionate people who live there, it’s more than a home–it’s a way to make a difference.

It all began in January 2011, when Paul Schechter purchased a condemned building that had fallen victim to flooding. He renovated it in full eco-style, with a suite of low-cost and creative green building features. Today’s the house’s residents epitomize green living in everything from the food they eat (all locally grown) to the water they drink (fed from a rainwater catchment system) and the car they drive (run on vegetable oil). Perhaps most importantly, they share every resource and divide every task evenly–proving that group living can be green and fun.

Full Story: Green Living in Oil Country
Source: The Atlantic, November 29, 2011

We’re having another Future Co-op Planning Meeting this Wednesday, August 17th at Rosalie Haus.

All Houstonians interested in living in coops, helping start coops, and exploring ideas for coop related things, like co-housing, please join us for what will now be monthly future coop planning meetings.

We are working now to develop the 2nd and 3rd coops in HAUS’ vision for 5 Green Coops in 5 Years. One of these houses will be a family – friendly coop and the other will be student – friendly.

We are looking for leaders who think they want to live in these houses to have a huge influence on the character, location, and future of these houses. And we are looking for regular coopers to come and be involved and share what you are looking for in a coop.

Please feel free to come early at 7pm for dinner with the Rosalie Haus, but make sure you email membership@hausproject.org​ so that we know how many people are coming. All meals are vegetarian usually with vegan options.

Please rsvp and spread the word on Facebook

We will be meeting again with the broad public interested in advancing the cooperative movement in Houston on Wednesday, July 20, at 6:30pm at Rosalie Haus.  We’ll have dinner at some point during the meeting depending on how quick the cooks are that night.  Please rsvp – especially if you plan to eat dinner – by emailing membership.

On the agenda:

• Potential properties / envisioning the physical house
• Voting on some basic principles of the family-friendly house
• How to get involved with making the new house
• Student house visioning & reaching out to students / groups / schools
• HAUS is seeking two new board members
• One who thinks they want to move into family-friendly haus
• One who thinks they want to move into student-friendly haus

Also, we’re meeting every two weeks through the end of August, meaning these dates:

• August 3
• August 17
• August 31

We will be meeting again with the broad public interested in advancing the cooperative movement in Houston on Wednesday, July 6, at 6:30pm at Rosalie Haus.  We’ll have dinner at some point during the meeting depending on how quick the cooks are that night.  Please rsvp – especially if you plan to eat dinner – by emailing membership.

On the agenda:

• Potential properties / envisioning the physical house
• Basic principles of the family-friendly house
• How to get involved with making the new house
• Begin discussion of the third house (hopefully student housing)

We’re having a party this Friday, June 17, 2011, starting with a speaker in cooperation with the Houston area Mensa group, moving on to talent show, and then just plain ole’ dancing and talking to people and whatnot.

1505 Rosalie.  We’ll have some beer and local food going on, but BYOB.

Here’s the info from the facebook page where you can RSVP and invite friends:

Find out what ‘Smarter Living’ is all about. Houston’s first Sustainability Co-operative is hosting a group from Gulf Coast Mensa for a special presentation from The Climate Project. The presentation starts at 8pm. Afterwards, check out co-operative living at Rosalie HAUS and join us for best HAUS party yet!

The Climate Project:
Our guest speaker from The Climate Project (TCP), Aaron Tuley wants you to know about important developments in environmental news and climate science. He is part of the global force consisting of specially trained climate activists. TCP is dedicated to educating people about the urgency and solvability of the climate crisis at a grassroots level worldwide. Aaron will be presenting some of the latest info on energy and water resources.

Open Talent Show & HAUS Party:

Come enjoy local food, drink (beer, wine & local libations), stimulating education and conversation with friendly folks from the HAUS community and Gulf Coast Mensa. There is no charge for the event but consider a HAUS love donation.

Sing a song, tell a joke, juggle or hang a spoon from your nose; everyone has a talent to share.

Please sign up for the talent show and participate in a fun loving evening of friends Or just show up with something. The night will be filled with greatness and exceptional fun.