Who Are These People?: An Analytical Analysis from a Licensed Building Contractor

by Tim Callahan

Think of us as a mushroom.

Mushrooms are formed by mycelium. Mycelium are an underground network of threadlike filaments no more substantial than the nerves that run to your fingertips. When thousands of mycelium have exhausted their nutrient supply and need to regenerate, they somehow (magically, whooooooooo) sense each other’s presence in the darkness of the earth and move toward a common center. They come together, e pluribus unum, and with their combined mass push upwards toward the light with the product of their collective presence. Voila! A mushroom is born!

Clarke and I are like those hungry mycelium, we need to eat. We differ from the fungal fraternity by being committed, in exchange for our daily bread, to creating life, play, and work spaces for our fellow humans that will provide true nourishment. We strive to create space that looks over its shoulder at mere shelter, spits in the face of conspicuous consumption, and knows a secret handshake.

What the *@#*%) am I talking about? I am talking about play y’all. I am talking about Creation with a capital C, and that rhymes with You & Me!

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen and nobody knows it all. I tell my children that what I don’t know fills the libraries of the world. But, I know enough. The people I work with know things I don’t know. You know things we don’t know.

Everyone has a gift that can bring light into the world, given the chance. For some, it may be the gift of music, for others sculpture, painting or dance. Some folks seem to have a talent for making lots of money, and others for losing it. We have a gift and passion for building, a desire to create unique and nurturing places in which people can live, love and learn.

Which brings this to mind, don’t ask me why:
Do you know the leading cause of death among beavers?
Falling trees.
I am not making this up.

We are not beavers, though we seem to share their innate need to be building something. It also often seems that the world of modern building is a tree falling quickly toward our buck-toothed heads. It is our goal to break that trend and execute our creations with a level of consideration for the immediate and expanded environs that shows a slightly higher level of consciousness than that of our flat-tailed friends.

There are now over six billion of we humans on this Earth. This one-and-only Earth. I figure there are likely other conscious life forms somewhere in the reaches of the universe, but as far as I know, this could be it. Kind of daunting, eh? Makes me think we ought to be a little more considerate of this beautiful blue bio-sphere we’re riding on.

We think we can help. Whether you are new to green building
and the idea of sustainable and low-impact living or a seasoned veteran who just needs help with a single aspect, our privilege is to bring the necessary skills, experience and perspective together to help you move from where you are, to where you want to be.

Every long journey begins…

© Clarke Snell, 2005