Paula Thompson completes 7 questions on the idea of Flock House.

Below I have typed in her answers to the questions, and added notes from our later discussion.

1. Flock House Design: “I noticed that the wood looked like driftwood & as if it would float. I also noticed the beautiful curved lines of the wood & the fabric for shelter in sailing if needed. I also like the back support & that people could support each other from slipping via feet pressed together in the middle. This could hold several people.”

Later Paula described the design as “more fluid” and reflecting “intentionality.” “It is a teaching tool.”  A Flock House “must be attractive so people inquire & discover.”

“We think we need to go buy everything we need – you can make something for yourself.”

2. On spending the night in the Flock House: “I’m not sure as I am inclined to be an insomniac. (smiley face) I like white noise to sleep which I realize I would get over in a hurry if this were to be a shelter.”

3. Equipping with water, energy, waste collection, and gardens: “I can imagine barrels that might feed into the planter via slow absorption through a cotton string. The rest would be for drinking and using.”

Paula spoke of a friend who was able to raise the growing zone of her plants by 3 zones by protecting them from wind and giving them shelter.

4. Recycled materials: “Maybe old tire tubes & tire patches to be waterproof and flotation. Perhaps pack them flat with a manual pump in case fluctuation was needed.”

Later Paula mentioned using colored glass. When sun hits colored glass it casts colored fragments of light around the Flock House. If lit from the inside at nigh,t it casts a “soft glow” that would “draw you to it.”

5. Design team contributions: “Gardening, harvesting & storing seeds. Hybridizing plants, drying food.”

6. A Flock of Flock Houses: “I tend to be more of a loner or small community person. I would gravitate to a small multi-talented group to reduce the chance of communal activity which arises in masses.”

7. It would offer a base to expand on; a quick place to find shelter, food, clean water, & rest. With that start, one wouldn’t suffer from the early stages of being weakened as a result of catastrophic events.”

Later she summarized, A Flock House brings us now a “demonstration for growing and shelter, what to do in an emergency.”

Paula Thompson: A floating Flock House

Paula’s design has a retractable pole with a crank “to spin and wrap the sail.” Once you wrap the around its pole, it retracts into the larger pole beneath.

There is a garden box that uses a string to wick water from the water receptacle (in blue) into the garden.