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writing:solarpunk_in_fantasy_settings [2026/01/09 15:05] – JacobCoffinWriteswriting:solarpunk_in_fantasy_settings [2026/02/27 00:22] (current) – JacobCoffinWrites
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   * **[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_house|Spring Houses]]/Cold Houses** - Spring Houses are small single room structures built over a spring, to keep the water clean and sometimes to [[https://www.harvardshakers.com/shaker-spring.html|channel some of it into an outflow pipe]] to provide running water downhill. The chill from the spring could be used to preserve food, so some spring houses were built to keep animals out. A Cold House is a perhaps regional term for a [[https://naturalbuildingblog.com/some-history-of-springhouses/|similar small stone building]] built over a flowing stream instead of a spring, used for food preservation, usually milk. (a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/homestead/comments/19big3b/not_sure_what_this_is/|couple]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/12zc7xi/what_is_this_building_a_little_hut_in_the_woods/|examples]]).   * **[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_house|Spring Houses]]/Cold Houses** - Spring Houses are small single room structures built over a spring, to keep the water clean and sometimes to [[https://www.harvardshakers.com/shaker-spring.html|channel some of it into an outflow pipe]] to provide running water downhill. The chill from the spring could be used to preserve food, so some spring houses were built to keep animals out. A Cold House is a perhaps regional term for a [[https://naturalbuildingblog.com/some-history-of-springhouses/|similar small stone building]] built over a flowing stream instead of a spring, used for food preservation, usually milk. (a [[https://www.reddit.com/r/homestead/comments/19big3b/not_sure_what_this_is/|couple]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/12zc7xi/what_is_this_building_a_little_hut_in_the_woods/|examples]]).
   * **[[https://historicsoduspoint.com/commerce/ice-harvesting/|The Ice Harvest]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_house_(building)|Ice Houses]]** - Sometimes called the Winter Crop, blocks of ice cut from freshwater lakes and ponds were an important export from cold regions before refrigeration. Ice was cut and stored in Ice Houses (small sometimes-buried structures shaded by trees) where it was covered with sawdust to insulate it into the summer, or sold abroad, transported by wagon, train, and ship.   * **[[https://historicsoduspoint.com/commerce/ice-harvesting/|The Ice Harvest]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_house_(building)|Ice Houses]]** - Sometimes called the Winter Crop, blocks of ice cut from freshwater lakes and ponds were an important export from cold regions before refrigeration. Ice was cut and stored in Ice Houses (small sometimes-buried structures shaded by trees) where it was covered with sawdust to insulate it into the summer, or sold abroad, transported by wagon, train, and ship.
-  * For a much older, more permanent and insulated ice house design check out the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakhch%C4%81l|Yakhchāl]] from Iran. The design seemes to rely pretty heavily on evaporative cooling and the low humidity of the region and could even produce ice. +  * For a much older, more permanent and insulated ice house design check out the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakhch%C4%81l|Yakhchāl]] from Iran. The design seems to rely pretty heavily on evaporative cooling and the low humidity of the region and could even //produce// ice. 
   * **[[Fermented foods]]**   * **[[Fermented foods]]**
 +  * **[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_butter|Bog Butter]]** - This is an ancient practice of burying animal fat or butter in wooden vessels in bogs in order to use the low temperature, low oxygen, highly acidic environments of the bog to preserve it (or to hide it). The linked Wikipedia page also references other foods which are buried to preserve or prepare. 
  
 === Moving and Using Water === === Moving and Using Water ===
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       * https://medium.com/local-carbon-network/biochar-and-the-mechanisms-of-nutrient-retention-and-exchange-in-the-soil-e733dacdc3ea       * https://medium.com/local-carbon-network/biochar-and-the-mechanisms-of-nutrient-retention-and-exchange-in-the-soil-e733dacdc3ea
   * Many of the techniques in the [[winter_greenhouses|winter greenhouses section]] are low tech enough to apply here. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_pit|Pineapple pits]] and [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/fruit-walls-urban-farming-in-the-1600s/|fruit walls]] were effective using very simple tech though [[https://www.notechmagazine.com/2024/04/fruit-trenches-in-hungary.html|citrus trenches seem to have been less successful.]]    * Many of the techniques in the [[winter_greenhouses|winter greenhouses section]] are low tech enough to apply here. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_pit|Pineapple pits]] and [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/fruit-walls-urban-farming-in-the-1600s/|fruit walls]] were effective using very simple tech though [[https://www.notechmagazine.com/2024/04/fruit-trenches-in-hungary.html|citrus trenches seem to have been less successful.]] 
-  * If you're interested in farming in wetlands, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinampa|Chinampa agricultural system]] (farming on artificial islands) is very worth reading up on! This is a pretty ancient farming practice from Mexico and Central America, which is still in use in some areas. It's also important to note that despite a lot of claims by Europeans over the years, Chinampas didn't float. For that you may want to check out the [[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220814-the-floating-homes-of-lake-titicaca|floating islands]] of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uru_people|Uros on Lake Titicaca]]. +  * If you're interested in farming in wetlands, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinampa|Chinampa agricultural system]] (farming on artificial islands) is very worth reading up on! This is a pretty ancient farming practice from Mexico and Central America, which is still in use in some areas. It's also important to note that [[https://naturemeetsculturestories.wordpress.com/2017/07/28/floating-gardens-of-the-aztecs-myth-reality/|despite a lot of claims by Europeans over the years]], Chinampas didn't float. For that you may want to check out the [[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220814-the-floating-homes-of-lake-titicaca|floating islands]] of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uru_people|Uros on Lake Titicaca]]. 
  
 === Working with Trees === === Working with Trees ===
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   * Consider whether to make access to sunlight [[https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/11eqfhc/the_solar_envelope_how_to_heat_and_cool_cities/|a foundation of your urban planning]] or whether people would want to [[https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250715-how-old-dubais-historic-streets-beat-extreme-heat|minimize it to stay cool]].    * Consider whether to make access to sunlight [[https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/11eqfhc/the_solar_envelope_how_to_heat_and_cool_cities/|a foundation of your urban planning]] or whether people would want to [[https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250715-how-old-dubais-historic-streets-beat-extreme-heat|minimize it to stay cool]]. 
       * I've seen some claims that the villages the Puebloan peoples [[https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cliff_dwellings_home.htm|built in cliff alcoves on the sides of mesas]] were intended to benefit from winter sunlight while sheltering from summer sunlight, but since most of those articles didn't get the name of the people right, I'm now doubtful that that fits. It could just be the alcoves were more sheltered than living up on the mesa tops where they farmed. (I'll update once I've done some more reading)       * I've seen some claims that the villages the Puebloan peoples [[https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cliff_dwellings_home.htm|built in cliff alcoves on the sides of mesas]] were intended to benefit from winter sunlight while sheltering from summer sunlight, but since most of those articles didn't get the name of the people right, I'm now doubtful that that fits. It could just be the alcoves were more sheltered than living up on the mesa tops where they farmed. (I'll update once I've done some more reading)
-  * In addition, consider passive systems like [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2025/06/dressing-and-undressing-the-home/|Awnings]] and [[https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/homes-news/victorian-sash-window-hack-air-conditioning/|sash windows]] which were common before air conditioning.+  * In addition, consider passive systems like [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2025/06/dressing-and-undressing-the-home/|Awnings]] and [[https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/homes-news/victorian-sash-window-hack-air-conditioning/|sash windows]] which [[https://slrpnk.net/post/11578966|were common]] before air conditioning.
   * From what I've read, [[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/derinkuyu-turkey-underground-city-strange-maps|cave cities]] were mostly [[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220810-derinkuyu-turkeys-underground-city-of-20000-people|designed around defense]], but the stable underground temperature also provided protection from cold winters and extremely hot summers. Below ground, the ambient temperature is constant and moderate. As a bonus, it is easier to store and keep harvest yields away from moisture and thieves.   * From what I've read, [[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/derinkuyu-turkey-underground-city-strange-maps|cave cities]] were mostly [[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220810-derinkuyu-turkeys-underground-city-of-20000-people|designed around defense]], but the stable underground temperature also provided protection from cold winters and extremely hot summers. Below ground, the ambient temperature is constant and moderate. As a bonus, it is easier to store and keep harvest yields away from moisture and thieves.
   * [[https://slrpnk.net/post/2963315|This post on How to build a heat-resilient city]] has a bunch of low-tech solutions to hot climates/seasons.    * [[https://slrpnk.net/post/2963315|This post on How to build a heat-resilient city]] has a bunch of low-tech solutions to hot climates/seasons. 
 +
 +=== Transit ===
 +
 +The [[https://humantransit.org/2024/12/one-of-the-greatest-inventions-in-the-history-of-human-transport.html|first Fixed Route Public Transport network]] was a series of horse drawn carriages traversing carefully selected routes on a frequent schedule in Paris (ferries operated in a similar way earlier but this was the first planned system I could find that deliberately set out to operate this way). It started up surprisingly late in human history in 1662 but the prerequisite technologies were horse-drawn carriages and the idea itself, so it's not unrealistic to move the timeline up if your setting needs it. 
 +
 +In a way, the idea of the structured system of independent drivers operating on planned routes is itself a technology which can fit any vehicle such as water taxis, or [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/how-to-downsize-a-transport-network-the-chinese-wheelbarrow/|Chinese wheelbarrows]].
  
  
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 There's a ton of alternative ways to organize and run a society, many of which have been done at some place and time, sometimes successfully for hundreds of years. Capitalism doesn't like acknowledge that other systems can work and our current society has done a fair job of burying some of this history. This is one area where I hope we can expand this article in the future, though I'll acknowledge that I'm not terribly qualified to gather and write up these snippets of other cultures.  There's a ton of alternative ways to organize and run a society, many of which have been done at some place and time, sometimes successfully for hundreds of years. Capitalism doesn't like acknowledge that other systems can work and our current society has done a fair job of burying some of this history. This is one area where I hope we can expand this article in the future, though I'll acknowledge that I'm not terribly qualified to gather and write up these snippets of other cultures. 
 +
 +
 +From a modern perspective the original Luddites look a lot like a labor movement given the antifa scare treatment by the ownership class of their day: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/
 +
 +