An introduction to our sister company ACES, the Arizona
Center for
Environmental
Sustainability

“Combining the wisdom of the past with the technology of the future.”

ACES Mission Statement

The Arizona Center for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) is an organization whose mission is to strengthen humanities freedom, self-reliance and gratitude toward life by encouraging a consortium of environmental organizations in their exploration of ancient and modern sustainable living skills. Our goal is to seek out and bring to life simple living technologies from the past, present and future to educate people of diverse ages and backgrounds to understand, thrive in, and enhance our world community and environment. We hope to inspire people to do more with less while preserving and enhancing native flora and fauna. By combining the wisdom of the past with the technology of the future, we provide an enduring example of what can be done to live comfortably yet sustainably in an arid land environment.

Taking Self-Reliance to a New Level

At ALSS, we realize that true self-sufficiency runs much deeper that learning and practicing outdoor skills. We also realize that in order to make a positive, lasting impact on the planet, we must do more than offer a cool outdoor experience with metaphors for living lighter on the land. The vast majority of the population doesn’t give a damn about making fire with sticks or being able to signal for rescue with a can lid. They do however, care about being more comfortable, saving money, and gaining greater self-confidence and independence during troubled times.

At the heart of all self-reliant thought is the concept of doing more with less. This doesn’t mean you have to poop in a hole, eat worms and sleep in the dirt in a paranoid effort to “be prepared” yet lessen your environmental footprint on the planet. Doing more with less simply involves an intelligent and intuitive assessment of your overall situation in regards to how it interacts with the natural world and what you wish to accomplish.

Cody’s home is a passive solar earth home made from parabolas of rebar that were sprayed with “gunite” (similar to shotcrete). It’s built into the southern face of a hill in a landscape that regularly records seasonal extremes of single digit to below zero temperatures during the winter, to sizzling, triple digit temperatures during the summer. By using intelligent design characteristics of proper orientation, thermal mass, insulation, glazing and ventilation, the home keeps a constant temperature of 60 to 75 degrees with no external means of heating or cooling! We have no heating or cooling bills, nor do we burn wood or do anything other than enjoy a temperate indoor climate all year-round.

Now…and In the Future

At this time, our Self-Reliance Symposium course covers many aspects of sustainable living. In the future, we hope to offer courses and workshops in urban self-sufficiency skills that feature hands-on opportunities for all age groups. Eventually, the ACES grounds themselves will become somewhat of a “living garden,” incorporating alternative design and energy sources, dry and low water gardening systems, indigenous edible and medicinal plants, native grassland restoration, composting toilets, passive solar design, rain water harvesting, hydroponic gardening, aquaculture and more.

Our Vision

At ACES, our vision is to become a clearing house of ecological wisdom regarding ancient and modern self-reliant technologies focused primarily on arid land environments. We will invite instructors and specialists from around the world to share their particular expertise in doing more with less. We hope to keep alive and perpetuate ancient technologies as well as promote new ones by offering a lifestyle of increased confidence, self-sufficiency and freedom and wish to become a model for ethical environmental practices.

Contact Us

If you specialize in some of the above skills, or know of organizations or individuals who do, please contact Cody Lundin. Together we can make a difference for ourselves and our planet.