SALA Homes Newsletter

 

Subscribe to the SALA
Homes Newsletter

October 2007

Welcome to our Spring edition. This edition we have added some great new regular features including "Tantalising Tips" and "People Profile"; this addition also sees two new positions open up at SALA; you can meet two of SALA's good friends and we'll keep you up to date with the latest SALA news.

Tantalising Tips

When the SALA team were in Port Macquarie recently an elderly farmer started speaking with Scott about how his family used to dry their clothes in winter. We think that this man's family was onto something fabulous that could still be used today. The elderly farmer grew up in a house with high Cathedral ceilings in Clunes, Victoria. To make the most of the warm air that rises to the top of the ceilings and gets trapped, the family made a clothes rack, put it on a pulley and pulled it into the ceiling. Who needs a clothes dryer!!

Email your Tantilising green tips to bel@salahomes.com.au

Jobs

Projects Coordinator/Estimator

SALA is seeking a Projects Co-ordinator who will assist with the planning, preparation and distribution of SALA homes around Australia.

Office Administrator

SALA is seeking an Office Administrator to assist in various sections within the business as required.

For more information on these positions click here.

News

Our First Home Gets off the Ground

The SALA team is celebrating this week with the start of the building of our first home. I'm sure that must sound strange to a lot of you, because after all we are SALA “homes”. However, until now we have been a kit home supplier, and while we have often outsourced the building of our homes to “Green Teams” or helped owner builders get their home off the ground, this is the first time we've built a home from scratch. But never fear, our well experienced Construction Manager, Nigel is on the case and we watch with anticipation to see our “first” home go up at Mitchelton (northside Brisbane).

House and Land for Sale

If you want to live in a Sustainable home on the Sunshine Coast but want to speed up the process, some of our customers have their SALA homes on the market. Sites include Kin Kin, Noosa North Shore and Bli Bli. For more information.

Staff on the Move

We would like to say a big thank you to Michelle and Damon for all of their hard work as part of the Project Management team. They were an integral part of the early early part of SALA journey - they will be both sorely missed. As the birth of Damon and his wife Nikki's baby draws nearer, they have decided to make the move closer to family in Port Fairy. Michelle has also decided to move on and we wish them both well in their exciting new endeavours.

Welcome to our Team

In response to a huge workload that is keeping our staff on their toes, SALA has employed a General Manager. So we'd like to say a big welcome to Bruce Connell (some of you may have read Bruce's blog, he is midway through constructing his own SALA home). Bruce will be overseeing the general running of the SALA team and will be instrumental in the growth of the SALA business.

We would also like to extend a warm welcome to Annie, our Accounts Manager who also started with us last month. Annie has already proven to be a very important team member and is certainly whipping our accounts into shape. We really appreciate her professionalism and her ability to explain the mystifying world of accountingy to us all in easy to understand terms.

Sustainable Cuba!

The Queensland Government recently put together a task force to determine Queensland's vulnerability to rising oil prices. Queensland's new Environment Minister, Andrew McNamara, recently released their final report. While the taskforce's report (available here) paints a bleak picture for Queensland, it is refreshing to see the State Government is at least acknowledging the looming issue of decling worldwide oil production, and one would think, is starting to prepare for the likelihood of oil constrained lifestyles. For a number of years SALA Homes has been researching and experimenting with ways of reducing our reliance, and our customer's reliance, on oil based products. In December SALA's founders, Scott and Sandie Elsom, will venture to Cuba to see how the Cubans have adapted to life without oil. Read more.

Road Trip to Port Macquarie MidCoast EcoExpo

Some of the SALA team hit the road at the beginning of October for the MidCoast EcoExpo at Port Macquarie where SALA held a stand. While the expo was small, it was certainly worthwhile, with Scott giving two well-received presentations and the team making a network of new friends. The Port Macquarie area proved to be a green haven, with the Hasting Council proudly exhibiting excellent green credentials, giving out a wealth of “green” information to help their local constituents. While down south we also took time out to visit some new customers around Taree who we would like to thank for being so welcoming of our team. It was also great to visit some old customers, who featured in our last newsletter, the Appleton family at Kempsey. Our customers truly do become like family to us.

Customer Blogs

A number of our customers have created blogs and websites documenting the construction of their home. These provide an often amusing, first hand account of the process of building a SALA home (warts and all!). To visit some of these sites click here.

Results of the Sustainability Poll From Our Last Newsletter

Last months poll on sustainability gave us a good indication of your understanding of the term 'sustainable housing'.

The question about the house being painted green so that your neighbours know it is a sustainable house was a trick question, and we would like the person who answered yes to that to please come forward. We have a job for you...

We will be including a poll in every second newsletter and providing the results in the following edition.

Friends Of SALA

Food Connect

Food Connect is a great friend of SALA and an organisation that many of our staff personally support. Based on a Community Supported Agriculture model, aimed at bringing farmers and buyers together. Food Connect buys food from the farmers, who are usually no more than a three to four hour drive from the customers, the farmers take their food to the Food Connect homestead where the food is then packed and distributed to City Cousins in the suburbs. Local families then go to their City Cousins each week to pickup their fruit and vegetables. Read more.

David Wyatt – A Good Friend of SALA homes & someone to aspire to

David is a hugely successful businessman with an environmental bent and a man to be admired. David is also one of the sustainability leaders who SALA's founders, Scott and Sandie Elsom, have modelled themselves on. Click here for the rest of his story.

People Profile's

Nigel Chilton – SALA's Construction Manager

When did you start with SALA?
I started off working on the prototype SALA homes with Scott and Michael Mobbs in 2002. After 5 years away from SALA in July 2007 I returned.

What made you want to work with SALA?
I wanted to work for a company that really believed in what it was doing and that valued family and quality of life.

What work have you done previously?
I have worked as a builder/carpenter for the last 15 years and have been looking for the last couple of years to venture over to the dark side (office work).

What is your role in SALA?
Construction and Operations Manager

Favourite music?
80s – I'm obviously not as young as I used to be!

Favourite place to holiday?
Fiji – great for families and very relaxing

Favourite thing to do on a sunny weekend?
Go to the beach and relax in the water.

Favourite thing to do on a rainy weekend?
Watch DVD's with my family.

Where were you born?
Madang, Papua New Guinea

What's On

The ecoBiz 2007 inaugural Conference – Monday October 29 to Tuesday the 30th at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

The ecoBiz 2007 Conference and related technical workshops aim to provide a significant forum for industry and government presentations on eco-innovation in business, technology, and markets in a climate changing world. More than 500 leading business and government professionals from across Australia and overseas are expected to attend this benchmark forum on sustainable industry, sponsored by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency and its private sector partners. If you would like to know more about the conference please click here.

Wishy-Washy Water-Windows – October 24 to Nov 1 at the Queensland Museum South Bank

Early learning, water-wise workshops for 4 – 8 year olds (30 minute sessions) where our young can learn about the wonders of water, learn how to be a super water hero and make your very own Water-Window 'surprise flap' drawing to take home. For more information. Groups: October 24 – 26 and Oct 29 – Nov 1 (weekdays) or f amilies & individuals: Oct 26 – 29 (specified sessions)

Sustainable Energy Forum – Thursday October 18 at UQ Staff club

Three industry experts provide information on wind, solar and geothermal options. Contact emma.hine@gmail.com for further information. Learn about your options from three experts in alternative energy, Russ Holmes from Local Power will discuss home solar photovoltaic installation, Gerry Grove-White, CEO of Geodynamics Ltd will explain the concept of geothermal energy and Ian Lloyd-Besson from Wind Prospect Group will give an insight into the barriers to the use of this ubiquitous resource.

House tours

Greenbank, Brisbane - 2:00pm on the 3rd Sunday of every month (next one Sunday October 21) . SALA offers a comprehensive sustainable house tour at The Green at Greenbank. This tour focuses on the products, systems and unique features of our range of energy, water and resource efficient SALA Homes.  To register for the tour.

Click here to read previous newsletters