House of recycled trash taking shape It's taken three summers of dirt slinging and heavy sweating in the humidity of her Philo, Ohio farm, but Candy Slaughter's house of garbage is nearly complete. Constructed of 1,100 recycled automobile tires rammed with earth, and countless used soda cans or bottles, the 1,650 square foot Earthship is coming along exactly according to schedule. And Candy, as the first woman in Ohio to undertake such an endeavor, can now start to celebrate her handiwork; what was once just a trash heap is transforming into a beautiful home. "I love the idea of reusing things," Candy says, rubbing her muck-stained fingers on her colorful work shirt, and squinting in the summer sun. "It makes sense when there is only a limited supply of natural resources. Building homes and buildings out of already used materials gives the planet new life."  View of earthship under construction

Candy, with granddaughter and crew  Eco-friendly dwelling An Earthship, as this type of eco-friendly dwelling is called, uses various technologies and techniques to create an entirely self-sustaining unit, without the need for modern utilities. These adobe-caked homes use the sun's natural energy; among other tricks; to regulate the dwelling's inner temperature and to grow food. Each home is constructed with tire bricks to form adjoining U-shaped rooms, and has a southern-facing mouth that supports a greenhouse hallway. Slaughter's Earthship, set for completion in 2000, uses a system of cisterns to catch the household's water, which is eventually funneled into a garden as plant-nourishing "greywater."

A pioneering spirit is probably what makes Candy pound dirt into tire bricks and labor in the hot sun right alongside her crew of hired workers, but unity with the land isn't the only passion she's discovered in the rural countryside. Years ago, she also found a kinship with the strong, resourceful women of rural Ohio, when she was a battered woman trying to escape an abusive relationship. Those connections with rural women inspired her life's work.

Candy's activist work for women's rights has taken her many places -  White House, Costa Rica, Germany, and Russia, just to name a few.   But even with her duties as president and CEO of the Women's Peacepower Foundation, a money-granting group dedicated to helping rural women and
children in abusive relationships, she still manages to retain her country lifestyle. She lives six months of the year in a remote country home in Florida with her second husband, and returns to the land of
southeastern Ohio each April.

The beauty of women's lives and strengths, and the beauty of nature, keep Candy's life in balance. Building the Earthship is one way she stays connected to herself and the land she loves, even while juggling her responsibilities at Peacepower and the care of her five-year-old granddaughter, Catlyn. 
But, as Candy settles down on a patch of grass near her Earthship to share a lunch with her granddaughter, it's obvious that, in this moment, she's content. Her stained hands move quickly, preparing lunch, talking animatedly, providing toys for Catlyn, but then they still, and she raises her eyes from her task.

"Three things:  challenge, serenity, and simplicity bring great meaning to my life," she says. And, with a broad grin, she returns to her work.