Solarpunk

Very much agreed! There's a great section in Ecotopia about their appliances being uglier than American ones, but way more repairable, using common, compatible parts and simple construction. They didn't allow products to go to market unless a volunteer committee of regular people with common tools were able to fix the most likely issues. I think a lot about how different the power tools I've inherited from my grandfather (with their external, standard-dimension motors and fairly open frames), are from say our washer and dryer, where everything is packed tightly into a sleek-looking shell. If my drill press motor ever goes, I can replace it with one from any local hardware store - if something goes wrong with my dryer, it'll take a lot more research, careful disassembly, and I might need to call a specialist. Same for small appliances - why is there a Printed Circuit Board in my blender, which works exactly as well as my grandmother's blender from the 1960s, which I could fix with patience, a soldering iron, and a multimeter?

I'll have to look at older appliance catalogues and see if I can find any designs that make repairability visually clear - thanks!

A root cellar is a great fit for the design I'm thinking of - if we're already building an addition for this summer kitchen, the space underneath is a great spot for a root cellar!

I'd been wondering if an icebox is reaching back too far or too much of a stretch for modern audiences - I grew up listening to stories from my grandparents about harvesting ice in the winters (the winter crop) and storing it under sawdust (and getting in trouble for hiding in the ice house on hot days). I also got to help with an ice harvest recreation at a farm museum for a few years. I'm fond of the concept but wonder if easier technologies can be done 'greenly' enough that people wouldn't see it as a worthwhile alternative (whether that's PV panels and a battery powering a chest freezer (or chest fridge) or perhaps something like RoboGroMo's idea to replace the propane heat component of an RV fridge with a solar concentrator. Like I've mentioned, I like reexamining older technologies to see if they'd be a good fit for a society with different priorities, modern technology to augment it, and possibly fewer resources overall. If it seems practical enough I'm happy to include it!

I can see the emphasis on local food, and shorter distances enabling more frequent trips to a market (while at the same time preserving more food in alternative ways) though I'm not sure yet how to show it in the same scene. Thanks for your suggestions!

Thanks! Those pedal powered designs actually seem pretty practical! They remind me of a grinding wheel my dad used to use to sharpen knives and axes - I was always amazed at how well it worked for the minimal effort of the pedal.

Thank you for giving me the right words to describe seasonality! - and the scope of impacts on your life. I've been thinking that a properly solarpunk society is going to have a lot of cultural differences from modern life, originally I'd been thinking mostly a different pace, with less desperate urgency in all tasks, less emphasis on always finding another way to make money because money means safety and stability and basic dignity. But I think it'd probably be a lot more than that, and I think adjusting our lives to the seasons (where applicable) would be a big part of that - and part of what would make solarpunk cultures extremely varied and unique to their immediate surroundings. Wonderful world building potential in seeing how location, weather, and the existing resources, like infrastructure, technology, and reusable parts, shape each community.

Very cool idea! That seems like an easy thing to add and fermented foods are a great addition. I also like the mushroom idea and will add it to my list for future scenes!

I've grown oysters in old milk packages, plenty of people grow them in plastic buckets. Any old trash container that can be filled with some organic matter as substrate will be fine.

No need to be in the dark, but they don't want full sun, and plenty of moisture. Some of the more heat resistant species could thrive in a greenhouse, but most mushrooms that are currently cultivated like colder temperatures. Maybe the modern solarpunk kitchen needs a cold wet chamber for certain processes?

In my real life I haven't found the ideal fruiting chamber yet. I would like to avoid spending the additional energy for a air humidifier and would hope to find some other process already happening. In world building this could be the moisture of a community kitchen or laundry room.

I think you're going to like this design! I made the south wall and part of the roof kind of a greenhouse glass structure, lined with shelves of herbs! And some other plants. I think I'm getting near the end of this photobash - most of the big elements are in place, I'm mostly just hunting up all the kitchen clutter to fill the shelves and counters, and then I can start the details stage, where I make all the little tweaks and recoloring to geet the light right. I was hoping to finish today but it'll probably be Monday