Our Green Living Prototype

Our Green Living  Demonstration Project (2007-2013)

Qing Yun Village, Lijiang, Yunnan, China ​

UPDATE 2017

Our rent was tripled in 2013 when my lease expired and everything was torn down to make way for a luxurious hotel...it's quite lovely, but not a part of our Green Living vision. I've returned to the US to devote myself to my artwork, prayersmadevisible.com

I'm maintaining the Green Living website in the hope that you will build on what we've begun and take the concept to the next level. Enjoy! And let me know how it goes... Bonnie Vierthaler

Our Green Living Office and Development Center is our first Green Living venue.

It's located in the foothills of the Himalayas, in a unique and unusually large, Naxi-style courtyard and orchard in the Qing Yun Village.

We're just a 20 minute walk from the Shuhe Ancient Town and a 15 minute drive from Lijiang, in Yunnan Province, China...and just a 30 minute drive from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains.

The orchard in our yard has 15 different kinds of fruit trees...red and green apples, crab apples, Chinese cherries, pomegranates, peaches, Asian pears, and apricots, as well as Chinese pepper trees, and walnuts.

The courtyard itself has 5 prolific walnut trees, a couple of grapes vines, a pomegranate tree, a small orange tree, an Asian pear tree, and a Mugua tree.

We’re gradually expanding the organic gardens with tomatoes, basil, parsley, cilantro, zucchini, squash, spinach, cucumbers, and many varieties of lettuce ...

not to mention the wild volunteers like Amaranth, Ai Cao, and Wormwood that are volunteering everywhere! And Marigolds, doing a great job of keeping the bugs away.

In addition to living simply, creating a comfortable, peaceful atmosphere, and forging the Green Living concept, we're...

• researching and exploring organic gardening methods,

• recycling,

• composting kitchen and toilet waste,

• renewing the neglected soil,

• and we’ve just set up a trial system for reusing our kitchen, shower, and washing machine water to water the orchards and gardens.

Our composting toilet is simple and efficient.

The front part of the toilet gets washed with water so the urine is already diluted and can be used directly.

The back part slides open and gets sprinkled with ashes, sawdust, or rice chaff after every use. The contents then get stored in a compost bin for 6 months to a year before being used as fertilizer.

Nothing is wasted, except the toilet paper, which gets thrown discreetly into the red bag and discarded.

"It's the cleanest, best smelling toilet in China!" according to an enthusiastic visitor from Holland.

We’re continually developing cooking methods, recipes, and menus that can accommodate anyone’s special dietary needs and preferences, as well as seeking out sources for locally grown organic foods.

Our open-air Naxi kitchen has accommodated many a tasty experiment

Picture A Prayer Painting by Bonnie Vierthaler Working with light, color, and sound I'm developing a stress-reducing component for our venues, combining my soothing and uplifting artwork with relaxing music.

See more at www.prayersmadevisible.com

While we gather our co-workers and financial resources, we’re also seeking out and previewing green and healthy products.

Any suggestions?