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The Santa Fe New Mexican; Santa Fe, N.M.; lull8, 2001; CHRISTINA BOYLE;

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Pecos Section

When Thor Sigstedt, an alternative builder, committed to Belle Ponder "for better or worse" six years ago, they did more than exchange vows.

The couple combined resources and a back7"to-the-land philosophy that inspired them to built a photovoltaic house in lower Canoncito.

With the exception of the $6,000 base power-system, Sigstedt and Ponder used natural materials and construction materials that were earmarked for the local landfill to build their home. The cost to

custom build the 2,000 square foot photovoltaic house with additional hand-carved woodwork was approximately $30,000, Ponder said.;

And the homes are not holes. These are homes anyone would be proud to own, well-constructed and built to last.

"We kept expenses down by being resourceful," she said. "Photovoltaic means that the electricity is supplied by the sun via solar panels, which create a charge sent to a battery system that stores electrical energy. The energy then runs through a converter which changes the DC current to an AC current so you have the ability to run appliances like a regular house," Sigstedt, 49, said as he sat in his dining room sipping lemonade. He rested his elbows on a golden yellow cottonwood table he made a few years ago.

What happens to the energy supply on a cloudy day?

"The batteries are there for storage. So one cloudy day wouldn't be a problem, three or four cloudy days could be a problem. But in New Mexico that's less likely to happen," he said.

A back-up generator was hooked up to the photovoltaic system to recharge the batteries in case of prolonged bad weather. "It's a fairly workable system if you're willing to conserve energy, but there is a lot you can't do with a small-scale photovoltaic system. You can't run an electric range or an electric hot water heater. It's very experimental."

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In a larger scale photovoltaic system, limitations decrease. According to the Southwest Photovoltaic Systems, Inc. web site, "virtually any electric power need can be met by an appropriately designed photovoltaic power system, this includes power for lighting, pumping and refrigeration. The only limitation is the cost of the equipment."

Sigstedt grew up in Idyllwilde, Calif., and said he built his first house in elementary school. It was not your average tree house, he said "but a real house."

Apparently, the urge to build houses settled into Sigstedt at a very young age.

"There was a bunch of lumber at my buddy, Robin Miller's house and we set down and started pulling all this stuff together," he said.

The result of the schoolboys' efforts was a two-story house.

"If you want to find out what you like to do, then look at what you do," Belle Ponder, 49, said. "It was a very small structure," Sigstedt emphasized, "but it was definitely a house."

In the 1970s, Sigstedt built bigger houses out of trailer structures. He also built straw bale and log

homes. Sigstedt also custom crafted fine and rustic furniture.

During an ambitious period several years ago, he built a Japanese teahouse traditionally used in Japan for honorable tea ceremonies.

But as versatile as Sigstedt constructions are, a simple commonality runs through them all: Sigstedt's resourcefulness.

It's at the core of every project. He said he lets nothing go to waste.

Not only has Sigstedt built solar power houses he was influenced by two big power house names on the solar-photovoltaic home building scene: Ken Kern and Peter van Dresser.

"My step-father Ken Kern was a famous builder. He coined the phrase 'owner-builder' and wrote a

book called The Owner Built Home. He met my mother through Peter van Dresser who was a famous alternative solar builder in Santa Fe and £1 Rito many years ago," Sigstedt said.

When Kern married Sigstedt's mother in the mid 1950s, Kern was practicing intentional poverty, Sigstedt said.

"We lived in a little shack with a spring and a cave to put your food in. It was like pre-hippie, back-to- land living. It was very challenging."

If one includes the earlier two-story house Sigstedt built when he was twelve, then he built his second home in his 20's around an inexpensive trailer in Tesuque. In the same year, he wrote an article called, Dragging a Trailer to Meet the Sun that detailed the building experience.

Resourcefulness was the article's theme.

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Currently, Sigstedt is working on converting a tough shed into a larger hunter's cabin in Corona.

Most of his week is spent making fine and rustic furniture, according to client specifications at Adventure Trails Studio, Sigstedt's 2000 sq.ft. shop also located near his home.

"I make furniture and build houses on the side," he laughed.

Letting nothing go to waste and the back to the land philosophy are big parts of Sigstedt's heritage. But being resourceful is also a shared practice between he and his teacher-therapist wife, Belle Ponder.

Ponder ran an alternative non-profit pre-school from 1975 to 1996 in Santa Fe called The Santa Fe Preschool. "I wanted to do something different. I wanted to avoid the attitude 'You're the kid, I'm the adult-you know nothing,' but didn't want to do the opposite 'you know everything' trip. I was aiming for something in the middle and balanced," Ponder said.

Ponder found that 'active listening' or listening closely and responding to children helped to elicit their natural responses.

"I love to watch and listen to people and see what's working about the communication and what isn't.

To me that's bridge building or like building a house, brick upon brick," she said. "When you find what works, it's really important to load up on that."

Ponder stressed the importance of being resourceful in teaching and building human relationships too. "Give love and support as opposed to focusing on what isn't working," she said.

Solar and photovoltaic housing works very well in New Mexico, Ponder said, because the sun is a rich

resource. "We're just using what's already there. Whether it's a marriage or a piece of land, you use what's already there," Sigstedt said.

Solar living is not for everyone, Sigstedt said. "Some people are hooked into having their computer run 12 hours a day for example, but when you look at the situation in California, photovoltaic power

begins to look apropos. To me, using these natural resources is an expression of philosophy. What is missing in this world right now is being in touch with the land and with all aspects of what we eat. We're losing touch with the things around us."

"Being in tune has a lot of different levels," Ponder added. "Yes, you have to be in touch with things physically, but you also have to be in touch emotionally. Being resourceful means not wasting energy

in a lot of ways. If I'm yelling at a child when I'm supposing to be rearing them, it is a waste of energy. I'm teaching them how to yell, I'm not teaching them what to do," Ponder said.

For owner-builder consultations or Sigstedt's custom furniture call (505) 466-4403. [Illustration]

Caption: I. Thor Sigstedt and Belle Ponder and their donkeys, BJ. and Isabella, take a break Monday near their photocoitaic house in lower Canoncito.; Credit: Jane E. Phillips