Illustration: Robin Cowcher.  Illustration: Robin Cowcher.  In
2008, Richard Telford bought a small block of land in Seymour,
an hour north of Melbourne. He dismantled the rundown
weatherboard bungalow, and carefully stored the materials for
reuse.  Over the course of a year, the former white-collar
worker laboured full-time to build a new home for his young
family.  This year, Abdallah House - named for its street - was
a finalist in the Housing Industry Association's GreenSmart
Awards.  The 100-square metre, three-bedroom home is largely
self-reliant in water and energy.  With two toddlers, Mr Telford
and his partner, Kunie Yoshimoto, use about one-eighth the
electricity of an average home.  ''People have become detached
from where and how they live,'' Mr Telford says. ''The owner-
building process really connected us with what's involved in a
house - the effort to create it and the energy and water we
consume. It's like growing your own food: the more involved you
are, the greater appreciation you have for