Joy Beach Thomas builds environmentally safer homes made from less toxic building materials, and then sells them to people with environmental sensitivities who want the details and care of a custom-built house, without the hassles of the construction process.
So far she has only built three such “spec” homes – houses built on speculation without a specific buyer – and each one has sold before construction was completed. Not only is the demand high and constant – even in a less-than-thriving housing market – but the returns are good as well; enough to keep Joy in business and local builders happy.
Joy is not environmentally sensitive herself, but is a compassionate businesswoman who recognizes the assets she can bring to the table to help those less fortunate, while still meeting her own financial goals. Learn more about this entrepreneurial woman who acts from the heart in our interview with her on reshelter.org: Environmentally Safer Spec Houses: A Healthy Investment. It’s our hope she will inspire others to follow suit around the country, to build much needed safer housing for those with environmental sensitivities who are unable to live in conventional housing. Go Joy!!
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Earthwalker is the username that PT founder Julie Genser created for her online interactions so many years ago when first creating Planet Thrive.
Julie's (Earthwalker's) life was derailed over twenty years ago when she had a very large organic mercury exposure after she naively used a mouth thermometer to measure the temperature of just-boiled milk while making her very first pizza at home. The mercury instantly expanded into a gas form and exploded out the back of the thermometer right into her face. Unaware that mercury was the third most neurotoxic element on Earth, Julie had no idea she had just received a very high dose of a poisonous substance.
A series of subsequent toxic exposures over the next few years -- to smoke from two fires (including 9/11), toxic mold, lyme disease, and chemical injuries -- caused catastrophic damage to her health. While figuring out how to survive day-to-day, and often minute-to-minute, she created Planet Thrive to help others avoid some of the misdiagnoses and struggles she had experienced.
She has clawed her way over many health mountains to get to where she is today. She is excited to bring the latest iteration of Planet Thrive to the chronic illness community.
In 2019, Julie published her very first cookbook e-book called Low Lectin Lunches (+ Dinners, Too!) after discovering how a low lectin, gluten free diet was helping manage her chronic fascia/muscle pain.
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i would really like information you can tell me about the modular safe homes I have seen in your wonderful information. I have been looking for a place for one and a half years.I am very chemically sensitive and need to get out of where I am living. Please point me in some directions you might know about. Thanks and many blessings…Dee
Hi Dee,
I don’t think Joy is building any more homes at this point but you can try tracking her down on Facebook and ask her directly yourself. Best wishes, Julie