Home on the Rocks

Home on the rocks
Fifteen years and 40,000 tiles later, the Corbetts have brought the 7,600-square-foot house back to life, adding a new master bedroom, a wraparound porch, a swimming pool, baths with hot and cold water and a terraced garden ― all on their own.

The closest road ends at the beach a few hundred feet below the house. Footpaths shaded by the dense, tropical forest canopy connect the Moonhole houses to one another and the road below. Moonhole began in the 1960s, long before "green" architecture came into vogue. American photographer and conservationist Tom Johnston and his wife, Gladys, bought the 25-acre property with plans of building a few modest, low-impact dwellings.

Tom Johnston, who had no architectural training, began sculpting their home with rocks, conch shells and any other available materials he could recycle. With the help of a few island masons, he'd build a wall here, another there, depending on the direction of the trade winds — the prevailing weather pattern near the equator — and his perception of each owner's individuality. He ultimately built 16 houses: Four are the property of his business, the Moonhole Co., and 12 are privately owned.

John and Lusan Corbett have embraced the Moonhole founders' principles of sustainability. For water, they collect rain in tanks stored beneath the house. Supply is limited to what falls during the rainy season, typically 60 inches from June to November, so the Corbetts don't waste a drop on long showers or a dishwasher. They also recycle gray water from the sinks and showers to irrigate the garden.

While the community's other homes still have no electricity, the Corbetts' home, Tranquility — where they live for part of the year — uses power generated by solar panels and a windmill on the property.
"Before we added the solar- and wind-power systems, we had only kerosene lanterns, which are not very good to read by," Lusan Corbett says. "Now we have lights and even recently got the Internet."

The Corbetts don't really need cyberspace, TVs, phones or even roads to feel connected to the world. They rely instead on the sun, wind, rain and sea. A typical day goes something like this: "We get up with the sun. We watch it rise from the bed. When the dogs start moving, we take them to the beach for their walk. We come back and have breakfast, whatever is there: papaya, mango, salsa. We hang out a lot at the beach or the pool. We collect fresh fish, lobster or conch," Lusan Corbett says.

The house is positioned to take advantage of southeastern trade winds. The Corbetts hand-built the porch that wraps around the living room.

The pool deck looks out over Bequia's airstrip and tiny town.

John and Lusan Corbett rent out two homes in the Moonhole community: Tranquility and the Burke House.

This community, including these old houses and the home of John and Lusan Corbett, is named Moonhole for the arch through which you can see the moon set twice a year. The island of Bequia is in the Grenadines.