I prefer heavy duty 2-gallon plastic buckets for filling earthbags, the same kind used for bucketing cement.  They’re strong and small enough that everyone can handle them comfortably.  In fact, they’re just the right size.  Because they’re larger than the metal cans typically used, work progresses more rapidly.  Two rounded shovelfuls fill a 2-gallon bucket    Read More →

Stabilizers make earth walls stronger, more moisture resistant, and reduce shrinking and swelling.  Water is the number one enemy of earth buildings and adding stabilizers (particularly in rainy climates) is one way to create more durable structures. Lime (Type S – Hydrated Lime) is one of the best stabilizers for clay soils, and more environmentally    Read More →

Strawbale houses were first built shortly after the invention of the baling machine.  Settlers in western Nebraska who had access to this machine were quick to realize the potential of large, insulated building blocks.  And the rest of the story, as they say, is history.  This same potential now exists for earthbag building. The benefits    Read More →

Readers are asking about two bag filling devices on the Internet — EZBagger and GoBagger.  They scoop and funnel sand directly into bags. My preference for a bag filler was explained in my post titled Bucket Chutes (December 16, 2008).  I explained how you can modify a standard $1 bucket in couple of minutes for    Read More →

Originally published by Owner Builder Magazine, this excellent article by Rob Wainwright of Permaforest Trust comes complete with many useful building details, as well as quite a few beautiful photos.  Rob explains how they built their four meter dome step-by-step clearly enough that others could build one similar. This project is now featured on our    Read More →

James and Suzanne McConnell, co-founders of The Foster Village, are creating a self sustaining earthbag eco-pueblo pilot program for foster teenagers near Ojo Caliente, NM.  Children living full time in an eco-pueblo along with their visiting parents, when appropriate, will work side-by-side, interacting and caring for animals, gardening, building earthbag domes, milking goats, making cheese    Read More →