One way of acquiring affordable housing is working together with other people. Let’s say six groups of three workers agree to build their homes together. They could divide into teams based on interests and skill level. Team 1: Site preparation and excavation Team 2: Earthbag foundation Team 3: Lower walls Team 4: Upper walls Team … Read more
In July, 2009 Guiding Star Creations co-created this 9 day workshop with hosts Eric and Nancy. This dome was built as a WWOOFer’s (farm stay) cottage for Eric and Nancy’s 14 acre organic farm. The dome has a 3m(10ft) interior diameter and the walls are 30cm(1ft) thick. This dome was fitted with features to adapt … Read more
The Enviro Dome plans have been tweaked over and over and the final version posted to my Earthbag House Plans site. This plan has always been one of my most popular designs. An ideal starter home, this plan is easy to extend or even create large dome clusters. Compact, but highly livable, the Enviro Dome … Read more
Knowledge is power, as they say. Serious natural builders will want to draw from the best pool of knowledge available. You see, earthbag is just one part of natural building. There are design and site issues to learn about, how to best use sustainably harvested wood, how-to information on roofs, plastering, and so on. It’s … Read more
Here’s a quick update on our latest workshop with participants from the Philippines who are planning an eco-resort. It was a great workshop and a great group. We built two demonstration structures: a square corner and a partial dome. In addition to practicing each step of construction, this schedule gave us ample time for whiteboard … Read more
There’s growing interest in lightweight bag fill materials as alternatives to more labor intensive soil-filled earthbags. While lightweight materials such as scoria, perlite, etc. are not as stable as tamped earth, their higher insulation value and labor saving advantages offer tantalizing possibilities for certain designs, locales and site conditions. We’re currently investigating vetiver grass as … Read more