In an effort to track down the history of earthbag building, I’ve been reading up on the history of burlap bags – the forerunner to polypropylene bags. This post is based on information at NYP Corporation, a wholesaler of burlap bags. (See “Jute to Burlap.”) For centuries, the people of India used jute, the plant … Read more
John Annesley chose earthbags to build the walls for his large shop in the Arizona desert because they will never rot, burn, harbor mold or off-gass noxious chemicals. Additionally they provide good thermal mass for the fly-wheel effect that works so well in this climate. He plastered the walls with a combination of paper fiber, … Read more
In a thesis written by Bryce Daigle, titled “Earthbag Housing: Structural Behavior and Applicability in Developing Countries,” It was determined that the compressive strength of unplastered earthbag housing specimens meets or exceeds the vertical compressive strength of conventional stud-frame and alternative construction techniques such as straw bale housing technology, using a variety of fill materials, … Read more
There is an ongoing debate over the origins of earthbag building — who ‘invented’ it and when. It is an important point that gets into sticky questions about patent rights of building with earthbags. Some accounts of military sandbag structures go back over 100 years. I haven’t seen pictures of these, but a recent Google … Read more
We live in interesting and somewhat precarious times. No one can say for certain that they are immune from economic collapse, civil disturbance or even war. With the world’s escalating financial, environmental and political problems lately, anything is possible. All the many benefits of earthbags are reported on our EarthbagBuilding.com website – low cost, simplicity … Read more
It is very gratifying to witness how our website is helping to spread the word about the viability of earthbags as a significant construction method worldwide. In just one day I was alerted to the publishing of two new media available via the internet: one is a 6-page article, titled How Earthbag Homes Work, published … Read more