More book reviews: “I have built with earthbags for over twenty years, having helped develop the concept with Nader Khalili in the early 1990’s. Of all the texts on earthbag building that exist (including mine), I have to say that Owen Geiger’s Earthbag Building Guide is by far the most thorough, detailed and technically useful … Read more
Earthbag Building Guide: Vertical Walls Step-by-Step By Owen Geiger Much has been learned about earthbag building over the last few decades through research, trial and error, and sharing of information. It is becoming increasingly clear what works best and why. And now with engineer-approved methods for building in code-enforced areas, it is time to pull … Read more
Cato from Chiapas, Mexico has sent us details about how they built an earthbag health clinic. This is a beautiful example of how people, without much money or training, can manifest a dream. Most of their inspiration and advise was accessed from the internet. The links below are to PDF files assembled from an original … Read more
Major Breaking News. Tim, one of our readers, sent me some information the other day that explained how Bill McNulty has patented the process of making cast stone using natron salt (sodium carbonate) mixed with powdered granite, limestone, basalt, schist or sandstone mixed with water. This is a slightly different method than proposed by Professor … Read more
The $300 House design competition has about 300 affordable housing projects to study and learn from. I found Kevin Songer’s Integrated Shelter project, and even though it’s borderline genius, it’s way down the list. He entered the contest shortly before the deadline and so most people haven’t seen it. Quick summary and then I’ll let … Read more
From newleafinitiative.org In March 2011, New Leaf sent a team of allies and supporters to Haiti to construct an Earthbag building for our partners GrassRoots United. Earthbag buildings are built primarily from polypropylene bags, dirt and rubble. For two weeks, New Leaf worked extensively with Haitian volunteers to train them in the building process and … Read more