DAVID: Your adventure in “Twelve by Twelve” is part of a long tradition of restless Americans. In early America, Francis Asbury never even owned a home and traveled throughout his adult life, staying in other people’s homes. John Steinbeck traveled in a pickup truck equipped with a little camper. Thoreau famously lived in a tiny … Read more
The Nubian vault is an African technique for the construction of timberless vaulted roofs. The AVN (Association la Voute Nubienne), through its Program ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’, helps provide families in sub-Saharan Africa with comfortable, sustainable, affordable, homes. In a recent Newsletter from this organization, I was impressed by the statistics they provided regarding … Read more
Here’s another awesome sustainable community under development. “SPICE: WHAT IS IT? A VISION—Creating an intentional community Ø A small, planned community that encourages reduced consumption and materialism and emphasizes our role as caretakers of the natural environment; Ø Respect for individual talents, interests, privacy, and needs, including the need for interaction with others; Ø Use … Read more
From time to time we’ll profile a sustainable community or ecovillage. The one presented today is not made with earthbags, because bags were not available in their area. Nevertheless, the project is still very interesting and well worth studying. I think the world needs many more projects like this. “My dream is of a small … Read more
What is the Earthbag Home Shield? It is a steel roof system intended to cover and protect an earthbag home. The one aspect of earthbag construction that I struggled with the most was the roof. We here at Cozy Home Plans have come up with a great option to cover your EB home. Benefits of … Read more
“I check out materials available, some villages have stone, some make bricks, everybody had dirt. Timber is scarce and termites eat anything made of wood in weeks. If we use bricks they will need half the forests in Karamoja as firewood to bake them. Not very sustainable…everybody has dirt. Dirt? I remember making bunkers in … Read more