A couple of days ago this was posted on our bulletin board: “Greetings Earth-builder Aficionados, You’ll be glad to hear that I have invented patent-pending technology to make prefab earth walls, which I sincerely believe will revolutionize our built environment from production to construction to operation. As I’m sure you all know, earth is the … Read more
In an old post of Owen’s about Ancient Rammed Earth Structures, I have been responding to Mirosan, who asked these questions: “So, so far all three mentioned are in arid if not desert situations. Is that because other structures (of rammed earth) in non desert or non arid climates have succumbed to the elements or … Read more
This is a full tour of a cozy cob micro cabin built by Marie France Roy, a professional snowboarder from Canada. She wanted to build a home with natural and reclaimed materials so the main floor is built with cob – a mix of sand, clay, and straw – and the upper floor is built … Read more
Rebecca Tasker, with a crew of apprentices, is building two straw bale houses near Escondido, California. So the building project is also a teaching site. “Using straw fits in with permaculture. People like sustainability,” Tasker said. “When you talk of energy used for building materials, that energy was already used in growing the food that … Read more
Tucked outside of Sanmenxia City in China’s Henan Province is a 4,000-year-old Chinese town nicknamed the “mole town.” More than 3,000 people live in underground dwellings known as yaodongs (or “house caves”). They’ve only recently become accessible to tourists looking to experience them firsthand. The yaodongs originated during the Bronze Age—a period when it was … Read more
Tucked underground in Fresno, California, is an amazing cavernous creation carved by one industrious Italian Immigrant named Baldassare Forestiere. Known as the Forestiere Underground Gardens, the estate is now open to the public to inspect, and is well worth the trip.Around 1900 Baldassare bought over 20 acres of land where he intended to cultivate a … Read more