Yesterday’s blog post about a built-in mass heater was popular. Caleb, one of our readers, reminded us of hypocausts – underfloor heating systems — that have been used for centuries. Even if you’ve read about this before, it pays to go back and reread this type of information from time to time. For instance, I … Read more
Luke, the reader who’s doing our Facebook fan page, sent me this amazing story. It’s all in Russian and I haven’t translated it yet. They built a mass heater/fireplace into the earthbag wall. The thick earthbag wall is the mass. Rough translation of a few snippets: Earthbag house with a brick oven in the suburbs. … 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
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