I have been consulting with Mike Parker who started www.childrenofthedump.org in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico about how to build inexpensive, ecological housing for poor families who subsist off recycling materials from the city dump. They typically live in shacks and shanties that are often not adequate for their needs, nor do they provide proper housing for … Read more
We believe the combination of new developments in earthbag building is a game-changer, a breakthrough that is gradually pushing earthbag into the mainstream. Long term readers have been following these developments, but I will briefly recap some key developments for new readers since there’s a recent surge in traffic. – Engineered plans are now available … Read more
This post was submitted by Japanese architect Kikuma Watanabe, who’s engaged in one of the Main Jury’s at the Ecovillage project in Ghana. The text below is from the Nka Foundation website. “Nka Foundation is pleased to announce the results for the Ghana: 2011 Open ARchiTecture Challenge. Entries were received from over 30 countries. The … Read more
I’ve pulled together the recent posts on rubble bag houses, expanded and edited the info, and published a new blog post at Mother Earth News. It includes details on how to build and reinforce rubble walls. Concrete rubble from collapsed buildings is a huge problem in Haiti. It is blocking roads and hindering reconstruction. Instead … Read more
Like many other designers, architects and engineers who are working to help rebuild Haiti, we’re constantly trying to create new house designs and improve previous efforts. This new hybrid design for Haiti is based on our Transitional L Kay design. The Kay is the most common house style in their country. Both versions provide immediate … Read more
Louis Burns, a writer and former real estate agent, toured a newly completed Eco-dome in Austin and wrote an eye-opening assessment. Here are a few quotes from the article. “The plans from Cal-Earth that they’re working from are designed for the desert climate. There, you have a significant temperature drop in the evenings which allow … Read more