Desert Submarines

Steve over at Utopia Springs sent me a link about a fascinating housing idea for desert areas. These structures stay cool in the desert (in the 60’s) using just evaporative cooling. The galvanized metal roof is covered with burlap, and water flows down over the top. A small RV pump is adequate to keep the … Read more

Eyebrows on Domes

We routinely ask readers to document their projects and allow us to publish them on our Projects page at EarthbagBuilding.com. This enables other readers to learn much more rapidly. It’s the old “two heads are better than one” except here we’re dealing with thousands who are working together and sharing ideas. Very powerful. A perfect … Read more

Earthbag Greenhouses

Earthbags are ideal for building greenhouses due to their resistance to moisture damage. Most anyone can build with earthbags, which can cut construction costs. When filled with insulation such as perlite or scoria, earthbag walls and foundations enable you to grow plants year-round. Excess heat from a greenhouse attached to your home, like the one … Read more

Earthbag Planters

Several new earthbag planter projects have been added to our Projects webpage at EarthbagBuilding.com (our companion website). This seems like a popular option that has lots of potential. An Earthbag Raised Bed Garden from www.thefarm.org, Ecovillage Training Center, Summertown, TN provides their recipe, building techniques and photos for building planters/raised garden beds. Beth’s Earthbag Construction … Read more

Green Group building ‘earthbag’ house

The following is an article written by Jeanne Chaussee in the March 21, 2009 issue of the ‘Guadalajara Reporter’, is about a project in Mexico that I am involved with. CHAPALA – Members of the Chapala Green Group have started a project teaching young people at the Niños y Jovenes Children’s Shelter in San Juan … Read more

Earthbag Walls in One Day?

How would you build earthbag walls up to 12 feet above ground on pier footings? A reader asked me this recently. Hmm. Moving tons of earth up that high would be difficult, and that got me thinking of alternatives. One solution I came up with uses an insulation blowing machine and hand-held bag sewing machine … Read more