This week is the 3rd anniversary of Earthbag Building Blog. A lot has happened this past year, and our blog continues to grow in content and readership. There are now 335 posts and well over 1,000 comments. Thanks for your support. We love hearing about your earthbag projects and hope you will continue sharing information … Read more
Greenhouses are very popular for extending the growing season, but heating them in cold climates is expensive. In contrast, pit greenhouses — greenhouses built into the earth — use free solar energy from the sun for heating. The temperature of the earth (usually around 55-58 degrees Fahrenheit) helps stabilize the temperature in the greenhouse. One … Read more
A new article by Arvid Linde in Green Home Design compares typical earth-sheltered homes with structures made of earthbags. Linde raises a number of interesting points. I agree with his assessment that most earth-sheltered designs contain a lot of high embodied energy materials, notably concrete and steel, and therefore are not as ‘green’ as they … Read more
I’m very happy to see more details of this excellent design. We’ve been following the construction progress on their YouTube videos. Now, they’ve added a website with much more information. I have to say, this is one of my favorite designs. It is very well thought out, very affordable, very practical. I would love to … Read more
This video is a perfect example of how durable earthbag construction can be when subjected to submersion in water and the onslaught of waves. According to Shari, the builder, “This garden bed was an experiment, it was built on a shore line of a large lake. I wanted to see how earthbags and plaster held … Read more
I came across this great article at Mother Earth News magazine and just had to share it. Merle Alix describes his family’s experiences of living in an underground house for the last decade. They love the energy savings, low maintenance, quietness and privacy. The biggest downside is the difficulty of obtaining financing for underground houses. … Read more