Earthbag Earthship “is about building a new way of living based on taking back control, sharing and helping each other making it become reality for all involved.” They’re using expanded clay granules made by Argex for insulation. Lower courses are filled with Argex granules, and the gradules are between double walls of alternating burlap sandbags. … Read more
Small Earth provides supportive and sustainable environments for communities around the world through the creative use of elemental materials and the application of Permaculture inspired thinking. From conception to delivery our projects leave a legacy of landmark buildings beautifully integrated into sustainable and productive landscaped spaces. Julian Faulkner is the co-founder and CEO of Small … Read more
This is a 15 minute film on earth-bag construction at ‘Green Resource Center’ in Karamoja, Northern Uganda, as a part of IOM’s Karamoja Food Security and Community Stabilization Programme. As I watched this very informative and entertaining video, it actually brought tears to my eyes. I realized how wonderfully empowering earthbag construction can be, and … Read more
Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that addresses development at all scales. It is comprised of seven performance areas: Site, Water, Energy, Health, Materials, Equity and Beauty. These are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. The purpose of the … Read more
The Project Somos Children’s Village in Guatemala has posted some photos of a large earthbag project they have going. Both Owen and I are impressed with the quality of the design and execution, as can be seen in the picture above. The bag work is very even and plumb, the buttresses are well integrated with … Read more
I published my preferred earthbag foundation method in my new book Earthbag Building Guide. It still seems to be the strongest method because it locks 1-1/2 courses of earthbags below grade. With this method, the site is raised prior to building the foundation with stable fill material such as road base, and compacted by driving … Read more