Thomas Hearts is one of the founders of an intentional-community in Socorro County, New Mexico, called Happy Castle Art Camp and they are gearing up to break ground on their very first Superadobe Earthbag Dome and they want you to be part of it. They are calling this the “Bonfire Dome” and a free natural-building … Read more
Ellen Snortland and her husband have now lost a home to fire, another to flooding and another to a mudslide — and they’re tired of fighting the elements. “We are going to have to deal with extreme weather for the rest of our lives. To pretend otherwise is really folly,” she said. “I don’t see … Read more
Anthony Dente is a licensed engineer and principal at Verdant Structural Engineers and Verdant Building Products and is the vice president of the Cob Research Institute, where he is committed to appropriate material use for all structural building systems. Anthony graduated from the Architectural Engineering program at Penn State University and moved to Berkeley, CA … Read more
The Shigaraki Sauna is located in a fully renovated old private house near Kyoto, Japan. It is notable for its earthen sauna, which uses the earthbag method of piling up soil in bags. The design of the sauna is inspired by a kiln and reuses waste soil produced during the production of pottery. In addition … Read more
Earthbag construction utilizes bags filled with earth, resulting in strong, eco-friendly structures. Affordability and sustainability are key, hence it is becoming a go-to choice for construction in Africa. The primary ingredient, earth, is free and practically unlimited in most places. Bags used to hold the earth are cheap and can be re-used from agricultural purposes. … Read more
This is not your typical completely buried, stone-encased, hand-dug cavern from the 19th century. This is a much simpler, quicker, and more modern method yet still effective. Things you’ll need: 3 steel cans with lids, a shovel, plywood, scrap wood, roofing screws, 6-inch deck screws, scrap insulation material, straw, sandbags, and lots of dirt. Step … Read more