I winced when I watched this video titled “Trimming the Fat” about how the folks at Konbit Shelter were using a machete to cut off the poly bag material and some of the stabilized fill to smooth out the interior wall of a dome they have been building in Haiti before plastering. I suppose I … Read more
I am pleased to report that there are some new earthbag projects happening in Haiti. In fact, there is a small mountain community, Leogane, where two unrelated projects are under way! Both of these projects have lively blogs where you can follow their activities almost daily. At blog.konbitshelter.org you can see how this group’s first … Read more
I just discovered a new YouTube video from AlJazeera TV that describes how folks in the Gaza strip, who have been denied many building materials such as cement and steel, have taken to building with earthbags. This short video shows how they are adapting some of CalEarth’s methods of using long tubes filled with adobe … Read more
Poly bag prices have been going up lately and I’m sure readers are looking for the best deals. This seems like a good time to start tracking the lowest cost bag suppliers, so I encourage readers to leave a comment below with your recommendations. For clarity’s sake, I suggest posting: – Company name – Website … Read more
The current newsletter from CalEarth describes how they have been designing an earthbag shelter/home prototype for use in Haiti. This structure, consisting of a 10 ft. main dome surrounded by 3 apses (a 7 ft. sleeping apse, a 5 ft. fire cooking apse with storage below, and a 5 ft. apse that can be used … Read more
I got a fortuitous email from the sales manager of a large factory in China that manufactures polypropylene bags wanting my business. During the course of our email exchanges I was able to find out what they can offer by way of bags, costs and transportation. The China Forest Packaging Group in Qingdao, China can … Read more