Earthbag Building in Cold Climates

Most earth structures such as adobe are located in hot, dry climates. But what if you live in a cold climate and want the benefits of low-cost earth building techniques? Earthbag building has the unique advantage of providing either thermal mass or insulation, and therefore can be adapted for cold climates with an insulated fill … Read more

Feed Sacks as Sandbag Substitutes

Kelly and I try to track everything about earthbags and sandbags.  Here’s a suggestion I came across on a January 4, 2009 post at SurvivalBlog.com.   It’s another example of the amazing versatility of building with bags. “We came across a small discovery here on our ranch. We feed many animals and four dogs. So we … Read more

Earthbag Furniture

Looking for the perfect furniture for your new earthbag home?  Everyone’s familiar with bean bag furniture, but most brands use polystyrene fill, a possible carcinogenic.  Consider making your own furniture filled with rice hulls as an all natural fill. Rice hulls are surprisingly comfortable.  I discovered this by accident about six months ago when I … Read more

The Billboard Earthbag Project

Each year the Society for Environmental Graphic Design sponsors a contest to recognize the best in environmental graphic design.  This year’s Juror’s Award went to Norman Lee and Charles Houser for their Billboard Earthbag Project. The designers say: “Because most conventional sandbags are fabricated from polypropylene, they are very vulnerable to UV rays and quickly … Read more