Originally published by Owner Builder Magazine, this excellent article by Rob Wainwright of Permaforest Trust comes complete with many useful building details, as well as quite a few beautiful photos. Rob explains how they built their four meter dome step-by-step clearly enough that others could build one similar. This project is now featured on our … Read more
To keep earthbags open during filling I recommend a bucket chute – a plastic bucket with the bottom one inch cut off. A 4-gallon bucket fits perfectly in our 18” wide bags. Simply insert the chute in the bag opening and you’re ready to add fill material. Credit for this clever idea goes to Trevor … Read more
Earthbag Building in the Humid Tropics: Simple Instructions by Patti Stouter is a 27-page, step-by-step PDF guide to building with earthbags in these demanding climates. It is well thought out, quite informative, and useful as a basic introduction to the concept of building with earthbags. She begins with a general introduction, and then moves on … Read more
In a thesis written by Bryce Daigle, titled “Earthbag Housing: Structural Behavior and Applicability in Developing Countries,” It was determined that the compressive strength of unplastered earthbag housing specimens meets or exceeds the vertical compressive strength of conventional stud-frame and alternative construction techniques such as straw bale housing technology, using a variety of fill materials, … Read more
It is very gratifying to witness how our website is helping to spread the word about the viability of earthbags as a significant construction method worldwide. In just one day I was alerted to the publishing of two new media available via the internet: one is a 6-page article, titled How Earthbag Homes Work, published … Read more
Owen Geiger and I have just found that a book published in 1990 in Germany, Building with Pumice, written by Klaus Grasser and Gernot Minke, describes experiments done in the 1970’s at the Research Laboratory for Experimental Building at Kassel Polytechnic College in Germany that have considerable bearing on the history of earthbag building. Most … Read more