“Underground homes have several advantages over homes built above the ground.
Underground homes, or earthen homes, have extreme benefits over above ground housing across the entire board. Some of these beneficial qualities include their ability to save space above ground, their extreme insulative properties which make them highly energy efficient, and their extremely durable structures.
Many of those in need of housing have access to small-diameter trees in nearby forests. These trees can be used to produce materials that are ideal for building affordable homes. If used in conjunction with energy-efficient straw bale construction and other natural materials, small-diameter wood can be used to create a better home than most building systems, at lower cost.
“Whenever I drive past a new building on the edge of every town, I wonder — why aren’t they building straw bale? But the word is spreading, and staw bale buildings are becoming a more common sight around the world. Want to take a little tour?”
From Temperate Climate Permaculture: “If you read my article on building an intentional community, you’ll see that I am strongly recommending bypassing the traditional mortgage path and promoting build-it-yourself, alternative housing. I have shared a few posts on some of the alternative housing options, but I thought it would be fun to give a brief overview of the more common (of the overall uncommon) alternative housing options that are available today.
“The challenge of the design of the Cabin Stove was to come up with something that was very compact but also still resembled and functioned like a masonry heater. The design criteria included heating the small space, an efficient and clean fire, utility for cooking, heating water, combining some quick/immediate-release heat with slower retained radiated heat, relative ease of construction, not too expensive, aesthetically pleasing, and being as compact in size as possible. A very interesting process to try to combine all of these together.”
“For the past 25 years, Ra Paulette has been carving out man-made caves from the sandstone hills of New Mexico, and then sculpting these spaces into works of art he calls wilderness shrines. Lee Cowan has the story of an artist who does his best work underground.”