I almost jumped out of my chair when I read about this ‘affordable housing’ project in Alaska. The estimated $220,000 cost for this home is “less than half of the cost of new homes recently built in the village.” It has 900 sq. ft. conditioned space, 1080 sq. ft. total. (That’s about $204/sq. ft.) I … Read more
I have been consulting with Mike Parker who started www.childrenofthedump.org in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico about how to build inexpensive, ecological housing for poor families who subsist off recycling materials from the city dump. They typically live in shacks and shanties that are often not adequate for their needs, nor do they provide proper housing for … Read more
We believe the combination of new developments in earthbag building is a game-changer, a breakthrough that is gradually pushing earthbag into the mainstream. Long term readers have been following these developments, but I will briefly recap some key developments for new readers since there’s a recent surge in traffic. – Engineered plans are now available … Read more
What’s the difference between a cool pantry and root cellar? Humidity. Root cellars are very practical for storing certain types of produce, and have been a key part of sustainable households for centuries. Root cellars are kept fairly moist in order to best preserve the crops that are stored there. However, the high humidity limits … Read more
We have a new complete project page up at www.earthbagbuilding.com: the Amirta – Divine Nectar Retreat Cabin in the high desert of southeastern Arizona. To do this retreat Venerable Lobsang Gyelse had to build a space to do it in, which is a small circular meditation space with an offset sleeping nook. In addition there … Read more
From time to time we answer reader’s questions. Jeff: We are looking at building a home on acreage in central north Michigan. It is extremely cold in the wintertime where we are looking. Would an earthbag home insulated with rice hulls (using 10″ tube sandbags on exterior of earthbag walls) be sufficient for that kind … Read more