My favorite low cost, sustainable foundation method is earthbags filled with gravel on a rubble trench (double-bagged for strength). But it’s always good to have options because each project is a little different. ‘Urbancrete’ is slang for old concrete that has been torn out. Flatwork slabs such as sidewalks and driveways work best. It can … Read more
Steve over at Utopia Springs sent me a link about a fascinating housing idea for desert areas. These structures stay cool in the desert (in the 60’s) using just evaporative cooling. The galvanized metal roof is covered with burlap, and water flows down over the top. A small RV pump is adequate to keep the … Read more
Earthbags have proven to be incredibly versatile. They can be used throughout your home for foundations, walls, benches, privacy walls and other uses. And let’s not forget about stairs. Think how much money you can save by using earthbags to build your stairs. And they’re sturdy, too. Here’s a picture of curved stairs. In the … Read more
There is a fellow in India named Sourabh Phadke who has been uploading many videos to YouTube lately that relate to earthbag building. His general collection of videos is grouped at www.youtube.com/antiismistix. I especially recommend viewing “How to Build an Earthbag Dome” and “Earthbagging at Aman Setu,” about building a school. He has a number … Read more
We routinely ask readers to document their projects and allow us to publish them on our Projects page at EarthbagBuilding.com. This enables other readers to learn much more rapidly. It’s the old “two heads are better than one” except here we’re dealing with thousands who are working together and sharing ideas. Very powerful. A perfect … Read more
The folks at www.naturalhomes.org have assembled a fun little slide show featuring images of earthbag projects around the world. If you click on one of the images it will take you to the source page.