We have a guest post today by Owen Ingley of Plenitud Iniciativas, who has been experimenting with fibers in plaster. “Greetings from Puerto Rico. I just wanted to give you a quick update on something that we’ve tried recently. The last emails we sent to each other I was asking you about fibers for plasters … 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 recently finished building the walls and structure of a 16′ diameter dome to be used as a healing center here in Puerto Rico. We are looking for someone to help finish the project in its final stages- plastering, floors, doors, windows, etc. Experience with building would be great, but not required. We will also … Read more
From time to time we answer reader’s questions. Paul: In the EcoOcha video I noticed they tamped the sides to reduce the ‘log cabin’ look and to reduce the amount of plaster required. This smoother surface would be much easier to plaster. Owen: Yes, more and more builders are flattening the walls like this to … Read more
Continuing with Owen’s assessment of the Hyperadobe method of building earthbag walls, I have had some further thoughts. This innovation comes to us from Fernando Pacheco, a Brazilian engineer, and it has been used there for at least two years. I have prepared a detailed page at www.earthbagbuilding.com that is a step-by step guide to … 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