The Magic and Mystery of Machu Pichu

The ancient city of Machu Picchu, perched among the peaks of southern Peru, flourished for just over a hundred years between the mid-15th and mid-16th centuries. It is famous for its intricate, masterful stone masonry. But often invisible to the untrained eye is masterful drainage infrastructure and slope stabilization. Ruth Wright, a historian, travel writer, … Read more

Sheltered: Underground and Off the Grid

This article and documentary film are about building an underground complex that is far from being a natural building project. But I am posting this because I think that there are worthwhile things that can be learned. Sheltered: Underground and Off the Grid is a full-length documentary that chronicles the building of the largest underground … Read more

Earth Building Online Academy

I just found out about the Earth Building Academy and their online courses. They have been teaching for 20 years and recently ran a free online pizza oven course and had confirmation that online courses really work. They currently are offering a 3 month series of online classes that starts on Monday, January 18th and … Read more

Demonstration of How Iranian Yurts are Made

This video shows exactly how the traditional yurts of the Shahsavan nomads in Iran are built. The whole structure is pre-tensioned before the felted wool cover is placed over the framework, which gives the yurt the ability to withstand the gales that blow across their high mountain landscape. The Shahsavan are some of the world’s … Read more