Patti Stouter has published another earthbag technical report. It is a summary of the state of testing to date, and also covers some of the codes related to earthbag. The following information is quoted from this report. According to the new international earthen building standards, if earthbag walls with some reinforcing have shear strength equal … Read more
Patti Stouter has expanded and updated her soil testing guide Soil Tests for Earthbag. We’ve added the report to our EarthbagStructures.com and EarthbagBuilding.com websites, where you can find indepth information on every aspect of building with bags. Using the right soil is very important. After all, earthbag building uses soil as the primary building material, … Read more
Do earthbags really become hard as rock or is this exaggeration? I did a little experiment on the roundhouse we’re currently building to find out. The answer depends primarily on the choice of fill material and the degree of compaction. The moisture content and curing process also play a role. We used road base – … Read more
Ever since the earthquake in Haiti we have been inundated with requests for information about using earthbags for reconstruction efforts. Owen Geiger and I have joined with Patti Stouter to assemble a coherent response to this need that is based on our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of earthbag building, coupled with some knowledge … Read more
The internet has been vibrating along with the earth since the great quake in Haiti, and I have received quite a few emails responding to this catastrophe, often with suggestions about ways to assist the Haitians. I’ll quote from one particularly thoughtful response: “I would like for you and your colleagues together to present our … Read more
It deeply saddens me to see one disaster after another occurring around the world, especially since much of the tragedy could be prevented by building earthquake-resistant earthbag houses. The recent earthquake in Haiti is but one more example of this. Theo (Father Marc Boisvert) runs a project for the poor in Haiti. Their earthbag Sun … Read more