Chris Magwood’s classic book, Making Better Buildings, is now available for free online! This is a comparative guide to sustainable construction for homeowners and contractors. It is also a masterpiece of research and experience folded into an encyclopedic reference book for anyone interested in sustainable approaches to our built environment. Clearly a labor of love … Read more
Three small cob homes (about 100 square feet each) cost around $500 each, not including labor. Quail Springs Permaculture, an educational non-profit in Southern California, built the houses over the span of a few months. According to their natural building director, Sasha Rabin, the structures were made using — along with reclaimed fixtures such as … Read more
Yi Zheng, an associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, has created a sustainable material that can be used to make buildings or other objects keep cool without relying on conventional cooling systems. Zheng envisions this “cooling paper” covering the roofs of buildings. The light-colored material reflects hot solar rays … Read more
The following email from Andrew explains an idea he has for a way to arrange earthbags into a fairly rigid, reinforced configuration. It seems interesting enough for me to post here and solicit comments from you dear readers. What do you think about this concept? Having read the article you posted on Machu Picchu, I … Read more
Last year the folks at Vide Terra in Italy built an earthbag dome and decided to experiment with a thatched roof without a wood frame. Reed, bracken, cane thatching and experimental broom thatching, were directly attached to the dome. They used an unusual plant for thatching that is very invasive, local and abundant in all … Read more
The following blog post was written by Michael G. Smith originally for motherearthnews.com and I have shamelessly posted it here to further spread his wise words.A group of about two dozen people gather on a wooded hillside in Northern California. They are women, men, and children, ranging in age from three to 72. They come … Read more