“Before the invention of the refrigerator, which is a relatively modern invention, ice was a precious commodity that couldn’t be easily obtained or made, especially during the summer. To preserve meat and other food items huge blocks of ice had to imported all the way from Scandinavian countries in the Arctic circle or from mountain … Read more
Carl Smith, of Austria, has been keeping me posted about building his earthbag winery, for a couple years. I believe that it is nearing completion. One of the most interesting aspects of it is how the wine will be stored and aged. Carl is introducing an ancient Georgian method (dating back at least 8,000 years) to Austria. He is burying five huge ceramic amphorae inside the winery.
I have gotten periodic email updates on the progress of this handsome earthbag and ferrocement root cellar made by Clay Dimeno. Rather than leaving the stucco over the bags as plain cement colored, he decided to scribe faux stones and stain them to look like real stones. I think that he did a marvelous job … Read more
Reporting live from the region hit by Typhoon Yolanda last November. One year later the damage done by that super typhoon is still readily apparent.
Interesting letter from one of our readers. Be sure to read Kelly’s response below where he proposes a similar method to create an “instant, completely solid housing envelope”.
Bernie Fritchie, a reader, send us this picture of his recently completed log round floor. He had this to say about it: “I harvested the rounds from my property, and dried them last winter. I used sanded grout in the voids and applied 5 coats of Bona poly. The rounds are Douglas Fir winter wood … Read more