Dreaming of an Earthbag Home in Malaysia

“Dear Owen & Kelly,

We believe it is no mere coincidence that we have stumbled upon your guide to build a ‘dirt-cheap’ shelter using dirt at Instructables.com just a while ago. We are a young couple from Malaysia just starting our new life with our 1-year old baby boy. Malaysia, though not fully developed, is getting into the ‘trap’ of developed nations in the West. We are consuming more than we can produce, inflation and consumer goods prices are rising, the property market especially is feeling the brunt and cost of living has really accelerated creating more groups of the ‘urban poor’. People are starting to feel the impact of ‘development’ but are convincing themselves that it is for ‘the greater good’.

In our short journey we have stumbled upon principles and ethics which encourage people to live more responsibly and sustainably such as permaculture, biomimicry and its branches. We have found people and groups trying to break away from the grips of the system whether in the aspects of birthing, health, education, energy, etc.

We refuse to fall into this trap of the system so bearing this in mind, we wish to inspire change, no matter how small or how slow that would take and how many generations that would require. And we believe it all starts with a natural sustainable home filled with love and care. This is where earthen housing comes in.

To cut to the chase, we already have a piece of land in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur city with quite a sizable area. We intend to start with a core house adequate for our current use and expanding in parallel with our family’s requirement – and of course taking into account costs and expenditures. We wish to free ourselves and be more independent from the system plus giving back to the community around us if we have surplus.”

Regards,
Rizal & Ernadia