“We are H.O.M.E.Farm.org, a farm, homestead, permaculture demonstration site, and self-sufficiency classroom. H.O.M.E. is an acronym for Holistically Organized Multidisciplinary Endeavors. Quite a name, huh? We hope you can learn from us and share with us what you know, as we pursue our Homesteading Adventure. Earthbags are an alternative and sustainable home building technique. This is our first earthbag home.
Summary of Earthen Buildings: Earthen buildings can be cheaper than conventional homes, if the labor is done by the home-owner and not contracted out. Earthen buildings can be made with excellent artistic creativity and function, as well as being very energy efficient, especially if angled toward the south. By using mostly earth, toxic construction materials are skirted. In several studies, earthbag domes surpassed Uniform Building Requirements by 200 percent and could withstand more abuse than the equipment designed to test them! The earthbag technique has been proven to withstand fire, flooding, hurricanes, termites, and earthquakes. They are built to last!”
Does anyone have any contact info for the earth build people in Southwest oklahoma mentioned above. I have a project ready here in SW oklahoma and would love some input or help! Thanks
You can visit their website and make contact that way: http://www.home-farm.org/
My husband and I are looking into moving to the Sallisaw area within the next year and a half. I want to build a geodesic dome but use either cob or earthbags for the interior and use either solar or wind power with a water catchment / grey water system. Can anyone give me any idea how much resistance we can expect to encounter in that area?
It appears that Oklahoma has adopted the 2015 International Residential Code statewide, so most alternative building practices will likely need to have state-licensed architects or engineers sign off on the plans. You might check with your local jurisdiction to find out exactly what they require.
We just moved to the Roland/Muldrow area! Did you end up moving to Sallisaw? Did you build your earth bag/cob home? We are not having much luck finding others who can help in the area. So I am hopeful that you did to see how things went for your build.
ok, just saw your reply about contacting them directly. I will! Thanks!
Hi! We are in central Oklahoma and are interested in an Earthbag house for our in-laws, who will be living on our land soon. We don’t have the energy and time to build it all ourselves, however. We are outside the city limits and so shouldn’t have as much problems with getting a permit, etc. Can you please tell us more about the project you did here in Oklahoma and if you could help us out, possibly? Thanks so much!
You’ll have to contact them directly.
Please leave a message if you know of a good area in OK that has few or no codes — someplace you recommend for our readers to look into.
Hopefully, you saw my previous e-mail about the area southeast of Norman, Ok that is beautiful, and has few or no codes. It has a terrible name, Slaughterville, but I am thinking about getting a petition to change the name. Way outdated…no slaughtering of animals happening here anymore! We don’t really even have to mention the name…it is not an official town name, more of a “township”. Anyway,
I could send pics if you are interested. Also, I have gotten in touch with the Earth Build folks in southwest Okla. We are still wanting to do a house on our homestead, but are also considering one for a small private school on the outskirts of Shawnee. The folks down in Southwest Okla. have offered to do a workshop for the community if we build one for a school! I will keep you posted! Andrea
Thanks for the tip. I remember you mentioning Slaughterville but I don’t think I saved the info. I’ll look it up. Maybe there’s a better name to search for. What’s word can I search to find more about this area? What’s the county name for instance?
Hi Andrea,
The town of Slaughterville was named after a man named James Slaughter not after animal slaughtering. Also, it is an official town so one would definitely need to check ordinances before purchasing property in the town to make certain the land can be used in the way you want to use it.
I have 16 acres in Oklahoma and we looked into building codes for that area and there is none. Can you tell me how your program works and how you help? It would be for two adults and three children.
You should contact the folks at https://www.home-farm.org/ to answer that question.