Here’s the latest from Patti. “People building with trash have relied on bottles filled with sand or adobe or film plastics to provide strength in infill walls. They have needed either cement mortar or chicken wire to hold the walls together. Some good info on previous projects is at: http://inspirationgreen.com/plastic-bottle-schools.html#jfafa3e6aa Because of the strength of … Read more
Prices for bags keep going up. What isn’t? Here’s one more possibility for readers who can’t find affordable or recycled bags in their area. Paula, one of our readers, sent us word of what they’re doing to cut costs in Brazil. “People are getting together to buy a big quantity of rolls for hyperadobe and … Read more
Cato from Chiapas, Mexico has sent us details about how they built an earthbag health clinic. This is a beautiful example of how people, without much money or training, can manifest a dream. Most of their inspiration and advise was accessed from the internet. The links below are to PDF files assembled from an original … Read more
I’m sad to report more obvious voter fraud in the $300 House design competition at Jovoto. I reported on this same problem previously, and now the same guy is at it again. The jurors saw through the fraud the first time and slapped Max Building Systems to #87, down from #1, and called him out … Read more
Roofs present a number of challenges, including how to provide adequate, affordable insulation so the home remains comfortable. Straw/clay, also called straw slip clay is one low tech, low cost solution. The basic process involves making thin slurry of clay and water and then mixing this with straw. The following information is quoted from An … Read more
This is the technique used by Cato on the health clinic in Chiapas, Mexico, and can be visualized more accurately be referring to this PDF file. “Here is an idea that may help other builders to stay on level while laying the bags. At first, after laying and tamping every row, we checked if we … Read more