We’re very happy to announce what is perhaps the greatest news ever for earthbag building. Nabil Taha, Ph.D., P.E., has developed an earthbag building design to meet building codes. This is a huge step forward for earthbag building and we feel very honored to have Nabil’s support. Nabil Taha is the President of Precision Structural … Read more
We spend a lot of time here explaining how to build strong, safe houses. Let’s look at conventional code-approved building materials and see how they compare to earthbag building. Because building codes were written by big industries to favor themselves, including the timber industry, the end result is farcical, although deadly serious when you consider … Read more
This unique 241 square foot all solar design qualifies as a zero energy home. It’s for desert regions only. The home is cooled with water trickling over the metal roofing using the same evaporative cooling principle as found in the original Desert Submarine. It’s a simple yet proven technology. Solar panels power the water pumps, … Read more
As you can see from the list below, earthbag building is really starting to take off in Haiti. And these are just the projects we know about. There may very well be others. I’ll edit this list as things progress. Hopefully this list will spur sharing and networking. HAITI BUILT 2010 MARCH TO SEPTEMBER: Rodney … Read more
This timber truss is a good truss system for small, simple structures such as cabins in non-code areas. Having trees of the right size and type nearby is an obvious plus. In many areas of the US you can legally cut trees from national forests with a low cost firewood permit. Instead of cutting the … Read more
Larger structures such as schools and other commercial structures in earthquake zones require strong reinforcing. Patti Stouter and I have been working on a school design for Haiti. The first earthbag school is now under construction near Leogane. Part of the design is this reinforced earthbag buttress, which will help stabilize the long walls. Complete … Read more