Superior Sandbag System, an erosion control firm in Orange County, CA, have a new tube filling machine that fills continuous polypropylene tubing. So far it’s been used for erosion control, but it could be utilized to mass produce affordable housing. Steve Villa and Steve Williams, the owners of Superior Sandbag Systems, invented the process and … Read more
Ferrocement is an excellent, well tested building system used throughout the world. This post explores two earthbag structures on our Projects pages that have ferrocement roofs. For small projects, simple curved shapes of ferrocement make a good roof. See EarthDome House. In this project they used rebar and mesh for the roof and recycled polystyrene … Read more
The two largest obstacles to home ownership are expensive building materials and overly complex construction methods that require specialized skills and equipment. The problem is so acute that over 70 percent of Americans are unable to afford contractor-built homes. With the current downturn in the economy and the loss of millions of jobs, the housing … Read more
The folks at Recycledrice.org have devised a simple, but effective way of creating an arch form for making arches with earthbags. They have tested the concept with both bags of rice hulls and bags of heavier soil, and it seems to work well with either. They have published a step-by-step guide to making and assembling … Read more
Perhaps you’re getting ready to build your earthbag house and would like an extra hand (or 5-6!). At the same time, there are quite a few people looking for hands-on learning opportunities. Communities have utilized barn raisings and similar events for many years. Now it’s easy to promote your project and get the help you … Read more
There is a roving monk (with the unpronounceable name of Krpasundarananda) who travels the globe helping people build earthbag domes. He is a Meditation teacher with Ananda Marga and has been a Monk since 1991. Ananda Marga is a world-wide organization with spiritual and social activity centers on all continents. The mission runs schools, medical … Read more