Here’s one of the bigger houses built using the earthbag method.
affordable
Konbit Shelter Houses
“In the summer of 2010, Konbit Shelter partnered with the Mango Grower’s Association of Leogane, in the village of Bigones, Barrier Jeudi, to create a multi room community center. We returned in December to construct a one family house. By sourcing all materials within Haiti, and raising money to hire a crew of builders from the community, we are able to bring the kind of assistance that promotes the local economy, creates jobs, and builds valuable skill sets.
Earthbag Tools
Here is a compilation of previous blog posts and videos on earthbag building tools for those who can’t afford my Earthbag Building Guide. All this is covered in my book, but $20 – the cost of the ebook – is a lot of money in some parts of the world. Plus, it takes a good bit of time to search through our websites with thousands of pages of information and find just what you need. You will see in the following documents that very few tools are needed for building with earthbags. Whenever possible, buy (or make) the best tools possible so they last a long time.
A Temporary Housing Option
Most of the housing solutions we discuss here at Natural Building Blog utilize ultra low cost materials such as soil for earthbags, adobes or CEBs, poles from local forests, straw bales and other locally sourced sustainable materials. Houses built like this are very strong and durable. They’re primarily for permanent housing. But what if you need temporary housing to live in while your main house is being built? While a mobile home/camper would suffice, consider the benefits of building temporary housing. The temporary housing solution outlined here is designed for speed and ease of construction at low cost.
Manasaram Architecture: Bamboo Symphony
“Recently completed ‘bamboo symphony’ by Bangalore based Manasaram Architects has been shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival award 2011 in both the mixed use office and small office categories. An open air interior space is stepped into the rugged terrain in a spiraling configuration. Reminiscent of a billowing fabric, the canopy wraps around the harvesting pond directing the shell roof’s storm runoff into the water feature.
Spanish Earthbag Building Guide Now Available
Thanks to the hard work of Zafra Miriam, Cato Arce and Gonzalo De la Isla Arias the Spanish version of my Earthbag Building Guide is now available for $10.