Natural Building Blog 8th Year Anniversary

It’s that time of year again. We happy to announced our 8th year anniversary and now ranked #2 on Google. (Wiki is number one, ha ha.) We missed our anniversary last year, probably because I was traveling.

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Earthbag Domes Survive Hurricane Chapala

Earthbag domes before the hurricane
Earthbag domes before the hurricane

“Hi Owen, Our earthbag dome has not been finished, we ran out of budget. The Chapala cyclone hit the area with very severe storms and rains a few weeks ago, here are the walls before and after.”

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Survival Tactics: Dirt Cheap Bullet-Proof Earthbag Shelters


“Environmentalist’s best kept secret and the concrete industry’s worst nightmare… … the earthbag method means that you can build a small retreat to withstand bullets, floods, hurricanes, storms and fires much better than a conventional house.”

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Low Cost Cooking Options in Nepal

Homemade rocket stoves like this can cook food with twigs and other plant debris.
Homemade rocket stoves like this can cook food with twigs and other plant debris.

“Due to the fuel crisis in Nepal now we don’t get gas for cooking. I just wanted to ask you if you have some idea regarding building a solar cooker. I did some search in google but I could not come up with a concrete idea. And yeah I have a methane gas chamber in my house. Do you have some idea to improve that as well because its not enough to cook 2 meals. Thank you.” Prateek

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Massive Earthbag Retaining Walls

Massive earthbag retaining walls like this are quite common
Massive earthbag retaining walls like this are quite common

I have to laugh when people keep asking me if earthbag building is strong. Earthbags (sand bags) have centuries of use by militaries worldwide, because they’re bomb, blast and bullet resistant. Millions of sand bags are used each year for flood control to stop raging rivers. As well, earthbag building is earthquake and hurricane resistant.

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Rapid Growth in Tiny Homes


“Leah Wymer and Brady Ryan moved into 98 square feet so they could pursue their passions. From growing wedding flowers to making honey and sea salt, they say their tiny home is at the center of it all. Leah Wymer and Brady Ryan’s house-on-wheels wasn’t some big, planned project. Wymer’s dad, a carpenter, thought it would be fun, so they bought a used trailer off Craigslist for $500 and started building.

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