“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.”
do it yourself
Why I’m Going Off Grid and Becoming Self Sufficient – My Story!!
“I recently had someone ask me why I’m choosing to be off the grid and self sufficient. I really have not talked about why I’im doing this in my videos. So I thought I would start from the beginning. This is my story. Thanks for watching everybody!”
The $100 House
A few years ago my girlfriend called me into the living room to see an adobe house on TV. “Quick”, she said, “it only cost $100”. I thought there must be some mistake, but I rushed over to see the house out of curiosity. To my surprise it was quite nice.
Barrel Oven Planning
“I’ve already written a bit about my enthusiasm for ensuring we have something other than a camp stove and an open fire to cook on during the build of our house. I’ve done that before for large groups of people and I’m not keen to repeat the experience over longer than a weekend. It also seems fairly obvious that the key to ensuring we have willing and happy helpers is to keep them well fed (the whole build will go smoother with full bellies). So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to spend quite a bit of time and effort ensuring this is taken care of – I consider it good project management. One of our strategies is a barrel oven.
Earthbag Women’s Centre in Vanuatu Withstands Category 5 Cyclone
Cyclone Pam, one of the worst cyclones ever recorded in the Pacific Ocean, blasted the island chain of Vanuatu with category 5 winds up to 185 miles per hour and 26 foot storm surge. The women’s earthbag center near Port Vila and the earthbag water tank made it through the storm with minimal damage, despite the widespread destruction in the region.
Candle Powered Clay Pot Heater with Fan
“Candle Powered Heater! (Improved!!) DIY Radiant Space heater! (with fan!!). Easy DIY. Produces 170F+ Temps. Since about half of all the heat from a clay pot heater is typically concentrated at the top of the heater, it just quickly rises straight to the ceiling and is “in effect” lost (or at least “not felt”). This new design attempts to tackle that problem by directing the hot air where you want it (in your personal living space, not at the ceiling).