The following text and list of properties has been gathered from various poly bag supplier websites to give you a snapshot view of poly earthbags. The information is presented here in a condensed format for brevity. It’s fun doing these blog posts because I always learn something. For instance, did you know polypropylene is 100% … Read more
Here’s a new video by Guiding Star Creations. Text below is from their website. Guiding Star Creations: Cultivating thriving environments through inner transformation, earth architecture, and well-being. Neil and Stella are committed to empowering others through facilitating workshops, teaching, and creating projects that combine thriving environments with co-creation and inner transformation. They are planning their … 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
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
It’s been somewhat of a struggle to get the living roof on our earthbag dome established. The steep sides make it quite challenging, because water runs off quickly and washes away the soil and nutrients. This causes dry areas to develop. As you can see from the early Mother Earth News photos, the grass didn’t … Read more
I’ve been caught up in the tiny house movement lately, in large part because of Michael Janzen’s excellent Tiny House Design and Tiny House Living websites. These sites really are a gold mine of information. This line of thought has helped inspire me to think of smaller, simpler house designs. What do we really need … Read more