Finding the Right Community

Where are you going to build your sustainable home? For the best possible life you’ll want to find a community of people with the right attitude. In Crestone, Colorado, for example, there are straw bale, earthbag, adobe, earthship houses, etc. on almost every block. This tiny town has around 125 of these alternative buildings. The … Read more

Tire Foundations?

What about using tires for foundations? In my opinion, earthbags are superior for foundations and walls. If you’re not convinced of this, tamp one tire (the way it’s supposed to be done, which takes 20 minutes or so). Then tamp the equivalent (in cubic inches) in earthbags and see for yourself which is easier. But … Read more

Earthbag (Sandbag) Stands

Bag stands can speed the bag filling process. Doni and Kaki provide details for building bag stands in their excellent book Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques. I like using a “bucket chute” — a plastic bucket with the bottom cut out. Here we present two commercially available bag stands for those who don’t … Read more

Earthbag House Plans

I invite you all to visit my new website Earthbag House Plans. At this point I have 77 earthbag plans in the preliminary design stage. Most are houses, but there are some cabins, shelters, sheds and shops. All are small and made with sustainable materials — earthbags, straw bales, earth floors, earth plaster, sustainably harvested … Read more

Earthbag Walls in One Day?

How would you build earthbag walls up to 12 feet above ground on pier footings? A reader asked me this recently. Hmm. Moving tons of earth up that high would be difficult, and that got me thinking of alternatives. One solution I came up with uses an insulation blowing machine and hand-held bag sewing machine … Read more

Workshop Calendars and Bulletin Boards

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