Anyone considering a large earthbag project should look into the advantages of mechanizing the building process with machinery since construction work by its nature is labor intensive. A foundation trench for instance could be dug by a mini-excavator or backhoe in a few hours versus a week of manual labor. The same trench could be filled very quickly with gravel using the same machine.
earthbag construction
Sewing Gusseted Earthbags
Touring earthbag building projects in Nepal has allowed us to gather hundreds of photos, dozens of hours of video footage, and discover lots of interesting new earthbag techniques and developments. I now have fresh content for lots of future blog posts. The volunteers and workers here are very good and so there’s quite a bit of innovation taking place. The photo above is one example of how earthbag builders in Nepal are improving the building process by sewing perfect corners on earthbags.
Building Earthbag Tornado Shelters for Profit
In a previous blog post about Earthbag Tornado Shelters I suggested building them for profit. Four years later the same advice is still valid. The marketing process should be even easier now since earthbag buildings are much more common. One key selling point is the cost. Most commercially available tornado shelters cost at least several thousand dollars. The materials cost for earthbag tornado shelters is around $300. That means almost pure profit for the builder.
Dr. Sunny Cai’s Earthbag Domes and New Website
“Dr. Sunny Cai (Liang-Juei Cai), Ph.D (in Ecological and Chinese Ancient Architecture), now retired from University and living in Taiwan, is an author and professor specializing in the field of ancient and ecological architectural planning and design. Dr. Sunny not only attempts to build houses with high standards, incorporate carbon reduction but also rummages raw materials, which is recorded in China’s ancient architectural books, to solve environmental pollution issues. Dr. Sunny, as a volunteer, tries to help people who are eager to build a comfortable and green house.
Rebuilding Earthquake-hit Homes in Nepal with Earthbags
“A SCOTTISH entrepreneur is using a new slant on a century-old construction method to rebuild earthquake-devastated homes in Nepal. Derek Cowan and a team of volunteers are in the village of Thangpalkot, in the foothills of the Himalayas, on a mission to replace 86 destroyed homes.
NEA Earthbag Technology Report
The Nepal Engineer’s Association (NEA) invited me and Kateryna of Good Earth Nepal to submit a technical summary of earthbag building, which has just been published. An excerpt is below. The full report is also now free online at Earthbag Building.com. You might remember that Good Earth Nepal won the NEA people’s choice design award … Read more