Bringing Earthbags to the People – A New, Democratic Approach to Sustainable Building

by Kateryna Zemskova and Nathan Belofsky
Earthbag technology builds safe, appealing, and cost-effective structures out of ordinary soil. Stronger, cheaper, and less harmful to the environment than conventional building techniques like brick and cement, Earthbag technology is generally considered the most promising of sustainable building techniques. But despite widespread support among environmental groups and eco-builders, this method is shunned by governments and remains virtually unknown to everyday building professionals and the public.

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Earthbag Training and Testing at Santa Clara University, CA

Engineering students at Santa Clara University are evaluating how to make rebar inserted into earthbag walls to be stronger.
Engineering students at Santa Clara University are evaluating how to make rebar inserted into earthbag walls to be stronger.

Patti Stouter of Build Simple, Inc. has been testing earthbags and writing technical reports for the last several years in an effort to improve strength of earthbag buildings in seismic areas. She asked me to forward the following announcement.

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My Earthbag Project in Honduras

“Greetings! I am reaching out to say hello as a fellow earth builder! I have looked through the Earthbag Building.com site and even downloaded your PDF book a few years back. Excellent resources! I also wanted so share my project. I am from Connecticut and was working in Honduras as an English teacher from 2012-2014. … Read more

25 Small, Sustainable House Plans eBook Now Available!

Owen Geiger’s new ebook -- 25 Small Sustainable House Plans is now available!
Owen Geiger’s new ebook — 25 Small Sustainable House Plans is now available!

25 Small Sustainable House Plans provides a fascinating selection of innovative house plans, along with an overview of the most efficient natural building methods – strawbale, earthbag and sustainably harvested wood. Go beyond the basics and learn how to use free or low-cost natural building materials to build your dream home free of debt, with the least amount of time and labor. Get the lowdown on the best natural building methods — what really works and why.

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Lots of New Earthbag Videos

The number of new earthbag videos is growing fast. I did a quick check yesterday and found quite a few new ones. Many of them are in other languages and probably won’t make it onto our Video page, so I’ll post them here on the blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkhfzCbT_fE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HCoLhqj4fY&feature=g-vrec http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExYPG5pJdgE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODUj3bKA_pE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGX7y_hK5u0&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEOihnulpmA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s80_rSOygR8&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekj-vws63II&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITqg445P7hg&feature=related … Read more