“Hi Owen, I’ve been sick for the past fortnight but it’s given me a chance to process all the offers and opportunities that have opened up.
I am going to have to work with the government in Vanuatu so I have to be very clear what I can offer to a community and how I can fund it.
“Throughout the summer, I kept track of my expenses here.
“Slightly before my 60th birthday I realised I had made no plans for my old age, and did not have any money put aside for it either. Thailand was my home, but no government pensions available, so what could I do that I would enjoy, which would also bring in a bit of money to live by. I decided to buy some land with my last few pennies, and go to the UK for a few years and earn some money, and save every penny I could. I bought a fantastic piece of land in Chiang Dao, northern Thailand, and spent several years in the UK saving like mad.
“Sand bag building I built in Peru.”
In an effort to prove that a simple earthbag roundhouse could be built entirely with unskilled and inexperienced labor we made a leap of faith.
We bought a block of land on the island of Efate in Vanuatu. We intended to build a women’s centre and hoped to inspire pacific islanders to recycle and build safe affordable Eco housing. This is not a charity or a religious venture. It just started with one Australian family wanting to help some friends in a nearby island.
“This is Nic and Minna from Permastructure again. Hope you guys are well at EarthbagBuilding.com, We’re happy to announce our next intensive workshop here in Australia, Victoria in September 21st to 28th.