Natural Building Materials and Methods

Chart of natural building materials and methods
Chart of natural building materials and methods

Chris Dancey put together a video titled Natural Building Overview that shows many different natural building options. The screenshot above was taken from his video. I like the chart because it shows at a glance the various natural building materials and methods in an organized way.

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An eco building named Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood is a roundwood timber-frame eco building. It was built in 2012, at Swan Barn Farm in Haslemere, on the borders of West Sussex and Surrey, by the National Trust’s Black Down countryside team and volunteers, led by Head Ranger David Elliott.

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From Gotham to isolated, code & debt-free West Texas estate


“Seven years ago John Wells sold his heavily-mortgaged home in upstate New York and bought 40 acres in West Texas for $8000. The area (Brewster County) is so isolated there are no codes or zoning restrictions so Wells built his own tiny home (in 9 days with $1600) relying on his set-building experience.

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Earthbag History in the Making in Coron, Philippines

Earthbag houses in Coron, Philippines use perfectly shaped and aligned earthbags that are made in a wooden form and then set on the wall.
Earthbag houses in Coron, Philippines use perfectly shaped and aligned earthbags that are made in a wooden form and then set on the wall.

I recently visited an incredible earthbag project in the Philippines. The earthbag houses are in Barangay Lajala, a coastal barangay near Coron that was devastated by super Typhoon Yolanda last year. About 90 percent of the houses in Barangay Lajala were completely destroyed while the other 10 percent were partly damaged. This is the largest earthbag project of its kind and so I will be posting numerous stories to document as many details as possible. They use a different earthbag method than anyone else. See below for details.

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Daruma Natural Building

Daruma Eco-Farm in Bang Phra, Thailand
Daruma Eco-Farm in Bang Phra, Thailand

“Daruma Eco-Farm is a sustainable permaculture project located in Bang Phra, Thailand. We offer permaculture design courses, have an artist-in residency program, and are an active member of WWOOF (World-Wide Opportunities in Organic Farming), Couchsurfing, and WarmShowers. Volunteers coming to Daruma Eco-Farm can expect to work on anything from planting rice paddies to sustainable construction to assisting our on-site alternative learning school, Mosaic. There are always different projects going on, depending on the season.

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