Developing a network of friends can be a big help for achieving your dream of home ownership. A quick search on Meetup.com for ‘earthbag’, just one of numerous social networking sites, turned up the following groups that may prove helpful. Texas Natural Builders “This group is for anyone interested in Natural Building. We explore and … Read more
“Hello, We want to add two rooms to an existing small older home, my question is: We want to build a straw bale home with pallets on both sides, the thought is to put up the straw bales, then put on earth/clay/mud on the bales. As we put the mud on we will put a … Read more
From time to time we answer reader’s questions. Zafra: We’re researching the possibility of acquiring cheap recycled concrete rather than having to pay for gravel for our foundation, but we’re concerned because we’ve read that concrete can wick water upwards to the earth walls. Owen: Good question. Recycled concrete will work fine if you break … Read more
“The nautilus was designed by Flo Kroll, architect Helene .v.d.Merwe, and Helena Wagener during the preparation of the Sustainable Built Environment conference 2005. The Nautilus integrates various earthbuilding methods, including sandbag, cob, adobe, and straw bale. Biomimicry – the application of evolutionary design intelligence to human needs, suggests that natural patterns can be usefully applied … Read more
“The Haitian National Congress (HNC) asked me to conduct training next May for bright and eager Haitian adult citizens who want to become entrepreneurs, nudge their country more toward functional democracy, learn problem solving skills and learn free enterprise practices that will increase their personal income. These trainees will then return to each of Haiti’s … Read more
“The Blue Economy 10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs The Blue Economy began as a project to find 100 of the best nature-inspired technologies that could affect the economies of the world, while sustainably providing basic human needs – potable water, food, jobs, and habitable shelter. Starting with 2,231 peer review articles Dr. Pauli … Read more