“Harmony of human habitats with nature, the use of soil and solar energy enables us to build energy-efficient shelters, produce healthy food, process waste and meet the material and spiritual needs in a sustainable manner and in accordance to the local environment. Join us during the earth sheltered passive solar greenhouse building workshops and explore … Read more
I think you’ll forgive me for double posting on this subject after you see GERES free online greenhouse building PDF. I’m reposting on the subject so no one misses this. The information in the PDF is top notch. It’s rare to find books with so much detail, even those for sale. Details include drawings for … Read more
GERES won an Ashden Award in 2009 for their work building solar greenhouses in Ladakh, India. They have now started construction of similar structures in Kyrgystan. The Himalayan winter isn’t kind to vegetables. Temperatures as low as -25 centigrade and low rainfall mean that crops grow for only 90 days a year. In winter the … Read more
I see at least two main approaches to building a pit house with earthbags: 1. Mimic Mike Oehler’s greenhouse design using earthbags instead of poles and shoring. 2. Mimic conventional walipini pit greenhouses. That’s what I’ve chosen to do in the following drawing. It’s very similar to typical walipini’s, so follow the directions in the … Read more
Follow the adventure of building an earth-sheltered structure in Canada, six hours north of Winnipeg. In brief, they’re exploring how to optimize Mike Oehler’s earth sheltered concept using earthbags. Their greenhouse was a success (an amazing feat that far north), and now they want to build a larger structure. Their plans remind me of ancient … Read more