Earthbag Building: Potential Trillion Dollar Market

Large earthbag retaining wall reinforces the embankment between river and highway
Large earthbag retaining wall reinforces the embankment between river and highway

Yesterday I wrote to the two largest industry associations that are related to earthbag building — the Geosynthetics Society and the Textile Bag and Packaging Association. The Geosynthetics Society is the professional organization that represents engineers who design large earthbag projects for highways, railroads, erosion control, mining, marine facilities and many other industrial applications. The Textile Bag and Packaging Association represents manufacturers of bags and tubes that in addition to earthbag building are used for many purposes such as grain and feed bags, cement, etc. Both of these industries are poised to capitalize on a rapidly emerging new market in earthbag building.

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Sindhupalchok’s Sorrow

It seems every building in the area was flattened except this new earthbag training center built by First Steps Himalaya.
It seems every building in the area was flattened except this new earthbag training center built by First Steps Himalaya.

“The hard-hit district is losing hope despite being so close to the capital. The Arniko Highway coils eastwards from Kathmandu towards the Chinese border at Kodari. Every settlement, every bazar, every village along the way has been flattened.

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Report from Her Farm, Nepal

How to build an earth bag house in rural Nepal at Her Farm

Posted by Scott MacLennan on Tuesday, 14 May 2013

“This is how we built an earthbag house in a village in Nepal. It’s cheap and easy to do.

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Another Earthbag Structure Survives Nepal Quake

This earthbag shelter in Badhikhel survived the recent earthquake just fine
This earthbag shelter in Badhikhel survived the recent earthquake just fine

“Hello All,

Our earthbag shelter in Badhikhel (image attached) held up beautifully during the earthquake. The government and aid agencies should consider this building technique in places where manpower / volunteers can be found.”

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Free Earthbag Training for NGOs May 23/24

Free earthbag workshop in Thailand for NGOs and building professionals who are going to help rebuild Nepal. Dates for first 2 day workshop: May 23, 24, 2015 (hurry, that’s only one week from now!) Trainer contact information: Owen Geiger at naturalhouses [AT] gmail.com *Email me for workshop details. Hotel: $12/person Meals: $1-$3 Emphasis is on … Read more

Rebuild Nepal Networking Sites

There are two new websites to facilitate networking among earthbag builders in Nepal. Both are new and just getting started. More content will be added shortly. The main purpose of these sites is to make it easy for groups to communicate with each other, as well as post announcements and news.

First Steps Himalaya Facebook page: Earthbag Rebuild Nepal
This group has been created by First Steps Himalaya as a forum for anyone wanting information about earthbag building and how this could be applied in the post earthquake situation in Nepal.

Earthbag Building in Nepal Meetup
With the help of Vava, one of our readers, we’ve created a Meetup group where people can network with each other and discuss building with earthbags in Nepal.

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