I wrote in a previous blog post how I’m loving earthbag water tanks. My fascination with these water tanks jumped up a notch after reading an article about the difficulties of building a concrete water tank. From what I’ve recently learned by visiting Vanuatu and assisting in water tank design and construction, I know earthbag water tanks are much faster, easier and lower cost to build than concrete tanks.
low cost
Qanat Windcatcher
“A windcatcher is a traditional Persian architectural element to create natural ventilation in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs: uni-directional, bi-directional, and multi-directional. Windcatchers remain present in many countries and can be found in traditional Persian-influenced architecture throughout the Middle East, including in the small Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Earthbag Water Tanks
We’ve nearly finished an earthbag water tank with narrow tubes that cost $200 in materials. Plastic tanks this size retail for around $1,350 in Vanuatu, so this design costs far less than the main competing product. It won’t blow away in a hurricane, break down from UV rays or taint the water with plastic chemicals. Our water tank includes a domed ferrocement top that’s exceptionally strong. It can be built in 2-3 days by four workers with minimal skill, although plastering skill is very helpful. There’s a huge water shortage on the islands here in Vanuatu, as well as many other places. Those who learn this method could make a lot of money selling water tanks since demand is high and cost of labor is cheap.
AUWA Earthbag Rural Retreat
Here’s another wonderful project by AUWA Earth. We’ve profiled them before, but this little house caught my eye when browsing their website again. And by the way, check out their slideshow that shows a very fast earthbag building system using raschel mesh tubes.
Building Earthquake Proof Bamboo Homes – Indonesia
This video was made after the Earthquakes hit and destroyed many house in Indonesia. They called in a expert to build housing made of Bamboo for shelter.
Our Tropical Forest Garden and Homestead Update: One Year+ Later
Tour of our finished homestead. The forest garden is now a lush haven for humans and native wildlife. Our banana plants are around 9’-16’ high and producing nicely.
After a long delay, I’m posting another video about our homestead and forest garden. Everything is pretty much finished except small odds and ends. In summary, the project is a major success on many levels – personally, affordability goals, improved health from working in the garden and eating better, and just plain fun and rewarding. It’s great being in nature. It’s definitely been one of the best projects of my life.