low cost

Grassroot Movement in Nepal (GMIN): Earthbag School

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The final finished structure of the two room earthbag school in Nepal. [The earthbag walls were] done in ten days by three paid labourers and 5-7 volunteers from the village.
The final finished structure of the two room earthbag school in Nepal. [The earthbag walls were] done in ten days by three paid labourers and 5-7 volunteers from the village.

GMIN has built about 21 schools so far in Nepal out of various materials such as adobe, stone and earthbags. Successful fundraising will enable them to build another 20.

“School #18, Ciuridara, Dang, Nepal
Our volunteer Bidya Bajracharya had surveyed this village last year but could not support them with the required two rooms as they did not have rocks nearby and their mud quality was not good enough to make mudbricks. But after meeting Peter Jensen, also a Denmark GMIN ambassador has come up with the solution of building with earthbags. With this earthbag style we can build even in the most remote areas where there are no rocks and poor quality mud.

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Ecosan Composting Toilet

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The Ecosan composting toilet prevents disease and promotes health, protects the environment and conserves water, recovers and recycles nutrients and organic matter.
The Ecosan composting toilet prevents disease and promotes health, protects the environment and conserves water, recovers and recycles nutrients and organic matter.

Ecosan is a shortened term for ecological sanitation. It refers to a system of human toilet systems which separate solids and liquids at source, safely and in a hygienic manner without causing pollution; and uses the nutrient value contained in the waste for growing plants. Typical sanitation solutions have included the septic tank or simply a pit latrine. Both tend to pollute ground water and are environmentally unsatisfactory.

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Pallet Wood Kitchen Cabinets

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Pallet kitchen cabinets
Pallet kitchen cabinets

Pallets are a great free resource for building low cost houses and furniture. We’ve covered lots of different uses of pallets on our blog – floors, paneling, furniture and even entire houses. Here are three nice kitchens made primarily from recycled pallets.

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The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods

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The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low Cost Materials, by Jon Nunan
The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low Cost Materials, by Jon Nunan

“In the United States alone, the annual construction of over one million new homes causes a very substantial drain on natural resources. Today, approximately 60 percent of the timber cut down in our country is used for building homes. Using alternative home building materials and creating a greener home are about creating better homes that are environmentally friendly, are less expensive in the long run, and create healthier occupants.

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Smokeless Rammed Earth Stove

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Smokeless rammed earth cookstove
Smokeless rammed earth cookstove

Rammed Earth for Everyone has some very interesting rammed earth cookstoves and wood stoves with lots of photos that show how they’re built. Looks simple enough for any do-it-yourselfer. Cost would be negligible if the forms were reused to build additional stoves.

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