natural building – Page 211 – Natural Building Blog

Liquid Fertilizers for Organic Gardening

June 3, 2022November 12, 2012 by Owen Geiger

The soil in most parts of the world has been depleted through intensive farming methods and erosion. Plants will grow with chemical fertilizer, but often lack valuable minerals and micronutrients. We need to give the plants a boost so they’re healthy and disease resistant, and our bodies also need the added nutrients. This blog post explains several low cost/free ways to make liquid fertilizer to give your plants a healthy, natural boost. And remember, “You are what you eat” (and think).

EM = effective organisms, microbial innoculent

Lava Rock Houses

June 3, 2022November 11, 2012 by Owen Geiger

Lava rock house with thatched roof in Cheju Island

We’ve covered earthbag houses made with lava rock/scoria in great detail. (Use the search engine on the right if you’re a new reader.) For fun, let’s take a look at a few stone houses made of mortared lava rock. The construction process is obviously completely different, but both enjoy the benefits of lightweight, insulating, fireproof and bug proof volcanic rock. Stone houses typically have exceptionally long lifespans

Another CEB Wall Method

June 3, 2022November 10, 2012 by Owen Geiger

This photo shows how Vela Creations makes CEB walls and posts.

“CEBs are one of the cheapest, simplest building methods available. They are an advancement on adobe blocks and are far more versatile, durable and strong.

CEB Press Refinements

June 3, 2022November 9, 2012 by Owen Geiger

CEB bridge buster prevents soil from jamming in the hopper

We’ve been covering CEB presses lately. I found an excellent blog that describes in detail how to greatly enhance a basic CEB press. The Propagelle Projects Blog explains how they’ve modified a CEB press for improved performance. I’ve taken the liberty to include a few snippets and images to highlight the caliber of their work. Be sure to visit their blog for complete info.

Post Detail for CEB Walls

June 3, 2022November 8, 2012 by Owen Geiger

Concrete posts can be cast in the wall after CEBs are stacked

One way to speed construction of compressed earth block walls (CEBs) is to pour concrete posts after the CEB walls are built. This process may be desirable in mild climates where there’s low probability of rain or snow and you are eager to get the walls built. Pouring the posts in the walls saves on form material, and reduces cutting and fitting of blocks (less need for perfect alignment). Posts are inconspicuous (or invisible in some cases – see below) because they’re inset flush to the wall.

YWAM Orlando’s Justice Department Earthbag Home

June 3, 2022November 7, 2012 by Owen Geiger

“YWAM (Youth With a Mission) Orlando’s Justice Department embarks on its first sustainable housing project – an Earthbag Home. Using resources that can be found almost anywhere, they are building a prototype on the campus. The hope is that, having learned to build this kind of house here, future teams can be trained in simple construction, then sent on outreach to take what they’ve learned to people who need it!”