Special thanks to Randolph Langenbach who sent me this information on rebuilding rural stone houses in earthquake zones with gabion bands. The basic concept uses ring beams of stones wrapped in strong mesh to tie the masonry walls together.
natural building
Earthbag Building Timelapse — Nuwakot School, Nepal
“Here is a progress time-lapse video of the Birds of Passage Shree Jana Primary School – Nuwakot built by Good Earth Nepal! We hope you enjoy, massive thank you to Good Earth Nepal for making this possible and spreading this technology throughout Nepal for a safer and more sustainable future! We couldn’t have asked for a better team of volunteers! Hand on our hearts…THANK YOU TEAM!”
Light Straw-Clay Construction Now Code Approved
“An appendix on Light Straw-Clay Construction was also approved for inclusion in the 2015 International Residential Code (IRC). To date only the states of New Mexico and Oregon have a section on Light Straw-Clay Construction in their building code. The proposal received a 6-3 approval vote at Building Committee Hearings in Dallas in April 2013. After public testimony and immediately before the vote, one committee member encouraged approval, commenting, “This is the future.”
Earthbag Village in Russia
Hello Owen!
I’m russian architect and earthbag builder. Recently I’ve made an earthbag village development project that won prise at russian architectural competition. I hope you’ll enjoy its content here: http://izproject.ru/2047-2/ (text is in Russian but there are lots of interesting drawings and photos)
Seeds of Learning Earthbag School in Nicaragua
“Hi Owen,
Saludos from Nicaragua! I hope this email finds you well. My name is Casey and the organization I work for, Seeds of Learning, is building an earthbag school in a marginalized community in Nicaragua.
Burdei Homes
“The first order of business for any pioneer family was to make sure that they had shelter. In the Ukraine, some of the very first houses were simple huts that were made from sod and logs. The name for this structure was “burdei.”