Earthbag Building Gains Code Approval in Nepal!

Earthbag building is now an approved building method in Nepal
Earthbag building is now an approved building method in Nepal

“Good Earth Nepal has achieved a huge BREAKTHROUGH! One and a half years of lobbying and multiple presentations to government engineering and technical boards have resulted in the APPROVAL and PUBLICATION of our Earthbag Design and protocols by Nepal’s Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC).

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School in Phulping, Sindhupalchok District, Nepal Retrofitted with Earthbags

Steel framed school in Phulping, Nepal retrofitted with earthbags.
Steel framed school in Phulping, Nepal retrofitted with earthbags.

The first of its kind earthbag school in Nepal has steel posts embedded inside an earthbag wall. The steel framed school was retrofitted with 3-meter long heavy duty polypropylene earthbag tubes filled with soil.

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Rebuild Namkheli, Nepal – 6 Earthbag Houses Completed

Six more earthbag houses completed in Nepal
Six more earthbag houses completed in Nepal

“25th April 2015 is my 2nd birthday”, said Ang Furba Sherpa, our partner from Be Human Nepal. And it is so true for many Nepalese who had experienced the devastating earthquake which tore Nepal apart exactly year ago. The homes of our students at Manjushree Singa Primary School in Namkheli village were also not spared.

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Grassroots Movement Building Earthbag Schools in Nepal

Earthbag school built by volunteers with Good Earth Nepal in Nuwakot, Nepal
Earthbag school built by volunteers with Good Earth Nepal in Nuwakot, Nepal

In collaboration with Good Earth Nepal.org and donations from the Schoeck Family Foundation, we’ve been touring earthbag projects near Kathmandu. We’ve seen numerous earthbag schools in our travels, but haven’t noticed any new conventionally built RCC/brick schools.

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Live from Nepal: Tour Update #1

Traditional rural house in Nepal. Note the second story for storage of grains and other produce.
Traditional rural house in Nepal. Note the second story for storage of grains and other produce.

As most readers have already heard, I am touring earthbag projects near Kathmandu in collaboration with Good Earth Nepal.org (winner of NEA design award). Every day is exciting, informative and productive even though there are many challenges traveling in rural areas on heavily damaged mountain roads. For instance, the “main road” to China, which one would think is a major trade route, in some places looks like a bulldozer simply cleared aside a crude path on top of millions of tons of rocks. And that is in fact what it is!

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