“Earthbag is an affordable and earthquake safe building method for Nepal, says Animal Nepal. The animal welfare agency was pleasantly surprised when its earthbag/adobe shelter did not sustain a single crack during the earthquakes that hit Nepal in April and May.
seismic
The Owner Builder Magazine: Rebuilding Nepal
Lynda at The Owner Builder Magazine kindly sent us this excellent article written by Mark Clayton. Full text is available through their magazine or by downloading it from Earthbag Building.com.
Reconstructing Steel Framed Schools in Nepal with Earthbags
Phulping, Sindhupalchok: This first of its kind school reconstruction project reuses existing steel posts, steel trusses, metal roofing, foundation, concrete slab floor, windows and doors, and integrates them with earthbag tube walls. The design is very strong because the steel frame braces the earthbag walls, and the earthbag walls and buttresses reinforce the steel posts.
Gabion wall using Christchurch earthquake recycled bricks
“Gabion1 supplies gabions to Town Ball which uses Christchurch earthquake rubble and demolition bricks to fill the gabion baskets.”
Mud Ball – How I Dug Myself Out of the Daily Grind: Atulya K Bingham
6 weeks, $6,000 and plenty of dirt
“I couldn’t teach another lesson. Nor could I tolerate another day with a boss, a punch card, and the indigestion I suffered from bolting my muesli. This was why I’d spent the past five months camping in a remote Turkish field. Then the first winter storm crashed through the valley, turning my tent into a canvas pole dancer. It dawned on me I might need a house. There were only two problems: I had just $6000 left in my account, and 6 weeks before winter.”
Earthbag House in Turkey Survives 6.1 Earthquake
Earthbag Foundations for Soggy Seismic Areas
By Kerry Bingham
As far as I know, mine was the second earthbag structure to be built in Turkey, and it was met with widespread skepticism. With frequent earthquakes, severe flash-flooding on the south coast during the winter months and rising damp, many thought the house would either ‘melt’, slide or be shaken to the ground.