Emergency Shelter and Disaster Resistant Housing for the Philippines

We’re starting to get requests for disaster relief in the Philippines. This is where earthbag building really shines. I’ve researched this for years and don’t know of any building method that’s better suited to providing low cost, disaster resistant emergency shelter than earthbags. Earthbag structures can be designed to resist earthquakes, typhoons and anything else … Read more

What’s the Real Cause of the World’s Housing Problem?

An example of urban poverty in this slum in Jakarta, Indonesia
An example of urban poverty in this slum in Jakarta, Indonesia

Over a billion people in the world lack decent housing even though there are dozens of low cost housing methods that could eliminate this problem. Possibilities include building with earthbags, adobe, cob, pallets, bamboo and other locally available materials. These affordable, sustainable housing options are described on our blog in good detail. Additionally, the Internet has thousands of websites, blogs, online journals and forums with even more information about these building methods. There are thousands of low income housing groups working on this cause. And, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of information on how to build affordable housing, and yet the lack of decent housing persists. So what’s going on? What’s the real problem here?

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Shelters, Shacks and Shanties – Free Ebook

Shelters, Shacks and Shanties – Free Ebook
Shelters, Shacks and Shanties – Free Ebook

Yesterday’s blog post about the free book Build it With Bales was a big hit and so I decided to add this ebook. Besides making useful temporary shelter for living in while you build something more permanent, a lot can be learned from building structures like this.

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Wigwam, Wikiup, Bender Tents/Shelters

Improvised shelters made of branches or saplings and covered with tarps provide emergency shelter as well as a place to live while your home is being built.
Improvised shelters made of branches or saplings and covered with tarps provide emergency shelter as well as a place to live while your home is being built.

“A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by many different Native American cultures. The curved surfaces make it an ideal shelter for all kinds of conditions. These structures are formed with a frame of arched poles, most often wooden, which are covered with some sort of roofing material. Details of construction vary with the culture and local availability of materials. Some of the roofing materials used include grass, brush, bark, rushes, mats, reeds, hides or cloth.”

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Earthbag Hidey Hole Shelter

Tiny Earthbag Hidey Hole emergency shelter (click to enlarge)
Tiny Earthbag Hidey Hole emergency shelter (click to enlarge)

This is the fourth installment about my low cost desert shelters that have been designed with economic refugees in mind. These desert shelters were inspired by Phillip Garlington’s website at Rancho Costa Nada. The Hidey Hole shelter was also inspired by Ran Prieur’s shelter. Ran Prieur is the author of Ran Prieur.com as well as numerous texts such as his free novel Apocalypsopolis and his essay on How to Drop Out. Here’s an interesting article about the cabin he is building and his Frugal Early Retirement FAQ. Both Phil Garlington and Ran Prieur write extensively on how to simplify life, live more sustainably and, as a result, have a better life.

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