Simple Shelters Book Review

Simple Shelters – Tents, Tipis, Yurts, Domes and Other Ancient Homes
Simple Shelters – Tents, Tipis, Yurts, Domes and Other Ancient Homes

“Rarely do you get such a small book that feels much bigger than it really is. This diminutive book, (measuring a mere 6 by 5 inches) with the title ‘Simple Shelters’, is anything but small in content and the shelters are anything but simple. In fact I am thinking of shrinking the size of my coffee table so it does not look out of place.

Read more

Wigwam Construction

Native American wigwam made with saplings and bark
Native American wigwam made with saplings and bark

“Chogan and his family needed a structure that could support the heavy snow and also provide shelter from the harsh northern winters. The dome shape of the wigwam has natural strength, and any snow that accumulated on the wigwam roof provided additional insulation from the cold.

Read more

Emergency Earthbag Shelter Now Under Construction

Emergency earthbag (sand bag) shelters are extremely low cost, safe, durable, require few tools and can be constructed by recipients with minimal training.
Emergency earthbag (sand bag) shelters are extremely low cost, safe, durable, require few tools and can be constructed by recipients with minimal training.

The earthbag emergency shelter Patti Stouter and I published in our UN Emergency Shelter Proposal is now under construction. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years. Drawings, articles and blog posts are all great, but there’s nothing like first-hand experience to work out the kinks and get detailed documentation. A European journal plans to publish this shelter design next month along with Kelly Hart’s Riceland Dome. The journal article will likely bring much more international attention to earthbag building, and this lit a fire under me to build an actual prototype.

Read more

$229,000 FEMA Trailers

Your tax dollars hard at work. Agency spent more on trailers than it would have cost to buy new houses.
Your tax dollars hard at work. Agency spent more on trailers than it would have cost to buy new houses.

Comments from yesterday’s blog post prompted me to look up the cost of FEMA trailers for Hurricane Katrina victims. We all know the government buys $600 toilet seats, but this report about FEMA trailers really shocked and disgusted me.

“A new report by government watchdogs obtained by NBC News estimates expenses for each FEMA trailer at the Port Bienville site could reach a staggering $229,000.

“I could have bought a brand-new trailer! Or a house even!” Guidroz says.

Read more