Two-Story Thin-wall Earthbag Construction in India

Thin-wall earthbag eco training centre in India
Thin-wall earthbag eco training centre in India

Sacred Earth Trust (SET) is an NGO based in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India working on sustainable development in Sacred sites, headed by Lillian Sum. The main focus has been on developing environmental education through practical eco solutions.
12 inch wide earthbag walls filled with local sandy soil are braced with rebar
12 inch wide earthbag walls filled with local sandy soil are braced with rebar

SET has been building an Eco training and plastic up-cycling centre, that introduced hybrid design concepts to demonstrate low cost effective technologies which are also earthquake resilient, insulated and easily accessible for local adaptation.

The Earthbag concept was introduced and modified to suit the local needs. To address issues regarding availability of space the ‘Thin-bag’ was adopted for local use to construct the office and machine rooms on site. Instead of using the original earthbag of 18” inch width, the method was adapted and resulted in 12 inch width wall. This not only contributed towards the reduction of the total cost by using less earth, manual labour and materials resources, cement, rebar, chicken wire netting and plaster work, it resulted in the reduction of embodied energy of the overall carbon footprint of the construction process, whilst still providing the earthquake resilient and insulation properties required. SET has been working in partnership with UNDP, MEFC, CEE, GEF on the eco and plastic up-cycling centre infrastructure development.

For more info on projects: Lillian Sum
Sacred Earth Trust

7 thoughts on “Two-Story Thin-wall Earthbag Construction in India”

  1. Hello, I need guidance of earth bag and mud house construction
    I’m planning to construct eco-friendly resorts, in budget
    Thank you so much

    Reply
  2. We. Are doing 50 house project in maharashta for poor labour how much cost for 10/12 rooms please giv mobile nomber we want give contract if there is any contractar then send mobile nomber

    Reply
  3. I like that the earth bag house is being diveloped to suit diffrent conditions and of course building codes. I have considered putting rebar in my build when I get my home constructed. It is a great idea for places like Jamaica.

    Reply
  4. Great effort…. Thanks for the great idea….. Wish to be in bodh gaya soon.
    Doing same in commercial format.
    Thanks and regards.

    Reply
  5. This first of its kind project required narrow walls to fit small city lots and two-story construction because cost of land in urban areas is expensive. Building with rebar allows engineers to get the building code approved and keep costs low. There’s no clay in the area but lots of common sandy soil. Lillian told me the building process worked great; the workers really liked it. So this thin wall earthbag method is a low cost sustainable building method to rival brick and concrete construction.

    Reply

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