| Earthbag building (sometimes called sandbag building) | | | | Kelly and Rosana Hart’s earthbag and papercrete |
| started about one hundred years ago providing safe, | | | | house, Crestone, Colorado: The Hart’s house is |
| bulletproof and bomb resistant shelters for the | | | | world famous in the sustainable building movement, |
| military. They proved to be fast, simple to construct | | | | having been featured in at least 10 books and |
| and durable. The same qualities that make earthbags | | | | magazines. Their double-dome earthbag home has a |
| useful for military and flood control purposes apply to | | | | connected space for their bath, laundry, hot tub, |
| building houses. Now people all over the world are | | | | office and grow bed. The bags have been filled with |
| using the same basic process of filling and stacking | | | | volcanic rock to insulate against the extreme Rocky |
| bags to build their dream homes, home offices, shops | | | | Mountain winters. |
| and other commercial buildings. | | | | EarthDome House at Terrasante Village, Tucson, |
| No one knows for sure how many earthbag buildings | | | | Arizona: This 12 foot circular structure is built 3 feet |
| have been built. My best estimate is somewhere | | | | below grade to moderate harsh desert temperatures. |
| between 1,000 and 1,500. Although this is just an | | | | It has a ferrocement roof made of rebar and |
| estimate, it is based on hundreds of hours searching | | | | diamond lath, which is coated with cement/lime |
| for earthbag projects on the web and reading | | | | plaster. The roof is insulated with recycled |
| everything available on the subject. | | | | polystyrene, an abundant material in their area. Inside |
| Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of building with | | | | temperatures remain comfortable. Total cost: about |
| bags is their adaptability. Besides buildings, earthbags | | | | $1,000. |
| can be used to create furniture, privacy and retaining | | | | As people discover the advantages of building homes |
| walls, planters and many other uses in a wide range | | | | with earthbags (sustainable, safe, quiet, durable, |
| of climates. For example, earthbags work just as well | | | | low-cost, nontoxic, fire and flood resistant, rodent |
| for domes as they do for structures with vertical | | | | proof, bullet resistant, etc.), they are also building |
| walls. They also excel at creating free-form, curving | | | | commercial structures. Examples include: La Casa de |
| structures. | | | | Tierra, a vacation rental in Costa Rica; earthbag |
| The following projects highlight the incredible | | | | schools and a clinic have been built in the Philippines; |
| creativity of earthbag builders as well as illustrate the | | | | there is a ranger station in Bluff, Utah, an orphanage |
| diversity of uses for this amazing building method. | | | | in Honduras, and a large spiritual temple called the Om |
| Alison Kennedy’s house in Moab, Utah: This 1,000 | | | | Dome in Thailand. These are but a few examples. |
| square foot home is the first permitted earthbag | | | | In addition, builders, NGOs, research institutes, and |
| house in Utah. It uses earthbags as in-fill between | | | | governments are discovering the potential for using |
| concrete and wood posts. The earth and lime | | | | earthbags in affordable housing and emergency |
| plastered walls are decorated with strikingly colorful | | | | shelters. Requiring just a few simple materials such as |
| designs made with clay paint. | | | | recycled grain bags filled with soil or gravel, and |
| Rum Cay Sand Castle in Rum Cay, Bahamas: Steve | | | | ordinary tools such as shovels and buckets, a small |
| Kemble and Carol Escott decided to build with | | | | dome or shelter can be built for as little as $100. This |
| earthbags so their house would withstand tropical | | | | makes earthbag building one of the lowest cost |
| storms. This innovative house uses bags filled with | | | | sustainable building systems in the world. No doubt all |
| crushed coral and sand from the dredging operation | | | | these advantages are behind the current surge in |
| of a nearby marina. So far, after being hit by several | | | | earthbag building. |
| hurricanes, there has been no substantial damage. | | | | |