WHAT ARE EARTHBAGS AND WHY AM I BUILDING WITH THEM?

Building with earthbags is essentially building with adobe bricks without going through the lengthy process of making them. You take polypropylene sandbags, fill them with a moist mix of sand and clay, tamp them down hard and connect the layers with 4 point barbed wire. Then, you cover them over with an earthen plaster.

In reality, I didn't use polypropylene bags. Some Brasilians started a type of construction they call hyperadobe which uses mesh bags, or continuous tubing, made from the same material as the onion or potato bags in the grocery store. They don't require barbed wire, though otherwise the process is just about the same.

As I talk about in the blog posts, my design has been guided by simplicity and efficiency. More than anything, what's been most important to me is to live in a house that I myself, with no building experience whatsoever, can design, build and maintain. A natural extension of that has been the desire to live in a peaceful space. For me that means a home that's in tune with nature, thus limiting the use of imported materials for construction, in addition to those that will be needed later on, such as for heating. Please enjoy reading, ask me any questions, get inspired, and come help and learn!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sitting Around

The weather got beautiful yesterday and even nicer today. Night's are freezing (last night was in the 20's) but with my sleeping bag and comforter I'm as toasty as can be. The zipper on my tent continues to give me trouble. It might actually be permanently open and unrepairable. I'll work on it again later today.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

April Snow Wind and Clouds

There was snow on the ground this morning. There was also snow flying at my car this afternoon. The winds are insane and I believe today is the fourth cloudy day in a row. It's been raining pretty hard. I pray that my tent is still standing and my stuff not too water damaged.
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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Life in Taos




Slightly old pics...Will post updated ones in a few days.

It's been a month since I posted, and what a whirlwind. I arrived in Taos and to my land. Life started out a bit chaotic and hectic--maybe more than I had thought it would be, though in retrospect it couldn't have been any other way.
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