Earthbag Building is a book that I've mentioned before, but I thought I'd put the image up so you can see what I'm talking about if you are not familiar with it. Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer are the authors, and they did a talk at Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto last summer, which James attended.
Earthbag building is the way to go as far as I'm concerned, to solve the problem of homelessness around the world. In colder climates, of course, we will have to insulate the structures (with straw bales around the outside??), but it is the cheapest, strongest and most simple way of building a house. Depending on what design you choose, wood can be completely eliminated from your house, and therefore a huge amount of the cost is reduced immediately.
Straw Bale building is growing in popularity, and that's a good thing, but the cost is almost equal to building a regular old house, which is not an option for most people, unless we were to take out a mortgage (literal translation means 'death pledge'), that we will pay off for the next 50 years.
The book Earthbag Building literally takes you step by step in the building process, with lots of easy to understand diagrams and photographs. Their sense of humour and clarity make it a pleasant read and I recommend it to everyone. If you are in Toronto go to Fertile Ground Environmental Books Store (and support the little place which is 3 blocks south of Young and Bloor on a street called Irwin Avenue). Their website has a really great selection of environmental topics to look through www.fgbooks.com.
Wow, this looks like such a neat book! I've been wanting to build a cob house ever since I read "The Simple Living Guide" by Janet Luhrs.
ReplyDeleteYou are one of my PIF winners! This means that sometime in the next 365 days I will be sending you a box of handmade goodies. I'm still not quite sure what I'm making yet (something knitted? vegan lip balm?), but it would be quite helpful if you could send your shipping address to me! My e-mail is kindlystraycat(at)gmail(dot)com