About Earthbag
The reason I’m choosing earthbag over traditional adobe bricks is because, overall, the process is faster and the structure is stronger.
Mostly it’s about shape. Bags don’t have any rigidity until they’re compacted. So unlike adobe bricks, bags allow me to build round walls and domed ceilings. Much stronger than straight walls and wooden roofs. And a lot more fun to design! (learn more here)
The expense is minimal. The work is simple, although strenuous. The clay/sand ratio doesn’t matter as much as adobe. The thermal properties of earth architecture are well suited for the desert. The materials compliment the environment. It can be done on a shorter timeline. Many factors brought me to this decision.
After much research, I attended a workshop at the Cal-Earth Institute, where I learned the ways of bagging and became a certified earth builder. That’s me at the very top.
The workshop was everything I dreamed. It felt so good to be among like-minded people because, before that time, I was the only one I knew who had any interest in building a house out of the earth beneath me. It was validating, knowing that I’m not insane. I’ve never connected with people so immediately in my life. And if anyone from that workshop is reading this, thank you.
So much of the education we received is about working with building codes and getting your plans permitted to build. You have to gather soil samples and perform tests, send them into a lab to see if the PSI is up to code. Talk to councils, talk to contractors, yada yada, it’s a lot of headache that would take a long time to get approved. Knowing I don’t have to deal with ANY of that is a relief beyond words. I’m free to build whatever, however, and whenever I want.
Praise be to New Mexico, the land of no building restrictions. My favorite state.
