The above image is Owen Geiger’s Subterranean Survival Shelter Plan, available on our website.
Last night, I stepped outside around midnight. It was a relatively balmy 63 degrees outside. This is in January, in the heart of winter in the mountains of North Carolina. We hear about extreme weather events constantly now, and the past year was the warmest on record globally. It’s time to wake up and smell the antropocene extinction event, that is just now reaching it’s stride.
I just read the other day that Mark Zuckerberg is building a $250,000,000 dollar compound in Hawaii with an immense, armored underground bunker. Though we don’t have to try to compete with such billionaire extravagance, we can create a similar level of protections for ourselves and our loved ones for much cheaper.
I have built two partially bermed (buried) earthbag houses. Earthbags are perfect for underground use, just as they are for above ground structures. Round is the ideal shape underground, as it resists pressure from the outside evenly. I hope to eventually build a fully underground earthbag house.
There are several advantages to living underground.
- Temperature regulation – the thermal mass of the earth keeps temperatures within a certain range so your walls aren’t even exposed to the extreme temps of summer or winter. In hot or cold areas your house will stay relatively cool/warm and comfortable.
- Less of a wind profile – many areas (ours included) are experiencing higher winds more often. These can do lots of damage to above-ground structures. Being underground gives you protection, even from hurricane and tornado strength winds.
- Less visibility – if civilization goes tits up because of human stupidity, less visibility will be a very desirable feature.
- Less noise pollution – heavy earthbag walls already block out a lot of noise but an underground structure won’t get hardly any sound coming from outside. Have a rock band and don’t want to piss off the neighbors? It will also keep sound in!
- Protection from radiation/other extreme situations.
I’m probably not alone in feeling a lot of uncertainty about our collective future right now. I am wanting to help communities prepare for this uncertainty. I am available for private consulting. Hit me up!
Morgan.
