As a natural building and sustainable living instructor, I have the privilege of working with highly interesting and intelligent people. Earthbag building in particular seems to draw in a wildly diverse group. I’m not sure if it’s the combination of ancient ideas and modern technology or some other factor, but I get to work with some really cool folks. Our latest workshop was no exception! We had people from all different backgrounds and geographical regions. One thing they all had in common was a burning desire to learn, to share, and to connect. There is a special magic that happens when people come together in this way. As we were building, I heard so many fascinating snippets of discussions. I plan to establish a western base of operations at some point where I can help facilitate such gatherings and sharing of knowledge more frequently. We had a lot of fun, too! When you meet new people, it seems you haven’t put them in a box with ideas of who they are yet and you’re also free of your usual box!
The earthbag technique was perfect for this particular site as the excavated dirt was mostly shale rock with very little clay. Such a mix wouldn’t be good for cob or many other forms of natural building but the bags allow almost any fill to be used. Below are more pictures of the build.
In other news, keep your eyes posted for our earthbag pools article in Mother Earth News that will hit the streets in mid May.
We have planned our next earthbag tiny house workshop. It will be held near Atlantic Beach, NC on June 24th – 27th, 2021. You can find out more at our website by clicking this link. Thank you for reading and for your interest in earthbag and other forms of natural building! Morgan
