Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series, 8)

This is THE reference manual that you need in order to building your own earthbag structure. Whether you are looking at constructing an earthbag wall, outbuilding, or home, this is the reference book for you. Here are the things we like most about it:1) WRITING STYLE - The author writes in a very easy-to-understand manner. Even if you are totally new to constructing with earthbag or just alternative building methods in general, I am confident that you will be able to follow the author's instructions.2) IMAGES - As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. There are many pictures and illustrations to help you understand how to do the techniques outlined in the book. Some of them are actual images of earthbag structures and others are hand-drawn. However, all of them are useful for the overall goal of the book - preparing you to build your structure.3) DIVERSITY - This book covers a range of different building situations. It helps you learn what you need to take into account when building in different climates - from arid ones to wetter areas. It also helps you know what you need to do to with different soil compositions and what possible amendments you will need (if any).I am new to the natural building movement, and I found this book very useful in introducing me to earthbag building. I have read many different books on many different types of natural buildings (earthships, cob, strawbale, etc.), and after all my research, I will probably start with an earthbag building. And this house will serve as a starting point before I try something that requires a bit more finesse like cob (the exact composition of cob seems to be a bit more finicky than what needs to fill an earthbag).So, if you are looking into what all is needed to build with earthbags,look no further, this is the book you need.

If you have ever considered building your own home Earthbag Building is a DIY dream come true. Years ago the California based architect Nader Khalili of the Cal-Earth Institute in Hesperia felt the need for people to be able to build homes using materials found on site. Kaki Hunter and Don Kiffmeyer have expanded on Khalili's technique to produce modern homes that are works of art. More important in our environmentally conscious era, they are green, Eco-Friendly sustainable structures anyone will be proud to own.This is a comprehensive guide suited to the novice or the experienced DIY person. The bibliography alone is worth the price of the book.With hundreds of black and white photos, a full color section of Alison Kennedy's Moab, Utah earthbag house and line drawings that are clear and complete, it's as inspirational as it is practical.Many people today are looking for ways to live lives in harmony with the environment. Here is one option worth considering that uses less forest material, lends itself to recycling lumber, wire, telephone poles and much more. It's a flexible, adaptive approach that allows for what works best for you.Even the book itself is earth friendly. It's printed by New Society Publishers on acid free paper that is 100% old growth forest-free (100% post-consumer recycled) processed chlorine free, and printed with vegetable based inks. So it's a step toward ending global deforestation and climate change.I think you'll like it.

I was introduced to earthbag building in 2009 while working for a local NGO in Honduras, where adobe building is one of the most common methods besides using cement blocks. I was focused on building homes in the very poor rural areas of Honduras and wanted to low cost, high strength building system that would survive hurricanes and other natural disasters that are prevalent in Central America. A good friend of mine gifted me the book and it changed my outlook completely. A few years later I became friends with a local Honduran (who owned a construction company) that had a similar perspective as me. He has built hundreds of homes and was very interested in earthbag building. I showed him the book and he said "let's try building something small on one of my properties." So that's what we did in 2012. I built another home there with him in 2016.Since then, I have been buying any book that I can find on earthbag building, which there are actually quite a few out of print books from as far back as the late 70s. I have them all. This book is the best of them all. I have bought this book 4 times and given all of the copies away. Today I bought another copy.There are a few techniques that are outlined in other earthbag building books, specifically in the usage of cement and other materials to help better stabilize the earthbags in wetter climates, but it all boils down to your specific needs for your structure. As with anything, you have to dig a bit deeper to find information about some philosophies of earthbag building and what's "correct". Each author, you'll find, has a different perspective. For me, and the 11 years that I have been gathering information about earthbag building, this is hands down the best foundational book on the topic, and I wouldn't start another earthbag project without this book on hand.