Is eco-building for everyone?
Walls Going up
The short answer is yes!
In times of increasing populations, the extremely high cost of buying or building a house and the negative impact these have on the environment, it´s time for all of us to learn from our ancestors!
Eco-building uses old, often forgotten, techniques, working with, not against natural surroundings with a low environmental impact. The idea is to use sustainable materials readily and if possible freely available in the place where you live to last the test of time.
Walls Before Plastering
There are many techniques and ways of building, including cob, earth-bag, rammed-earth and wattle and daub and the one you chose depends on the site where you´ll be building and the materials, time, people-power and financial resources available.
Our house was built using the earth-bag technique. As the site is on the side of a hill, a terrace was first cut, which provided the earth. This very earth was then compressed into bags to become the walls, with the roof being supported by locally grown and felled eucalyptus trunks. The main resource was time and energy supplied by volunteers and kind neighbours.
The Finished House from Above
This and other material is available on my blog:
https://paradiseregainedsite.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/is-eco-building-for-everyone/