Should You Build an Earthship*?
This is story is about if an Earthship* is a good idea for you. I get a lot of requests asking me about if someone should build one, here is how I answer it.
*Earthship is a trademarked name, I am going to use the astrix as my TM symbol because using TM beside everything in Medium is a bit distracting.
What Is An Earthship*?
An Earthship* is an earth sheltered home built out of waste materials that are indigenous to the planet (tires and beer cans). They are passive solar and need little to no additional space heat, harvest rainwater for drinking, clean their own greywater by growing tropical plants and fruit in their attached passive solar greenhouse and up-cycle their black water by growing perennial fruit trees outside of the building.
My Background With Earthships
Earthships are amazing structures. I have taken a course on building them, spent time in them and I admire Michael Reynolds, the creator of the concept, for opening my eyes up to what is possible in buildings. Michael Reynolds in his movie The Garbage Warrior, discusses his heroic battle with building code officials to change the codes, rules and regulations around buildings and demonstrates how much of his life energy he devoted to trying to change a system which was not interested in change. In some ways, it was a futile battle, however at the end of his journey he had an inside view of “the machine” which he discussed ad nauseam when we were in New Mexico visiting his center. His insight was, instead of fighting the system, understand the codes and regulations better than they do and work around them. Because the system is so stuck in its ways, because regulation is so rigid, there is no possible way that they can account for every permutation and combination of system. Mr Reynolds learned this the hard way and changed the way that I looked at design and engineering forever.
Should You Build One?
The question of whether you should build one is one I love to talk about. When people first find out about the Earthship* the thing they usually fall in love with is not the structure itself, it is what the structure stands for. Earthships* are a metaphor for Freedom, Self Reliance, Security and Robustness. It is easy to understand why this is attractive in the crazy, confusing and backward world we find ourselves in.
There are three main things you need to think about before you embark on building an Earthship*, do I have the staying power and labour to see it through, does the property I am working on have a radon gas issue and how does living in a space with closed in sides feel to me?
Do I have The Staying Power & Labour?
Building an Earthship* is a herculean task. The backbone of the structure is tires filled with subsoil (sand, silt and clay) from your site. One tire contains roughly 400 lbs of subsoil and the average strong man/woman can fill 8 tires in a day. The average Earthship has over 1000 tires, which is 125 days of “pounding sand”. The upside to this is, you can cancel you Cross Fit membership, but you will likely need a full time Russian Masseuse to keep you from locking up. I have met several people over the years that have started these structures only to abandon them because the sand pounding is too tough. There are pneumatic sand pounders that a few people have developed/innovated and I would do some research into these innovations before I got started on a project like this. One of the best resources out there are the folks at http://www.darfieldearthship.com/ . Check them out, their website is full of info and they are great people! I suspect they would consult on some of their insights which would be well worth your time.
Is There Radon Gas?
Radon gas is something that I have started testing for my clients. I use an Airthings Radon detector in my house and I do this analysis for all of my clients. Radon is being linked to lung cancer at higher rates than originally thought and so this is an important piece of due diligence you should do before building any Earthship, Earth-sheltered home or basement.
Do I Like Living in an Enclosed Space?
One of my good friends and colleagues has worked on Earthships* and spent a significant amount of time in them. When he was working in them he noticed that not having windows to the east and west gave him a sense of being in a prison. I am not suggesting that everyone will feel this way, but I feel that his observation is a relevant point that should be considered. Do you like how they feel inside when you are living in them? If you are unsure, stay in one, there are a bunch on Air BnB and one of my students has built one here in Alberta that you can occasionally tour.
Here is a video I did on Earthships* that you might find useful.
If you resonate with the ideas of Freedom, Self Reliance, Security and Robustness I recommend you look at all of the options available to you that can achieve these qualities in your home, acreage or farm. If you want a a 12 day workshop that will get to the heart of this and set you up on your path, you may want to check out our Permaculture Design Certificate. This course is designed to help you create a sustainable future and meaningful life so you can thrive no matter what.
If your not ready for that leap, check out my best writing from the last 10 years on this subject in our free blog book.
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Rob’s Bio:
In less than 10 years, Rob Avis left Calgary’s oil fields and retooled his engineering career to help clients and students design integrated systems for shelter, energy, water, waste and food, all while supporting local economy and regenerating the land. He’s now leading the next wave of permaculture education, teaching career-changing professionals to become eco-entrepreneurs with successful regenerative businesses. Learn more and connect with Rob at https://vergepermaculture.ca/contact/
PS. If you see any typos, please let me know.
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