Earthbag Houses: Building Homes From the World Around You

Created by Dr. Owen Geiger, Ph.D. in Social and Economic Development, Earthbag Houses are an economical solution to building affordable homes in areas all over the world. Working with the goal of promoting natural building, sustainable design and development, through research, training, education, and consulting services, Earthbag homes use the material we “stand on” to create these unique homes, that can also double as safety shelters.

Combining sandbags and plastic bags filled with sediments from the earth, they arranged in layers or as coils. The earthbags are stabilized with cement, lime, or sodium carbonate and are filled on spot, varying from site to site. These eco-friendly homes are built on a foundation of rocks and secured with barbed wire to allow for an earthquake resistant infrastructure.

Earthbag Homes, with their unique design and building methods, have started to appear all over the world. How could we use the Global Innovation Commons to spread this knowledge to communities in need of affordable housing? Lets dive in and find out!