Earthship Biotecture

Michael Reynolds Zoom Lectures

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Sat, 08 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Michael Reynolds is now offering zoom lectures on any sustainable/earthship related topic…

Email lauren@earthship.com for scheduling and rates

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Nomadland Movie Earthship Feature

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Nomadland is up for an Oscar and channel seven is doing an EARTHSHIP feature right after oscars.

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Earth Day Earthship Celebration

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Earthship Volume 1 15% off
2021 Earthship Calendar 50% off
Special Earth Day Earthship HQ Facility Tour
Get Ready: Thursday, April 22, Earth Day, 2021.

2021 Earthship Calendar

Beautiful Earthship Calendar for the 2021 Calendar Year. Beautiful images from many different Earthships.

Earthship Volume 1: How to Build Your Own

The first book in the Earthship Volume Trilogy written by Michael Reynolds. In Earthship Volume 1: Build Your Own, he describes earthships, the theories behind them, the need for them and why they work. He then dives into the details of how to actually build one.

Earthship HQ Facility Guided-Tour

You will meet in the gallery at 3pm where one of our friendly staff will use the hanging panels to explain a bit about the history and what defines earthships today (for about 20-25 minutes). They will do a brief walk through of the Visitor Center, then take you into a few of our other educational facility buildings. These buildings include our Academy classroom building, the E.V.E. project, and into one of the first Earthships built in the community!

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We Keep Buying It

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

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Meet Candace Clark, our April Scholarship Recipient!

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Say hello to Candace Clark (@kandeaux_the_farm_plug), our scholarship recipient for Earthship Academy Session 1!

Candace is a Tuskegee University Alumna from Chicago, IL, and a sustainable agriculture educator. She’ll be sharing some of her journey with us through the Academy process this April.

Want to learn alongside Candace?

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Earthship Encounter 1/4” model

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Building an Earthship Encounter 1/4” model to help visualize future construction project. I used plans available on the Simple Survival app provided by Earthship biotecture. I began constructing this while quarantining at home during the Covid lock down. Finally ready to share. Enjoy!

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Living Off-Grid During the Pandemic

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Share your Story Living Off-Grid During the Pandemic: Research Study Looking for Participants

Hello!

My name is Dr. Ryan Alan Sporer. I am a sociology professor at Salisbury University. I invite you to participate in my research study on the people who build and live in Earthships and other off-grid structures. These are some of the questions I hope to answer. Why are people building and living differently? How they are accomplishing this? What problems do they have to confront? And how has recent politics and the pandemic affected the off-grid movement?

The purpose of this research is to add knowledge of the off-grid movement to social science literature. This is a follow up study to interviews I collected between 2013-2015 with Earthship residents, interns, and other builders. You may participate if you are between the ages of 18 and 64 and currently live in an off-grid dwelling or are actively building one.

As a participant, you will be asked to set aside 30 minutes to one hour for a Zoom or telephone interview. The interview will be recorded with a digital audio recorder. The recording will be transcribed and analyzed along with two dozen or more interviews. All interviews will use fake names and your answers will be confidential.

I do not believe there are any risks to your participation that is any greater than would occur in a conversation that you would normally have about your experiences. There is no direct material benefit for your participation, other than knowing that your answers will help social scientists understand the off-grid movement.

Participation is voluntary, you may skip any questions you wish not to answer, and you may end the interview at any point for any reason with no negative consequence to your relationship to Salisbury University.

If you would like to participate in this research study, you may email me at rasporer@salisbury.edu or call me at (773) 312-2242.

If you have questions later, please contact me at the email or phone number above or you may contact the sociology department directly at 410-543-6430.

If you have any adverse effects or concerns about the research, please contact the primary investigator Dr. Ryan Alan Sporer at rasporer@salisbury.edu or (773) 312-2242 or the Office of Graduate Studies and Research at Salisbury University at 410-548-3549 or toll free 1-888-543-0148. This research is approved by the Salisbury University’s IRB under protocol number 12

Thank you for your consideration,

Dr. Ryan Alan Sporer

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Colorado Earthship Offgrid on the Mountainside

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:00:00 +0000

My job as a lifestyles editor has taken me inside hundreds of homes, but none as fascinating as an Earthship in Park County, Colorado.

Its owners, Cherrie and Guy Geerdts, traded careers in Denver in 2012 for laid-back mountain life near Guffey … population 25. Four years ago, they began looking at off-grid possibilities. “Nothing was right,” Guy recalls, until they landed the Earthship. “There were all kinds of signs that we were meant to own it. And, boom! We’re here.”

The Earthship style was pioneered by Michael Reynolds during the “back-to-the-land” movement of the 1960s and ’70s. A typical blueprint calls for nesting the back of the home into an earthen hill or mountainside, harvesting your own water and power, producing your own food, and containing and treating your own sewage. Did I mention the primary construction materials are old tires, bottles, cans and adobe mud?

The Earthship concept minimizes reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels. This house has a propane stove and water heater. There’s a backup generator that runs off propane — installed after a blizzard left Cherrie stranded in the high mountain house without power and water for four days. Rooftop rainwater and snow is collected in a cistern for various household uses; solar panels provide the electricity; heat is passive solar, through the windows.

The floorplan is linear, flowing from living room to kitchen, full bath, TV room and bedroom. An indoor planting bed, served by a gray water irrigation system, runs the length of the structure. Natural materials, colors and textures give the interior an earthy feel; live plants provide the color pop. Ceilings and some walls are tongue-and-groove pine; other walls are smooth adobe.
When Cherrie and Guy took possession, the interior had poured concrete floors and rough adobe walls that needed repair and finishing. Enter Lisa and Randy Walbye, my husband’s sister and her husband, who did the tile and stone work, a complex process because of the curved and irregular walls. The “talker” is a meandering river rock walkway that starts at the entry and “flows” to the opposite end of the house.

Cherrie and Guy have been self-sustained during the pandemic. In the spring, they’ll continue to work on exterior features, including raised garden beds, and a patio for taking in those sweeping vistas.
In the mountains, sunrises and sunsets are great. “But the night sky gives me goosebumps,” Guy says. “The sky just comes alive because there are no city lights. The Milky Way is right in front of us.”

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Bonaire Earthship

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Bonaire Earthship!

Ten years ago my husband had a vision to make something different on Bonaire, so he contacted the earthship organization and soon started the earthship houses in Bonaire.

We started strong, but life happens and the Earthship wasn’t finished until 3 years ago! It became a labor of love, we worked hard ourselves to make this a reality.

We built two eco houses, with solar panels, rain water collection systems and recycled materials. It is amazing what we can do with nature, we have everything we need! We created a greenhouse where we grow many plants, such as papaya, lemon grass, lettuce, tomatoes and spinach!

I incorporate these fresh foods into my food and therapies and much as possible. The buildings are beautiful and bright, the greenhouse full of life, and surrounded by the small Bonairean hills covered in cactus, this place is just a must see!

yogarriba.com/earthship.htm

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Groundbreaking Women in the Construction Industry

info@earthshipbiotecture.com (Trey Donovan) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 06:00:00 +0000

In a field where women reportedly account for only 10 percent of the labor force, these groundbreakers are building a more inclusive industry. Here, they share their tips for tackling a renovation—or a new career.

Bozenka Shepherd, Cofounder of Woodward Throwbacks

How to Save
If you’re knocking down a wall, save all that lumber. Make shelves; construct a coffee table. Plane down reclaimed wood for a less rustic appearance—it will look buttery but still have character.

Where to Splurge
Spend your time and money on the kitchen—it’s the heart of the house. Build or buy simple cabinets and go all out on custom doors to get the style you want without going over budget.

What’s Next
We’ve put all our furniture, wall cladding, and hardware online, and as soon as we post something, it sells. People are reinvesting in their homes—without ever leaving the house.

Bella Weinstein, Founder of Handyma’am

How to Save
Do it yourself as much as you can. In my 164-year-old home, I’ve knocked down walls, exposed brick, replaced kitchen cabinets, and plastered surfaces.

Where to Splurge
Don’t cheap out on your tools—you’ll buy five inexpensive ones instead of one that would have lasted you project after project.

What’s Next
As the need for sustainable housing increases, renovations will only become more important. Older materials are often better, so keep what you can—like refinishing floors instead of replacing them.

Jean Brownhill, Founder of Sweeten

How to Save
A “rip and replace” renovation, where you don’t change the locations of fittings or appliances, is especially cost-effective. Also, commit to the design and materials early—and don’t change your mind mid-construction.

Where to Splurge
Spend on the things you touch on a daily basis, like doorknobs or the faucets on your sinks.

What’s Next
Division of open-concept spaces—if you’re working from home, you don’t want to hear your partner’s phone call or your kids in the next room—with materials that allow for openness but also acoustic separation, such as clear-paned glass.

Katherine Moore, Carpenter

How to Save
You can learn a lot about doing things yourself by simply following other builders on Instagram—I love Christine Williamson’s (@buildingsciencefightclub) how-tos.

Where to Splurge
Having an outdoor hangout drastically expands your living space. I built a deck from cedar—it cost considerably more than composite or pressure-treated wood, but I wanted something sustainable.

What’s Next
People are buying houses sight unseen, and I’m noticing a rising desire for sheds and alfresco retreats. Everyone wants a place to escape.