We build houses and schools using revolutionary Earthbag technology, and teach others to do the same.

Using the soil from under peoples's feet we help villagers in developing countries build disaster-resistant, affordable and eco-friendly homes and schools, and teach an emerging class of builders, architects and engineers to build safely and sustainably. 

Recent Developments

A year and a half of Good Earth Global design, research and lobbying have resulted in Nepal, population 30,000,000, becoming the first country on Earth to officially accept and adopt Earthbag technology at the federal level!

Our Earthbag designs are now published in Nepal’s official Design Catalogue For Reconstruction of Earthquake Resistant Houses, Volume II, and Earthbag construction has become an official option for Nepali villagers receiving government aid.

We now seek to export Earthbag technology to all regions in need of safe, sustainable and affordable homes, schools and clinics.

Why It Matters

A World In Need:

Rural villagers typically rely on flimsy, poorly designed structures built out of easily available mud or stone or more costly bricks, cement, and steel, processed in big-city factories and hauled along poor or non-existent roads. In isolated areas the final leg of the journey often involves porters carrying heavy loads of cement or bricks on their backs.

In disaster-prone areas homes and schools built of these materials routinely succumb to earthquakes, wind and flood, resulting in broken communities and a tragic loss of life. Ruined homes and schools are then rebuilt in the same old way, and the deadly cycle is repeated.

Building this way also proves toxic to the environment, especially in a time of global warming and rising seas. Factories foul our air and pollute our water. Trucks used for transport guzzle gasoline, and belch poisonous fumes.  Mining, extraction and the harvesting of timber scar the landscape and deplete precious natural resources.

A Safe, Sustainable Solution:

Earthbag technology builds safe, sustainable and cost-effective structures out of ordinary soil from the worksite. Requiring no bricks or blocks and little or no cement, steel and wood, Earthbag homes, schools and clinics substantially reduce reliance on manufactured materials, and the environmentally damaging factories, smokestacks and kilns needed to process them.

Building with soil from the worksite also reduces the need for transport, resulting in less fuel consumption, reduced emissions and fewer vehicles on the road.

Benefits of Earthbag Building:

• Safety: Earthbag buildings are stronger than conventional structures. In Nepal all 55 Earthbag structures survived a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with no structural damage. Earthbag structures elsewhere have survived devastating earthquakes, flood and wind, and even bullets and bombs
• Ease of Construction - Earthbag building is simpler than more conventional construction methods, and easily learned by rural villagers
• Cost-Effective - Savings on materials and transport makes Earthbag construction less inexpensive than more conventional building methods
• Better for the Environment - Building with soil from the worksite means reduced pollution and less depletion of natural resources
• Appealing - Earthbag structures are easy on the eyes, and can be custom-tailored to suit local cultures and building traditions

teaching earthbag Building to the youth         timelapse                 

HIGHLIGHTS

EARTHbag projectS