This tiny Earthship in New Zealand is a great example of someone following their dreams and working towards the life they envision. After watching the documentary “The Garbage Warrior“; which is about Architect Michael Reynold’s battle with the state of New Mexico for the right to build alternative housing; the couple traveled to Taos for the sole purpose of studying the building method more in depth. After returning home they bought a piece of land and started the construction of their 10 square meter home. That’s a motivated couple! Livingbiginatinyhouse.com visited them and filmed the mini-documentary above that is simply beautiful.
For people starting to work on building their homesteads this would work excellent for not only a low cost DIY home but as an animal shelter, root cellar or a storage shed. If the thought of utilizing tires is concerning to you; Earthships can be modified by using surface bonded cement block or Earthbags and several other methods. Unfortunately this negates their biggest positive; re-purposing a waste product that normally ends up in landfills.
Here is a book I can recommend if you like the the benefits of earth sheltering, but not the earthship method. We used it when we built our own earth sheltered home.
Earth-Sheltered Houses: How to Build an Affordable Underground Home.
The book covers all of the various construction techniques involved, including details on planning, excavation, footings, floor, walls, framing, roofing, waterproofing, insulation, and drainage. The time-tested, easy-to-learn construction techniques described in Earth-Sheltered Houses will enable readers to embark upon their own building projects with confidence, backed up by a comprehensive resources section that lists all the latest products such as waterproofing membranes, types of rigid insulation, and drainage products that will protect the building against water damage and heat loss.
