Avbl.: Manual on simple earth buildings for the humid tropics,Manual in self-help construction using mud - Earthbags

Avbl.: Manual in self-help construction using mud - Earthbags!
Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:25 am (PDT) http://www.amansetu.com/links/earthbags-english.pdf The green house of earth bags Huned Contractor, OneWorld South Asia 10 October 2008 Architects in western India have devised a novel way to construct inexpensive and eco-friendly homes using earth bags, barbed wire and bamboo sheets. Having first applied it to a children's play home, they now want to help others build them through informative booklets on the web. Pune: The first time 23-year-old Sourabh Phadke and his colleague Pooja Joshi found themselves in the news was when they designed a play station for children at the Aman Setu School near Pune. This school is housed in a stone farmhouse, a round kaleidoscope made from bamboo and earth bags. It is designed to accommodate 200 children up to Standard V. It also features a pond teeming with fish, frogs and turtles. Here children have the advantage of a natural and soothing environment in spite of being citizens of a burgeoning city like Pune. The policy is to carefully include children of varying linguistic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds as well as children of different abilities. No ordinary design For the architects who worked on the project, this was no ordinary design. Nor was it contemporary with a glass-and-chrome approach. Rather, the play station was made out of earth, bags, discarded barbed wire and bamboo sheets in a way that not only made the entire structure absolutely eco-friendly but also brought the cost down from its original estimate of Rs 4 lakhs to only Rs 90,000. How was this done? "We purchased 800 discarded cement bags at a nominal cost of 80 paise per bag, filled them with a wet mix of construction rubble from nearby sites, local soil, sand and just five per cent cement. These bags were used to make the walls of the building. Then, discarded PVC pipes were placed between the bags to form small windows," Phadke explains. Later, about 40 kgs of discarded barbed wire was purchased from a market of second-hand goods and used as binding material for the rows of these earth bags. The wire kept the entire thing in place. "We then painted the entire structure in vibrant colours," he said. The architects then used thick bamboo sheets (chataai) to prevent natural elements from seeping into the structure. Later, the roof was covered with dry grass. "During the monsoon season, flex sheets of discarded banner can be spread over the roof to prevent water from coming in," Phadke states. Self-help booklet Such has been the curiosity about this particular project that Phadke decided to write it all down in a manner that would make it user-friendly. "The booklet called 'Earth Bags' has all this information. We have even released a version in Marathi which we hope will be of use to people in rural areas of Maharashtra.
The booklet can either be bought for Rs 20 a copy or it can be downloaded for free from our website: http://www.mkf.in," Phadke informs. This is not to say that the use of earth bags is a novel concept. Sandbags, for example, have been used to build bunds and similar water retention structures. Military structures are often built of earth bags. Old concept Architect Nader Khalili in the mid-80s first propagated the idea that such bags could be used to build environment-friendly shelters. But even here, his concept was designed for lunar housing. During a NASA symposium he had proposed that moon dust could be filled in bags to build shelters. "This concept was then refined by several researchers, especially Kelly Hart and Dr Owen Geigor, to build structures that would be strong and yet not put into use contemporary materials like cement, glass and concrete," Phadke states.
Making houses or other structures out of earth bags is also seen as a socially sustainable venture since it involves only semi-skilled and unskilled labour and it would take just 10 days for four people to build a room of 250 sq feet. "These structures help retain the top soil which is so often neglected during any construction activity," Phadke points out. He is now hoping that with the booklet available on the website, a larger number of people will not only have easy access to this simple technology but will also be motivated to "go back to a more natural style of living."
http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/the-green-house-of-earth-bags

Avbl.: Manual on simple earth buildings for the humid tropics
Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:25 am (PDT)

http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/pdf/simpleearthbuildings3.pdf Introduction
Earth buildings have sheltered most people throughout history. In recent generations many parts of the world have abandoned pure earth for other materials, especially those involving cement and steel. In many areas the skills of building with earth have vanished or become rare. During this same time, the kinds of buildings people need has changed as their cultures have undergone massive changes. Earth is in many ways the best material for the humid tropical regions, especially where naturally occuring pumice or scoria is available to create less dense buildings. Earth is also the most available and sustainable material today. One new technology for using earth in bags may be the cheapest and simplest way to build. Earthbag buildings require sizing and spacing similar to the requirements of mud block or adobe, with slightly closer spacing of wall supports.
This book provides some basic ideas for simple houses that can be built of earthbag. Examples of different styles of piers and roofs and windows are shown to help you understand the options available. The traditional details and styles of buildings are part of a peoples' cultural riches. Although new materials and technologies come to an area, much of the beauty of their traditional buildings can be- and should be- saved.
In many parts of the world buildings must be extra strong for earthquakes or hurricanes and tsunamis. Other publications can help you plan for this.1 West Africa, northeastern South America and some parts of China and India do not have many earthquakes. If you live far enough inland where cyclones are not strong and tsunamis can't reach, these guidelines can help you try a new way of building simple structures with earth. Your buildings must resist termites and mold as well as be right for the climate, and for how people live.