written by Niels

So, I went back to tire pounding. My muscles from the Zwolle Earthship job were wearing thin and so was my skin. Blisters on day one, calloused over on day two, torn up again by day four, but only then because we were rained off the site on day three. Welcome to Scotland, where the good people of Greenhead Moss Community Nature Park in Wishaw, near Glasgow, are building a community centre Earthship. Mikey Reynolds style. And frequent readers of this site should know how the Four Elements people feel about that particular style.

Why still building Earthships

So, why am I still building Earthships? (And why do Rogier and Laila still want an Earthship builder to build their house for them?) Well, because I like building them. I might stress and rant about the sloppy insulation, the ridiculous amounts of cement used, the waste of perfectly good glass and aluminium and yes, also about the horridly unskilled volunteers getting in my way, but I still like building them. I love the hard work, the sweat you produce and the undisturbed sleep you get. Wake up, eat, shuffle, pound, level, tamp, get some more food in, repeat once or twice, take a swim, cook and eat together, play some ultimate frisbee and fall asleep. Repeat for twelve days straight. Consider yourself lucky you didn’t play rugby at night.

And I love the people I work with. My colleagues are crazy enough to do this job and that should be enough said. Besides the ones I knew from Zwolle I got to meet some of the first European tire pounders, involved in the Fife, Brighton, Normandy and Brittany Earthships and they clearly know what they’re doing. At some point we were well fed by volunteers and the three of us must have slapped up 25 tires within an hour. Hammers weaving in and out, the three of us locked in some arcane and violent dance. Marvelous. May I mention I swung the heaviest one at 10 lb.?

Volunteers

I even like the volunteers (a little). When there’s just a couple I can actually take them along and teach them something useful. And when there’s a lot I can appreciate the speed they bring to the site. Without pneumatic hammers, bigger diggers and conveyor belts, getting up the walls with just a small team is a bit of a physical and psychological struggle.  “Aardewerk is paardewerk” is what the dutch have to say about moving dirt around, but they probably don’t know about Glasgow’s alcoholic rehab plan. They (and we) were quickly renamed the chain gang, but thanks a lot guys. Seriously appreciated.

Kicking Mike

But most of all, I like the fact that we’ve kicked Mike. Yes. The Guru’s out. No more hit and run buildings. No more ‘looks good from Taos’ remarks. We’re open to criticism and change now. We’re all experienced Earthship builders, so we know about it’s pros and cons, but we also know about other styles and techniques. We’re ready to mix and match. We know about rainy climates and drainage. Instead of telling clients how damn lucky they are to be allowed to spend hundreds of thousands on the presence of Mike, hallelujah, we’re telling ourselves how lucky we are to be building peoples well considered ecological dreams.

And that’s also what I keep telling myself about the Four Elements House.

So, you want to know why we chose not to build an Earthship, huh?

Well, there are a couple of reasons.
The first and foremost reason is Lotte.

Lotte Middelkoop

Last year, in February, when I (Rogier) went on a volunteer week in Normandy to work on the Trotts Earthship we had every intention on building an Earthship. Little did we know.
Early the first morning a small car with two huge guys and a not so huge girl came driving up to the site. They had been driving all night from Holland. My first thought was that these had to be students and were completely mad. Turned out I was right, partly.

I got to know Lotte a little and since we lived not far apart she suggested to meet up back in Holland. We (Laila, Lotte and I) did, it clicked and the idea to have our house designed by her became solid, fast. Second time we went to Normandy together, Laila, Lotte and I. Everything we came up with was confirmed that week and plans were set in motion.

This summer Lotte is earning her degree as an architect, specialised in sustainability at the TU Delft. The design of our future home is her thesis.

Second reason.

Building Permits

The story goes that some lady opted for a building permit for an Earthship in Belgium. She though she got it and hired Mike Reynolds’ team to build the thing. But, at the last minute the permit was pulled and the Earthship could not be build. Instead they build a hut, a consolation.

Other stories of having troubles getting a permit circulate as well.
In order to get a building permit one has to write to every county or district they can (and we have a language challenge with that option), then hoping one agrees and then hoping they have a suitable site, and ultimately a site where you want to build a somewhat expensive house and want to live for a long time to come. That is a lot hopes and ifs.

We decided that location, location, location was to be the most important thing, especially if you want to live there for 20 or 30 years. So the above process was eliminated. And after seeing the conditions with which a building had to comply in Chenogne, our choice was confirmed.
So, now we’re designing a reasonably normal looking house, but build in a sustainable manner, and autonomous.

I also believe that at least 99.9% of everything that is being build in Holland (’cause that’s where we’re from) will never be an Earthship. Because of the building materials and, simply,  the way it looks. We are to conservative.
The fact that we have an Earthship teahouseis a very rare exception and I believe individuals will never get a permit for an Earthship in a residential area, in Holland.
The upper half of Belgium is quite similair, but the chances get better the farther down you get in Europe.

Third reason.

Recycling

One of the corner stones of the Earthship concept is reusing discarded materials. I don’t think one can call it recycling, because once it’s used in the building it cannot be used again (the bottles and cans are laid in concrete, so you can’t reuse them, and concrete is not particularly sustainable either). This as opposed to a closed recycle system where, for instance, bottles are bought, used, brought back, recycled, filled, bought et cetera.
In Western Europe, and especially in Holland, the recycling is pretty advanced. And by using these recyclable materials in a building one takes them out of the whole recycle process, never to be (re)used again. This means that for every glass bottle or aluminium can used in a building, one has to be made a new to be used in the consumer process.

Now, the above reason is only valid in a country where the process of recycling is well implemented. My guess is that by far the bigger part of the world, including the US, is far from having a nice and tight closed loop. So building Earthships is still a good idea, maybe even a necessity. Better to build a house with garbage than to throw it in a landfill.

And the fourth reason.

Design

After visiting an Earthship, help build one and volunteering in one we decided that the design just didn’t cut it for us. This now is a mute reason, because of the above statements. But, like the land you buy, the house you intend to live in for a long, long time needs to be, and feel, just right.

The concept of an Earthship seemed right at the time, but life always has a trick up its sleeve and throws you off balance when ever it can. When that happens you take stock, adjust and move on.

A very modest Woohoo is in order. We found a piece of land which matches pretty much all of our criteria.
In a way it’s liberating. It’s also stressful, exciting and stimulating, pretty much like a rollercoaster.

Chenogne was our first stop last Saturday. After finding the lot (only 10 minutes from Bastogne) we joked about the fact that the first was the best one, it turned out to be the only one, and we didn’t look any further. This lot fits the bill.

 Now, I can write down all the details, but I’m not gonna… There are quite a few obstacles with which we have to deal before we can celebrate. The local government has to answer a few questions, the bank has to give a loan and then we actually have to buy it.
Until the contract is signed, we stay focussed and keep our heads out of the clouds.

Our architect is happy, and that’s one for the home team.

Update:

We made an offer on the land!

Update #2:

We made a final offer on the land! Lets hope it sticks…

Update #3:

Our offer has been accepted. Now to make everything official, almost there!

[english]Laila is been working on the first Earthship in Holland for the past week and the last time we were there (a month ago) they were still busy pounding tires. There was also work done on the systems which run under the floor.

Since then, another four weeks have past and so much work has been done. The roof is on, the framing for the windows is done and so much more. The Americans have been going at it, the Euro-team is been going at it and a bunch of volunteers have been helping out and learning about Earthships. Mike Reynolds (a.k.a. Mr. Mikey) has been tirelessly explaining his vision and enlightening journalists and visitors alike.

Laila is learning also. Next to doing stuff with her hands (glass cutting, cement mixing, mud throwing, building bottle walls and getting a few steelworkers to deliver an order withing 24 hours) she also was entrusted with guiding  the volunteers, she does speak Dutch.

From what I gathered fun was also an important factor. In the evening going out and eating food together in good spirit is what Earthship building is all about.

Laila has another week to go with the Euro-team. We had a little going away party last friday with the Americans, they’re gone now, back to the good ole States. The final stint of the build will be done by the Europeans, they have only three week left to finish. It’ll be tight…[/english]
[dutch]Laila is de afgelopen week druk bezig geweest in Zwolle, werkend aan het eerste Earthship in Nederland. De laatste keer dat ik er was, een maand geleden, waren ze nog druk bezig met banden rammen. Ook werd er al gewerkt aan de systemen die onder de grond lopen.

Sindsdien zijn er 4 weken voorbij en is er zeer veel gedaan. Het dak zit er op, de raamkozijnen zitten er in en zo veel meer. Het Amerikaanse team en het Europese zijn druk bezig geweest en vrijwilligers hielpen mee en hebben een hoop geleerd over Earthships. Mike Reynolds (a.k.a. Mr. Mikey) heeft met engelen geduld zijn visie verteld en de horizon van vrijwilligers en journalisten verbreedt.

Laila leert ook.., naast het fysieke werk (glas snijden, cement maken, modder gooien en staal buigen, dat laatste heeft ze dan laten doen) was ze mede belast met het begeleiden van de vrijwilligers.

Van wat ik heb begrepen is het in het algemeen “gezellig” geweest. Overdag lol hebben en ‘s avonds samen uit eten (en drinken) in goed gezelschap is zo tekenend voor het bouwen van een Earthship.

Laila heeft nog een week te gaan met het Euro-team. Vrijdagavond hadden we een klein vaarwel feestje voor de Amerikanen, zij zijn inmiddels terug naar de US. Het laatste stuk van de bouw wordt gedaan door de Europeanen en zij hebben nog 3 weken om het af te maken.., dat zal moeilijk worden…[/dutch]

[english]The first Earthship being build in Holland with a permit has had its (old)media debut. Our national press picked the story up and ran a photo with a footnote about the tires, the build and the Americans.

If you want visit yourself, here’s the location.[/english]
[dutch]Het eerste “Aardehuis” (we houden niet echt van deze vrije vertaling) dat in Nederland gebouwd wordt heeft de krant gehaald. Een redelijk grote foto (verschillende foto’s in verschillende kranten) met een kleine stukje tekst over de bouw, het gebruik van autobanden en de Amerikanen.

Als je zelf een kijkje wilt nemen, hier is de locatie.[/dutch]

This monday building on the Earthship Teahouse in Zwolle (The Netherlands) has begun in ernest.
Earthship Biotecture Europe has the lead on the build, but help from the US is also present.
Mike Reynolds will also be on site for a short time to give his expert advise.

Friends of mine are also working on the site, one is even part of the crew for the whole build. Laila is working on the build for two week in October.

And so one story ends and another begins… After 2 months of communicating back and forth quite a bit, some misunderstandings and assumptions caught up with us.

Turns out the land is to be cut up in several lots and our gracious realtor picked one out for us. This will not do… to many restriction and neighbours who’ll be to close. Ah well., some of the excuses to hide disappointment. Not necessarily about the land, but more the effort and time… so we move on, on to the next opportunity.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.   – Thomas Edison -

[english]So, you want to work on an Earthship, huh? But you live in Holland?

Well, here’s your change. Earthship Biotecture is oranizing the very first training program on the very first Earthship in Holland.., and you can be part of it.

I quote form the website:

The project consists of enclosing the structural shell of the building; tire walls, roof beams, insulation, greenhouse framing, and glazing. The water and power systems will also be installed enabling the project owners to utilize solar power and the water caught on site for further construction purposes. Gray water planters will be constructed, interior walls will be built, and, with time permitting, finishes will be completed.

So, get to the Earthship Biotecture website and read all about it…[/english]
[dutch]Dus je wilt meewerken aan een Earthship? Maar je woont in Nederland?

Nu is je kans. Earthship Biotecture organiseerd de allereerste training mogelijkheid op de allereerste te bouwen Earthship in Nederland.., en jij kan er deel vanuit maken.

Ik quote van de website (in het engels, maar je komt er wel uit, anders moet je even mailen ofzo):

The project consists of enclosing the structural shell of the building; tire walls, roof beams, insulation, greenhouse framing, and glazing. The water and power systems will also be installed enabling the project owners to utilize solar power and the water caught on site for further construction purposes. Gray water planters will be constructed, interior walls will be built, and, with time permitting, finishes will be completed.

Dus, ga naar de Earthship Biotecture website en lees er alles over…[/dutch]

Just a short story on another short adventure which this time took us to France. As you know we (still) are in the early stages of building an Earthship and one of the main ingredients of an Earthship is, as you can guess.., earth.
We need a piece earth.., actually that is the first thing we need before we can do anything else.

Find land, get permit, buy land, and build Earthship.., that’s the idea…

So we made a second run, this time we passed through Belgium and along the way decided that the Belgium Ardennes are no longer an option.., everything points to the French Ardennes. And it’s not just the feeling we get, although important, it’s also the money.., it’s just a very big difference.., about half… well something like that.

Then there is political stability, the French way of living, better roads, the countryside is more beautiful and we think we have more chance of actually obtaining a permit.

There’s a great deal of people moving away form the rural areas in search of better times, mostly to the cities. This means the smaller villages suffer and the locals welcome new arrivals, for obvious reasons. And that’s good for us…

We visited a couple of lots and about half was really interesting. Some villages really “feel” nice and we think we could easily make a home there. Of course there is a matter of cost, size and how reachable it is. We did find one lot which was really interesting. A bit pricy but the broker gave us some hope. Any real developments will be posted…

So, a bit about the Ardennes.

I know in Holland everybody knows “the Ardennes” and most of them have been there, or in that area at some time, mostly in the Belgium Ardennes, but hey…

One reason for its popularity is nature. The hilly structure of the area limits agricultural development and thus remains nicely forested.

The Ardennes has its own historical value with strong ties to both World Wars. The many monuments and remembrance statues are a constant reminder of these wars and the strategic value of the area.

Even the Netherlands have laid claim to the area in various times and under various flags, as Spanish Netherlands, the Austrian Netherlands and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, eventually ending up with just a bit of wet lowland.

So in the traditions of old, we reclaim the Ardennes.., or at least a small part of it…

Source: Wikipedia

Holiday Pad is a website which offers alternative holidays. It does this by letting people register their unusual holiday destination or house, or whatever. Our friends in Normandy have listed their Earthship to get some proper coverage.
So if you are bored of the same old thing and want to rent an Earthship (or a treehouse, or a red cube, or just something completely different) go find it here. To bad you can’t book via the website though.