April 2011 we are starting with our project of building an ecological sustainable house in the south of Belgium.

Rammed Earth

We will build the house with rammed earth, straw bale and local wood.

We started thinking of building a sustainable house a few years ago and came across the earthships. It blew our minds and we started doing more research into it and we began thinking of where in Europe we would want to build one.

Earthship

We volunteered on the build of Earthship Normandy, we visited an earthship in Spain and I became part of the Earthship crew to build the tea house in Zwolle, Netherlands.

BUT……. we are not going to build an earthship. During our volunteering work in Normandy we met a Dutch student who was studying sustainable architecture at the time and was doing research by volunteering on the build.

We started talking and she told us she needed a project to graduate. We offered her to design our house and she agreed.

Right Choice

After a while it became clear we made the right choice.
Not only are we building the house just the way we want it. It would have been almost impossible to get a mortgage on the lot of land we were buying or get a building permit for an earthship and we really needed both. It was a battle we were not prepared to fight.

So here we are, we have bought the land, a good 4000m2 on the edge of a very small town near Bastogne, Belgium, we got the mortgage for the land and are hoping to build the house with our savings and have just applied for the building permit this week.

We decided to start the build of the house next year so we can save up more money and find the right materials during this year.

Applying

If you are interested in helping out with our project and learn more about rammed earth construction and/or straw bale construction then you can sign up for our newsletter on fourelementshouse.com or send an email to fourelementshouse [at] gmail.com.
You can also read a bit more about volunteering on our site, or, if you know anybody who might be interested, please send them a link to this page.

We will inform you on the exact time-line since it is still a year away.

Because we will be building during the spring and summer months we can offer basic accommodation in the form of a place to pitch a tent on our land and basic sanitation.

Lunch will be provided and we’ll have a BBQ every Friday evening.

We are planning on having a good time building the house, with lots of fun, good company and beautiful results.

I can say from experience it is a great way to meet like minded people, having a satisfying feeling of fulfilment at the end of the day and take away new experiences when you leave.

We can use a lot of help so please let us know if you want to spend some time in the summer of 2011 building our house

[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]

And so, for the last time, a week of volunteering has past. The Earthship will receive no more volunteers.

Earthship France is finished.

After another tremendous week of labor the amount of work done was, again, impressive. This time Laila also came along as did Lotte (also a second timer) and José. And again it was a memorable event.

This time I didn’t have to travel alone, as mentioned I was joined by Laila, Lotte and José and I must say, it was a lot more fun, maybe a bit to much fun at times, but hey, who’s complaining.

In the Earthship the mood was great and we made contact fast with the others; Jeff and Donna, shire folk from Wales; Craig, an Aussie trying to be British and about to be called Daddy; Emma, a finisher extraordinair and a French lolita who kept stealing my tools for her father.

The walls, floors and ceilings all received a finishing coat and the kitchen received a thorough remake. Some beautiful mosaic was made by Lotte and José at both entrances and they can definitely repeat that at our Earhthship.

A small party with French locals on Saturday officially concluded the build on the Earthship and we tried to represent all the volunteers who spend time in and on the Earthship. When counting we came to about 75 people who’ve worked on the house, paid and, mostly, unpaid. We can only hope to repeat this when building on our Earthship starts.

After talking with Kevan on the future of Earthships in Europe, and our own, I feel there’s a great future for the concept within Europe and I hope a European team will be created. This will make the difference for a lot of people who need to make decisions whether or not to consider an Earthship.

So, Earthship France is finished.., who’s next?

And so the Earthship community proves to be a good one.., again.

I visited the Earthship in Normandy last week. A request for help originated from the Trott family and resonated all the way through to silly old moi. And as Kevan is the European representative for Earthship Biotecture he is the man to meet. So, in a spur of the moment kind of way we decided that I (Rogier) should travel down to Normandy and check out this mystical thing called an Earthship.

I drove down on Monday, during the day and made good time. I even arrived a bit earlier than expected and visited the Earthship before heading of to Diane’s B&B (Cinq la Ruelle), which, by the way, turned out to be a most excellent choice.
Now, I have seen the Earthship before, I’ve read the blog and got a few books on the matter, so I knew what to expect.

But, seeing it for real does add an extra dimension to the experience. Obviously a lot is already done on the house, in fact, it’s nearly finished and thanks to the blog and fotos/dvd shown by Kevan one can get a good sense of the labor that went into creating it.

So, my primary objective was to make contact with Kevan and Gillian, the rest was secondary to that.
Now, it must be said that one has to be a little nuts to start a project like building an Earthship. Granted, it is a house, and people are building those all the time, but most of the time they pay somebody else to build it. And even if they do it themselves, building an Earthship has its own set of challenges. The building permit for one is in most cases the biggest hurdle (or mountain) to overcome. Then there are the resources (i.e. tires, bottles, cans). Of course, anything can be bought and delivered to your doorstep, but that kinda defeats the purpose of an Earthship.
Anyway, my point is that the Trotts are a bit nuts too, but in a good sense and not dissimilar to Laila and myself, which makes for a good foundation.

My time at the Earthship was spend working, on various little things, and talking. A lot of talking. Similar minded people make for good conversations on the various topics which mark an Earthship.., environmental, ecological, biological, sociological, monetary, and more…
Three students from Holland (Lotte, Joris and Niels) slept in a little tent and were interested from a scholar point of view, Steve (a Brit living in France) from a career point of view, Robert (also from Holland) from a personal point of view, like us, he wants to build his own Earthship.., somehow.., someday. Then there were two British guys, Will and Nick. Will having his own renovation company and Nick.., ehhh.., well Nick is just a very open minded man who’s motives remain a mystery…

Anyway…, it certainly was a worthwhile experience. I met nice people and had good conversations. The Earthship remains an enticing future. After visiting another one for real, it confirms the feelings we have since we first became aware of the concept.

We definitely want to build, and live in, our own Earthship.., we will make it happen…