Earthships in Hawaii?

[honolulu]

Does anyone know the location of any Earthship homes in Hawaii??
Mahalo!

[Guest]

I think Earth ships are suited for much dryer climates.

Earth ship and adobe construction is great for dry areas that have large daily temperature swings.

[MarkP]

I have seen something on the internet about an earthship being built in Puna somewhere, the location of which was deliberately left unknown. I would second the opinion that an earthship isn't really suited to Hawaii. The design relies on compactable soil, which we don't have much of in Puna, and in Puna if you can dispose of your wastewater in a responsible way, there is very little need to conserve water. A minimal amount of thermal mass and insulation, which are different things by the way, would be enough to make life comfortable since we don't have the massive temperature swings of New Mexico. Hawaii in general and the Big Island in particular is seismicly active so big heavy unreinforced structures are not the best choice here.

I could never build one on my property because I have no soil. Piles of rocks, yes, but houses built of piled rocks fall down and crush their occupants in an earthquake. I have considered gabions though, which are wire baskets filled with rock rubble. They would wiggle like jello in a quake but would not fall down, I hope. They would be porous though and would let air through like a sieve. Eventually the wire would rust and they would fall down unexpectedly. All this leads one back to reinforced concrete.

[JWFITZ]

I agree, it's the wrong technology for the area, and probably would lure the company of centipedes better than about any structure I could think of, which I expect would not be a lot of fun.

[leilaniguy]

There is one for sale in Nanawale at the corner of Flower Rd. and Tutu Ln. Looks like a muddaubers nest.

[leilaniloo]

The Earth bag home in Nanawale was built with concrete and cinder stuffed in long tube bags. They can be very beautiful (google "earthbag.

Material cost low, hours to construct high, but doesn't take skilled labor. The man who made the Nanawale house is that nice guy who gives away free sandalwood trees off Hwy 132.

jane

[Charles Moore]

I think the earthbag technique makes more sense here than earthship. I'm guessing the guy in Leilani used the concrete and cinder in order to get a building permit. But the "inventor" of earthbag building (at calearth.org)calls for earth (no cement)in the bags and Kelly Hart of Green Home Building has used scoria (volcanic rock with no cement)in the bags. I have two DVD's on the subject of earthbag building,one from CALEARTH and the other from Kelly Hart. The calearth built domes are quite attractive with thier beehive shape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMNzoWkXTtc

[ChicEco]

There's one in Hilo that was posted on the Earthship site. That was redesigned, so I haven't checked to see if it's still there. Anyway, they don't reveal the address probably because the property owner couldn't get it permitted. Sad frustration for the times, eh?

If anyone can advise directions to the one in Hilo, I'd like to see it too!



Delia Montgomery
d/b/a Chic Eco
Environmental Fashion & Design ~ Consultant & Broker
www.ChicEco.com Info@ChicEco.com

[Charles Moore]

Here is a video. Not sure if it is the earthbag guy in Nanawale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf1XyxPMi6A&feature=related

[ChicEco]

The CalEarth homes are not the same as Earthship buildings. Gave up on design to please building inspectors, but I intend to build a wall something like http://www.earthship.net/modules.php?set_albumName=album01&id=IMG_3220&op=modload&name=gallery2&file=index&include=view_photo.php after permitted to reside there. Love the look!