I am so happy that I’ve been asked to write down my experiences of Earthship Biotecture, and the events that came before and after my time working on an Earthship in India. It’s actually a journey of self-discovery, but also of what Sustainability means to me in practical terms.
I’m going to share my story over a few posts, as I’m currently renovating a house in preparation for my first child’s arrival in October, and time is sacred right now. Plus my girlfriend is full of hormones and I still want to stay alive and in one piece. 😂
Earthships, What Are They Really?
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Earthships are a form of housing architecture that uses passive-solar (sun radiation) for heating and thermal mass from the earth as insulation. It’s a principle that plays on the law of thermodynamics and heat transfer. Earthships also use ecological designs where needed. The whole house works for the occupants to assist in every aspect of home-life, instead of the occupants working for the house. From rainwater harvesting and filtering, grey-water recycling, black water cleaning, to energy production, indoor gardens, heating systems and more.
Alongside that, the lead architect Mike Reynolds and the first core group of builders designed this house to be built largely out of recycled waste material: mainly, used car tyres. Car tyres provide the basic building block (like bricks) for the Earthship. When filled with a soil and cement mix, they are not only earthquake resistant, but they become very efficient thermal storage devices, providing heating to the house for free.
How My Eyes Opened to This Subject
Back in 2009, I had to make 1 of 3 decisions: Become a professional musician, go to University or go travelling. It was at that time one of the hardest decisions I had to make, although, life itself helped me make the decision anyway. The band kicked me out, the university course in music and philosophy wasn't quite interesting enough. So, I decided to go travelling (like I had another option).
I wanted to go away for a long time. This was a big thing for me. I hadn't travelled alone before for more than 2 weeks. It was tough, deciding where to travelling to and be comfortable away for 6 months! During that time I listened to a lot of psychedelic dub and electronic music with friends; O.T.T, Shpongle, Younger Brother and other divine musical artists. (Click the track below ).
It was, however, through O.T.T’s music that gave me these visions of India; I cannot fully explain it, other than that the mountains in India were alive singing with the ancestors of the Indian people. When I closed my eyes, I could smell the Indian spices, see the smiles on the faces of the people in the streets and, hear the traffic.
It was like a ‘calling’ for me to go to India. I had to go!
I had just broken out of a very destructive relationship, I felt directionless yet free as a bird.
By that time I was already interested in architecture and sustainability; architecture from my father and sustainability from my friends at that time (my tribe). This tribe were key in influencing me at a Super Adobe building workshop at Coed Hills Rural Art Space in Wales in 2009, which was organised by my housemate (at the time) Maria Nutt. I learnt first hand about earth-architecture, natural renders, edible wild plants and Permaculture.
(Permaculture means permanent culture. Its foundation is Peoplecare, Earthcare, Fairshare). The people at the course gave me a sense of family that went far beyond skin and bones. I owe a lot to these people, they taught me patience and humbleness.
Here are a few photos from then.
After the course in Wales and on the very day that I booked my tickets for India, I made a search online to see what events and courses I could get involved with during my time there. I came across Alex Leeor’s (@eco-alex) message to ‘Help Build an Earthship in India’, A self-sufficient home.
I signed up! Most incredibly, I found that the only Earthship in the UK (at the time) was in my town, Brighton. I had to go visit it! It was pure coincidence. But I took it as an unavoidable sign!
I was so impressed by what I saw in Earthship Brighton's design that I felt like I wanted to own one straight away and that replying to Alex’s email was a good thing. I was so happy when I got a response from him. It felt like I was onto something meaningful.
Look out for my next post in a couple of days folks! I will be sharing my experiences in India, what I got up to when I returned to the UK, and my first low-carbon and ecological building project, plus where my journey has taken me since 2009.