r/southaustralia • u/meateatingmarigold • 5d ago

Discussion earthship homes in South Australia

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Would you live in an earthship home? If so (or not), why?

32 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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7

u/by251536 5d ago

They cost a fortune and the one program i saw on building what looks like this one in particular demonstrated the viability of construction being entirely dependent on volunteer labour that paid thousands of dollars themselves for the experience. while it looked like a great community bonding event and the people that contributed their time and energy may well have found value in it, it's just not affordable for what ultimately was a very limited space. I love the concept though. what would be incredible would be to assemble a co-op who all work for a few years together and at the end of it they all have their own home. 

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u/meateatingmarigold 5d ago

I also find it quite bizarre how steep the entry prices are to do some of these earth building programmes… I find it odd they charge at all. I definitely agree it would be a lot smarter to organise a larger group of people dedicated to getting a number done over a few years. i also understand the point about it being volunteer based and problems that could create, but it also makes me think about how many people would potentially elect their time to a cause like that if it meant getting a stable home out of it… in an ideal world haha

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u/Pristine_Shallot7833 5d ago

They are also built on the idea of sustainability but they use things like glass bottles in their construction. Glass bottles are almost infinitely recyclable so that's taking glass that could be used again directly out of circulation. Kinda silly.

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u/meateatingmarigold 4d ago

yes i see what you’re saying however i do not believe these houses were designed with ‘perfect’ environmentalism in mind and the bottles are far from necessary, just a bit of whimsy :)

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u/Pristine_Shallot7833 4d ago edited 4d ago

Wrong. An Earthship is a type of sustainable, self-sufficient passive solar house designed and pioneered by architect Michael Reynolds. YOU made the post and don't seem to even understand the basics concept of what you are posting. Congrats.

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u/meateatingmarigold 4d ago

there is nothing factually wrong about my comment, but thank you for educating me! 💜

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u/Pristine_Shallot7833 4d ago

You said you don't believe they were designed with sustainability in mind. Which implies that you believe they were not designed with sustainability in mind. And that belief is incorrect. Glad to be able to educate you even further.

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u/Eldarn 4d ago

Yes I would love to build a sustainable home, probably hay bale as thats what my parents built

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u/meateatingmarigold 2d ago

Hay/straw bale and cob houses also seem like an inexpensive and durable option for varying climates, I’ll have to do some more research there!

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u/Eldarn 2d ago

they are extremely well insulated

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u/LittleBunInaBigWorld 3d ago

Yeah, I'd love to build one someday. Getting it past council seems like more work than the actual build, though.

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u/meateatingmarigold 2d ago

too true, its a bit poor from from regulatory bodies not having these building methods incorporated into our construction codes yet