Making Peace – by Grace Deathride

Earthships – Radically Sustainable Buildings – by Rosa Henderson

I had no idea, when I set out on my 18 months training through 6 countries, that I would end up finding, training and working with Earthship Biotecture. Based in Taos New Mexico, this building company is the centre of a growing movement towards self reliance and self sustaining houses. These homes have been build all over the world showing their versatility and climate specific design.

During my time with Earthships I work on a start to finish build with the academy training program, a high end $700 k client Earthship to fine finish and a simple $25 k model in rural Guatemala run with 64 interns from around the world. There is such variety in style, scale and materials but essentially each is a self contained building that looks after all utilities and each has given its owner a different perspective on how we can live on this planet.

Because of my freedom associated with being from a new western nation (time freedom, money freedom and education – to a point but obviously much greater than many nations in the world), the responsibility is also very evident. It is a luxary to have been able to see this work from internship to crew, from luxury Earthships to basic models built by volunteers in rural Guatemala. The next step is to bring some of this home to NZ, especially to Christchurch, which is in such desperate need of ideas and options for rebuilding the city.

This March 12th -17th we will welcome Mike Reynolds (the founder and director of Earthship Biotecture) to Christchurch, for 6 days of workshops and seminars. This event is run by hard working kiwis and funded through the seminars. We hope is visit is a success and plants seeds for future work in New Zealand.

Information about Earthships and the founder of Earthships

‘An Earthship is the epitome of sustainable design and construction. For the past 40 years, Earthships have been, and continue to be built throughout the world, constantly being improved upon, incorporating every aspect of sustainability. They have proven comfortable in any climate, any landscape, any size and still provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production.’

The founder of Earthships, Mike Reynolds has been pioneering sustainable architecture for 40 years, refining designs and systems to create a method of construction like no other. These sophisticated off-grid homes take care of utilities by harnessing natural phenomena and diverting them through advanced systems. Designs and materials vary depending on country, climate, accessibility or abundance of resources and economics.

Events to attend:
Pre-screenings of New Solutions – Earthship Biotecture 2nd docco, after Garbage Warrior
*Renew Brighton – Friday 22nd February
*Project Lyttelton – Monday 25th February
*Pallet Pavillion – Friday 1st March
*food for thought, Amberley – Monday 4th March

3 evening seminars:
Friday 15th March – Earthship 101 Ricarton Function centre
Saturday 16th March – Advanced Systems Class CPIT
Sunday 17th March – NGO/crisis relief work
Yacht Club, Lyttelton

3 day building workshop on Huntsbury Hill, building a small version of a 1 room earthship with front greenhouse (Im sorry this event is full)

Retrofit talk in North Canterbury at Milmore Downs, Sunday 17th March, 11am-4pm including shared lunch.

www.earthship.com

Tags: earthships