After the earthquake, I raised some money and flew to Nepal, to help the villagers in Gorkha who had extended to me such warmth and friendship while I was hiking. Soon after that I ran into my old friend Piotr, who told me about "Earthbags." He told me that all 55 Earthbag structures in Nepal had survived the earthquake, without any structural damage.
Hearing this, I just had to check things out for myself, and discovered that Earthbag construction was incredibly safe, strong and simple to learn, required a lot less fuel and transportation, and used a minimum of expensive cement, wood and steel.
It seemed like the perfect solution for the villages I had hiked through, and that's how Good Earth Nepal was born.
HOW TO BUILD AN EARTHBAG HOUSESTEP 1: Lay foundation: 2-3 courses of gravel bags on Rubble Trench for Rocky Soil:
STEP 2: Fill the bags with soil, tamp as you fill, then stitch them:
STEP 3: Stagger the bags like masonry and place barbed wire in between the courses:
STEP 4: Place other layers of Earthbags, and tamp each layer solid and level:
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