Contents:
Section 1: Design
Section 2: Building Techniques
Section 3: Autonomous Power
Section 4: Autonomous Sewage
Section 5: Autonomous Water
Section 6: Materials & Costs
Section 7: Labour
Section 8: Training & Education
Section 9: Planning & Building Control
Section 10: Funding
Section 11: Earthship Communities
Useful Resources
Foreword :
Welcome to the Earthship Communities Toolkit!
Its production is an important milestone in the development of
Sustainable Communities Initiative’s work of introducing
Earthships as a viable sustainable housing option in Scotland.
It marks the completion of the first fully functioning
Earthship, including autonomous systems, to be put through a
legal framework in the UK, and as far as we know, in Europe.
Apologies to anyone if we have got that wrong!
Four years ago I found myself in Taos, New Mexico pounding
tyres in the “Gravel Pit”, the third of Solar Survival
Architects’ Earthship community projects, being built in a
disused quarry. Before that time I had never heard of
Earthships but my brief visit to the site inspired me greatly
and convinced me that this was the route I wanted to explore
in light of my interest and desire to see a more sustainable
world.
After completing a Master Dissertation on the viability of
Earthships as sustainable housing in Scotland, which compared
the Earthship to conventional house designs, there was no
going back. The next step was to build one in our climate, in
open negotiation with our planning and building control
system, and before the eyes of the Scottish people. Would it
work? Would it pass the system? Would people like it? What
would it cost?
I hope this publication goes a long way to answering these
questions but I am sure it will pose many others. It is not
the definitive answer on how to build an Earthship in Scotland
but it does share with you our first hand experience of how we
did it, and what we learned through building one. Everyone
involved in building Earthship Fife now has their own idea of
how they will build their own one, and has learnt a great deal
about Earthship building, community projects, pioneering and
gardening! I say gardening because I have always felt we are
merely planting seeds, seeds that some people will tend and
cultivate into something they want to see grow, whilst others
may throw them out and not give them a second thought.
The Toolkit was produced to inform you of the findings of our
process, and to help you to decide whether you want to
cultivate your Earthship idea, whatever it might be. You may
want to set up a community group to run educational workshops
around the Earthship concept, you may want to build an
Earthship that will serve as a community facility or visitors’
centre, you might have your heart set on a community
self-build Earthship housing development or a sustainable
community project and of course you may simply want to build
your own Earthship home. The Toolkit is divided into 11
sections, which cover the main questions we are asked by
people who are interested in our project. These include what
design we used and how we built it – these are looked at in
the first 2 sections. The autonomous systems of power, sewage
and water are dealt with in Sections 3, 4 and 5. The
issue of materials and their costs, and labour are covered in
Sections 6 and 7, leading into Section 8 which discusses the
training and education potential of Earthship building.
Section 9 describes the process we went through with planning
and building control departments, giving an overview of the
current status for Earthships in Scotland. The funding sources
used by SCI in building Earthship Fife, and also by Earthships
Moray, are illustrated in Section 10. The last section
comprehensively looks at the potential for Earthship
Communities. We have inserted a worksheet at the back of the
Toolkit to prompt you to think about and plan your own
project.
We wish you great learning and enjoyment in your gardening
process! And don’t forget we are here to help you if we can.
Good luck!
Paula Cowie
Project Manager
Sustainable Communities Initiatives
August 2004