UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Earthbag construction is a natural building technique that is is usually associated with historic military bunker construction or temporary flood-control methods. However, earthbag technology has emerged as an exciting building method for homes and buildings.
Earthbag construction technology refers to the use of ordinary soil in bags to construct a structure. Soil is packed inside polypropylene bags, then it is piled on top of the other like masonry. Barbed wire is used like mortar in between the layers of the bags, resulting in an extremely sturdy and resilient structure.
In the 1980s, Iranian-born architect Nader Khalili popularised the application of the technique for permanent structures. Today, there are more than 15,000 earth bag buildings worldwide.
Earthbag technology was put to the test in Nepal after a devastating 2015 earthquake. All of Nepal’s 55 Earthbag structures survived a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with no structural damage. As a result, builders and professional engineers alike now embrace the technique.
Earth bag technology is one of the more environmentally friendly methods of constructing structures, The technology can withstand wind, floods, fire, and earthquakes and even stray bullets in disaster-prone areas around the world.
Earth bag construction is also cheap, simple to learn, long-lasting, and adaptable to several building styles. It reduces the amount of cement, concrete, steel, and the fuel used to transport the materials to the construction site. Further, the earthbag homes offer superior insulation and sound-proofing.
According to Ugandan Engineer Aita Joel, CEO of Joadah Consult, earth bag construction is 30 per cent less expensive than blocks or bricks, and the structure can last for 200 years.
In fact, Mr Aita says that in the next five years, his company, Joadah Consult, is planning to replace clay bricks with earth bags in all of their construction
Earth bag technology doesn’t require the expertise or tools that traditional building methods command during construction.
According to the World Economic Forum, 90% of cities worldwide do not provide affordable or adequate housing. Earth bag construction is an alternative approach to sustainable building and affordable housing to ease the global affordable housing crisis for nations like Uganda.
Homes designed and built from earth house plans such as the above two-story, eco-nest, Adobe style earth shelter, are simple and beautiful. Their walls can be linear, free-form, or perfect circles formed with an architectural compass.
WATCH: Time-lapse of the Construction of an Earthbag Home in Uganda
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