http://paypal.me/ecohomandrewmkw
The goal is to not only build but to train young local people for them to master this building technique.
I am a middle school teacher who has invested many years into the formation of this home-building idea that is so beneficial to our community, and now manifestation is near.
The home intended uses a technique called “SuperAdobe or Earthbag Construction” of very low material costs, it uses 90% recycled and natural materials, in fact, most of the structural walls are made from the local soil found on site.
Your donations will fund a good salary for the construction workers, even though I will be teaching them a new building method, I believe they should still be paid for their work.
Involving young people is the biggest priority. They will highly benefit from learning these new construction methods. With the experience of completing the construction of the house, they will thereafter have the skills and knowledge to replace, (in most cases) their poorly constructed family homes, with strong hurricane and earthquake-proof, ecological, and sustainable options.
Constructers will also learn about installing solar panels, electrical wiring, plumbing, and gray water recycling.
Once the house is constructed I plan to live in it with the purpose to offer free consultations to local people on how they can build houses like this for themselves. In time, and with more funds we will run onsite free workshops about ecological and sustainable building.
I could request for people to work for free as they are learning an important skill, or even charge them for the training some companies do in the USA, but in Mexico, I will attract people who need these skills, people that without a livable wage would not be able to make it.
That you are supporting our educational cause is greatly appreciated. You are helping people of low income that can become skilled in something very important. This project will enable them to improve their lives and their community.
Baja California Sur is a hot and dry desert area of Mexico. Many low-income families, who work in service industries, and construction labor. They do not have enough income to be able to finance the construction of their own family homes. Many live in small wooden shacks, the size of a large garden shed, with no electricity or running water so they must buy water from water trucks.
The Earth Bag construction home is very strong, proven to be earthquake and hurricane-proof.
Hurricanes are common in Baja California Sur and often completely destroy these communities, washing away their few possessions. If these local people have the skills to build Earthbag homes, which have a very low material cost, they would have a home that will last hundreds of years. Teaching them how to make and maintain gray water filtration systems, will enable them to save the water they buy from water trucks and reuse a lot of the water they currently lose.
THE METHOD
“Earth Bag Construction” uses recycled sacks that previously held seeds of grain used in many of the local farms, these bags are made from polyurethane. These bags are filled with the damp local soil which has a 5% clay content, and laid on a circle of up to 6 meters diameter, and pounded or tramped so that the soil is compacted, each layer or course of bags inlaid as you would traditional brick or blocks.
In between each course, bared wire is run to add tensile strength. Once the height reaches 2 meters the circle courses gradually become smaller forming a sloping roof. Windows and doors are added during the construction process. All electric wiring and plumbing are installed as you would in normal house construction.
Once the building is completed I will teach the workers how to install solar electricity and plumbing. The pluming will drain the black toilet water to a septic tank which when full can be used as a plant fertilizer, the gray water from washbasins, kitchen sinks, and showers will drain to a gray water tank.
Before reaching the gray water tank the gray water will flow through sand and organic filters which I will teach the workers how to construct out of local free materials, and how to make a surface skimmer to skim the surface of the gray water to remove any oils or residue detergents. The filtered gray water can be used to flush toilets, and water plants, but would not be suitable for drinking, but this will still massively reduce the amount of water consumption.
I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to give back, and I thank you for your support in any way in advance.
http://paypal.me/ecohomandrewmkw