Earthships: self-sustaining homes for a post-apocalyptic land?
On the desert mesa of New Mexico, miles from the nearest town of Taos (pop. 5,700), Star-Wars-like shelters rise from the earth, half-buried and covered in adobe. Called “Earthships” - brainchild of architect Mike Reynolds in the 1970s- they’re nearly completely self-sufficient homes: no electrical grid, no water lines, no sewer.
The Greater World Earthship Community, about 70 passive solar homes built from earth and trash on 633 acres, had a rough start; they were shut down as an illegal subdivision in 1997 and it took them 7 years to come to compliance. Though today, the county fully cooperates with Reynolds and his Earthship Biotecture operation to turn trash (tires, cans, glass bottles) into shelters and has even given them 2 acres to experiment with housing in anyway they like (they also provide their recycling).
Sixteen years ago, Tom Duke had just finished over a decade on the pro volleyball circuit when he bought a bit of land here with his wife and began to build a tiny Earthship the size of a storage shed. When their first son was born they built their dream house on the property, a two bedroom that, like other Earthships, collects rainwater, uses its water four times (the plants in the indoor greenhouse filter the greywater) and even processes its own sewage.
In this video, Tom takes us on a tour of his home, his original “Earthship survival pod”, the “nest” ($50,000 studio apartment), the “Simple Survival Earthship” (aimed mainly at the developing world), a custom home designed to feed a family of four (including a tilapia pond in the greenhouse) and the “BMW of Earthships”, the “Global (aimed at the typical American family).
Earthship Biotecture: earthship.com
Pros and cons of earthships:
Original story:
EarthShips, Taos, New Mexico
The Earthship as it exists today, began to take shape in the 1970s. Mike Reynolds, founder of Earthship Biotecture, a company that specializes in designing and building Earthships, wanted to create a home that would do three things; first, it would be sustainable architecture, using material indigenous to the entire planet as well as recycled materials wherever possible. Second, the homes would rely on natural energy sources and be independent from the grid, therefore being less susceptible to natural disasters and free from the electrical and water lines that Reynolds considered unsightly and wasteful. Finally, it would be economically feasible for the average person with no specialized construction skills to be able to create.
Music by Ken Clinger
Earthships - New Mexico True Stories
An earthship is a house built with natural and recycled materials with energy conservation in mind. It is designed to produce water, electricity and food for its own use.
#NewMexicoTrue #NMTrue
Earthship Underground House Tour- Sustainable and Net Zero Living...
Towards Sustainable and Net Zero Living
Derek Deek Diedricksen visits an Earthship (the architectural brainchild of Michael Reynolds) in Taos, New Mexico. The particular model, like many others, features earth berm air intakes, a water recycling system for its grey water, and the luxury of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and even a two car garage! Ashley Turin gives us a full out tour of this, one of the newest Earthship builds on the Taos compound. This sustainable and passive solar home just may give you a few ideas for your own future designs.
Encounter Overview
CAD animation of the new EARTHSHIP model: EARTHSHIP ENCOUNTER.
Construction drawing sand CADs are available for only $ 9.99USD on our Earthship App:
Lemuria Earthship Taos New Mexico I had an awesome time here
Lemuria Earthship, Taos, New Mexico. We had a few nights here and it was amazing
Earthship walk through, Taos, New Mexico
Lisa and Ken's visit to one of Michael Reynolds' Earthships in Taos, New Mexico. This one was called the Phoenix and had it's own solar power, greenhouse and aquaponics (edible tilapia and catfish pond) and roodtop rainwater catchment system. Ingenious!
Taos Pueblo, Rio Grande Gorge and Earthships, New Mexico
Taos New Mexico was established in 1615. It is a beautiful town of land of enchantment, New Mexico. Taos Pueblo is inhabited by Native Americans for past 1000 years. The multi storey buildings reminded me of native villages of Punjab in India. The earth is fragrant and emotionally inviting. Standing in front of Taos pueblo one wonders how many generations have stood here watching these beautiful structure. Rio grande gorge bridge over Rio Grande Gorge is a cantilever bridge. It is very beautiful and has been featured in many movies. Earthships are buildings made of natural and recycled material. This is a community of 60 self sustained homes near Taos, New Mexico.
Taos Pueblo. New Mexico, USA. Dec. 23, 2013
Taos Pueblo
New Mexico, USA
December 23, 2013
Photographed and filmed by Khosrow and Soheila Bozorgi during their visit of New Mexico.
Video edited by:
Khosrow Bozorgi, Ph.D.
Professor of Architecture and Urban Design
Director of Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture
College of Architecture, The University of Oklahoma
830 Van Vleet Oval, Gould Hall Room 180
Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA
Phone: (405) 325-3348
E-mail: kbozorgi@ou.edu
Text:
Music:
Indians Anthology Native American Music
Earthship Phoenix, Taos, New Mexico: interior
Salida Earthship Tour
Earthship Biotecture built this for a client in Salida, Colorado.
This is a sped up tour of the site as of September 2015.
Filmed by Sara Leibold
whereintheworldissara.com /// @saratidewalker on Instagram
#earthshipbiotecture #earthship #sustainablebuilding
Dad Is Phat in Taos, New Mexico Part 2 (Meow Wolf,Pajarito,Taos,Earthship)
Saddle up Phatties! We start this Phatisode at Meow Wolf art installation in Santa Fe. It's weird, scary, and fun. Then the boys learn how to ski at Pajarito mountain. We arrive in Taos into a blizzard and visit the Earthship Biotecture houses and the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. The boys also do some sledding at Angel Fire and finally some snowshoeing in the Carson National Forest.
Snowshoeing-
Earthship Biotecture in PUERTO RICO for Biotecture Planet Earth
Michael Reynolds, Phil Basehart with their Earthship team and some awesome volunteers arrived in Puerto Rico yesterday.
Hard work already started.
The bio construction of the hurricane resistant earthship project that will serve as a permaculture and sustainability education center in Aguada, Puerto Rico.
TO KNOW OMRE ABOUT THE PROJECT:
TO HELP AND DONATE FOR THE PROJECT:
Who is doing what...
Crew duties are as follows:
Sara and Nicole are the volunteer work force managers. We will have up to 70 people on site who all want to work. Sara and Nicole will generate a daily board of work assignments. And, in the moment, help direct the army to where most benefits the job. And keep the vibe positive and productive.
Casey and Key are the site managers. They will ensure the site is safe and organized. They will lead cleanup everyday. They will look out for volunteer safety.
Elena is the camp coordinator from our team. She will promote respect and peace in camp.
Olivia is the videographer from our team. She will collect images, video, and interviews for our promotion of the project. She will communicate with Agathe daily in order to have current Facebook and blog posts. Olivia and Agathe are also creating a short video to be released after our initial build.
On site assignments:
Mike is focusing on the first hut and will be leading tire and bottle work. Rafi, Mirna, and Key will start the job as Mike’s assistants.
Phil will launch the rebar dome. Sara will assist. Local academy student Mario will help as well.
Casey will lead a crew of “overflow” efforts. Nicole and Elena will assist. This team will be beginning tire work on the other huts. Also digging waste water cells, etc. The overflow crew will be handleing a large number of volunteers at relatively simple tasks.
All management will report back to Phil and Mike so we can peripherally handle the situation while focusing on the build.
PRESENTATION OF SOME OF THE TEAM:
Nicole:
Hi Sara, Saw your email and wanted to share a few things per your request. Im from CA and live in Ocean Beach San Diego. My first taste of EB was in Malawi followed by PI and the academy. My intention for this project is to bring love to Puerto Rico and to continue working with my EB community.
Olivia:
I am an English girl that is living between california, usa, and oaxaca, mexico, where I am helping agate cauchy to build an orphanage. I enjoy to follow earthship because of the way they seek to build sustainable communities whilst providing relief for those affected by diaster. I am coming to Puerto rico to film the action taking place in the first stage of the build. I was avid to work on aid relief when the hurricanes struck the east coast, particulary in puerto rico, so when the chance arouse to go with earthship I took it. I am hoping that this diaster can give the island a chance to rebuild itself in a new ecologically minded way. I speak spanish and English and a little french. I work in and enjoy producing photography, illustration and construction.
Mirna:
My name is Mirna. I study architecture, that’s what really drew me to learn more about Earthships. I did the Earthship academy in June 2016 in Taos and I’ve worked on some builds after that (The Lone Tree build,
and two builds in Indonesia on Kenawa Island). This is an exciting project I look forward to meeting and working with all of you :)
Earthship Natural House Tour in Taos New Mexico (Off Grid)
We just got back from a road trip which included a tour of our friend's new earthship. Seeing their house reminded me that we had made a silent video tour of the first time we stayed at an earthship in 2013. This is the video from 2013 when we rented a very luxurious earthship with some friends. After we left this very earthship shown in the video we did a tour of the cob cottage in Oregon. Natural homes feel amazing. I'd imagine if you're watching the video you're already aware of how an earthship goes above and beyond 99.99% of homes built anywhere in the world (earth friendly or not). The design for using water and a green house always blows me away.
Earthships invented in New Mexico help communities after hurricanes
A company in Taos is using recycled materials to help people in Puerto Rico rebuild after losing their homes in Hurricane Maria.
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Taos earthship for sale
$178,900 ( 1,160 sq.ft 1 bdrm, 1 bath)
This off the grid, fully self sustainable earthship sits on 3 acres of beautiful sagebrush 12 miles from Taos, New Mexico in the Greater World Earthship community. The west side borders BLM land and the Taos Gorge is one mile away. It runs solely on solar power, catches rainwater and snowmelt, uses earthship systems of grey and black water treatment and is heated and cooled by thermal mass. This is a great home for 1 or 2 people who want to live environmentally responsible, who have a working knowledge of earthships and who enjoy the peace, nature and serenity of the mesa. The Greater World community sits on 660 acrea of rolling mesa, is the home of Earthship Biotecture, and the headquarters of Mike Reynolds, the inventor of Earthships....
New Mexico: Connecting to Earth | USA Discoveries | World Nomads
Join World Nomad Joel, as he explores New Mexico, aka Land of Enchantment. In this state of desert and mountains, he discovers a striking landscape and a particular light and vibe that encourages creatives to settle and work here. Joel visits the hip towns of Taos and Santa Fe and comes to appreciate the unique blend of Spanish, Anglo and Native American cultures. Along the way, he visits earthships, encounters poets and artists, and experiences natural hot springs and incredible sunsets.
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Taos Pueblo & Adobe Churches on the High Road to Taos, New Mexico in HD
Four beautiful churches located on the High Road to Taos: Santuario de Chimayo, San Jose de Gracia - Las Trampas, San Juan de Los Lagos - Talpa, San Francisco de Asis Mission - Ranchos de Taos. Views from Taos Pueblo, Taos and the Rio Grande Gorge.
Recorded September 2012 in HD with Panasonic TM900.
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Lightless Dawn by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
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Kate Noonan, Earthships Community - Taos, New Mexico | Get To Know Taos
In this video, Kate Noonan from the Earthships Community in Taos, New Mexico gives an overview of what it's like being in Taos and her experience at the Earthships.
Following the theme of the Get To Know Taos series, she also explains how she ended up in Taos and what makes it so special.
To learn more about The Earthships, visit:
This video was recorded and edited by:
Geraldine Convento
To learn more about how the Get To Know Taos project started, view the article from Taos News:
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If you would like to submit videos for the channel, email gettoknowtaos@gmail.com
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El Monte Sagrado Resort & Spa, Taos, New Mexico - Intro
El Monte Sagrado Resort & Spa is an award-winning luxury Taos Heritage Hotels & Resorts property located 3 block from historic Taos plaza. This palatial resort features the organic eco-conscious Living Spa rejuvenation center, Anaconda Bar and De la Tierra restaurant. A natural stream flows through the property and there are a variety of gorgeous indoor and outdoor event spaces perfect for corporate retreats, weddings and meetings in the high desert of New Mexico. elmontesagrado.com