It’s been a while since we’ve featured an Earthship home here, and it’s so exciting to see yet another version of these incredible, innovative, and eco-friendly homes built primarily with tires and packed dirt. Amy fell in love with the concept after volunteering to build a school out of sand-packed soda bottles and learning more about alternative building methods.
She took a hands-on course in New Mexico and then brought her skills back to Australia, where she teamed up with Martin Freney of Earthship Eco Homes — and many friends and volunteers — to build her very own 1,400-square-foot dwelling. While not “tiny,” her small home shows how trash can literally become treasure in the form of a warm and inviting home.
Earthships are such a neat buildlings! As the owner of this one writes, this is “a totally off grid house that catches its own rain water, generates its own electricity and stays at a steady 72 degrees all year round without the use of any fuel or electricity what-so-ever.” Can’t complain about that!
Inside the home you’ll find a studio set up, with a queen bed, television and chairs on one side, and a fully-functional kitchen on the other side, complete with a large oven and refrigerator. The bathroom has all the luxuries of home, including a flush toilet and a shower/tub.
Here’s your chance to spend a weekend (or longer!) in a hand-crafted Earthship house! This off-grid masterpiece in Montana is a self-sufficient structure complete with a greenhouse, passive heating and cooling, and an awesome water system.
Don’t know much about Earthship buildings? The video below from Tiny House Giant Journey gives a great overview and you can learn more here. Jeff has two Earthships on his property — one is his own, and the other (pictured below) he rents on Airbnb.
This one features a large master bedroom off of the main living area complete with a luxury kitchen and a comfortable living area. The front greenhouse has fresh produce growing! Enjoy the photo tour below.
Meet Earthship Ironbank: The first building-code-approved Earthship in Australia!
Martin & Zoe, along with a team of 60 volunteers, constructed this eco-friendly home inspired by the work of Mark Reynolds, who started the “Earthship” movement (lLearn more about Earthship architecture here). Martin went through the trouble of getting it “council-approved” by the building authorities in Australia, to show that it could be done. This is a 750 square-foot structure built primarily from recycled tires filled with earth, and coated in cement. You’ll notice stunning recycled bottle walls all over the home. You can book a tour of the Earthship, or better yet, you can vacation there via Airbnb!
Jordan from Earthship PEI (Prince Edward Island, Canada) shares great tips and advice on how to build a stunning earthship-style home using recycled tires and earthen plaster made from clay, sand, and straw. He built this beautiful green building with a ton of help from his girlfriend and friends.
The couple built their home out of recycled materials in a way that’s sustainable and good for the environment. They had no construction skills, lived off-grid for a long time and managed to do it with less than $10,000. They’ve even shared their journey and explained the concept of Earthship Homes via a photo book. So they started a Kickstarter campaign to help raise the funds for printing. Be sure to head over there, watch their inspirational video, and consider getting your own copy of “Nomadic Roots.” which is now available on Amazon (affiliate link).
Mat and Danielle from Exploring Alternatives filmed this video tour of the Terrasol mini Earthship-style cabin at the Terra Perma eco-community in Harrington, Quebec, Canada.
The cabin is completely off-grid with a 1000 Watt solar power system, woodstove, in-floor radiant heating, an outhouse, and soon-to-be-installed 3-season rainwater collection system.
It was built with over 200 recycled tires, 400 recycled bottles, and natural materials like cob and wood.
Have you heard about the construction of Florida’s first Earthship? It is being built on a 10 acre property in Myakka City, Florida that is zoned for agriculture. They have plans to educate and involve people on natural building, permaculture, zero energy construction, and sustainable technology.
There are also ideas in the works to integrate shipping container houses, solar powered domes, and more. The tires were collected locally and the dirt to fill them was dug out of the property itself which is now a wonderful looking pond. In the center of the home there are wetlands that recycle greywater and grows food producing plants. This water is also used for toilet flushing. You’ll learn more about this in the video from Bryan Roberts the Earthship General Contractor.
These are the plans for a lovely small bungalow with two mirrored bedrooms, two covered porches, and a beautiful fireplace! A perfect tiny family home, this space even has a mudroom corner off the back porch to catch shoes, coats, and backpacks.
The living room comfortably fits a couch and built-ins around the fireplace, and the kitchen fits an L-shaped island and full-sized appliances. The bedrooms and total bathroom share a hallway off the main room, and there’s a washer and dryer in an alcove. What do you think of these plans?
