Biotecture Planet Earth cooperated with Earthship Biotecture to build an off-grid, self-sustained home for a family living on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, a First Nations Reservation in Canada, in summer of 2016.
This particular family, headed by Flower, was in desperate need of a healthier and more cost effective shelter, as they had been living in a condemned trailer for years. The trailer had several holes where you could see straight through to the outside, a rodent infestation, mold, old brass pipes that were getting clogged constantly, next to no insulation, and a leaking roof. Flower supports her daughter, who is a single mother, and 4 grandchildren. She is their only family.
The building constructed was the “Wood Simple Survival Earthship”, a low-concrete building that is easy to replicate, and that integrates all Earthship principles (comfortable shelter though thermal mass, rainwater catchment and storage, solar electricity, food production, building with recyclable and natural materials and a contained sewage treatment system).
An important part of this project was the knowledge transfer that the team provided to members of the Six Nations community that participated in the build to acquire the skills and was then able to replicate the same building again in their local community.
This building was constructed from start to finish in only 12 days, thanks to the incredibly dedicated and hard working crew and volunteers that joined from all over the world.
