2. Coming back to earth

“We envision a world in which everyone is empowered to build a safe and sustainable home with their own hands, using the earth under their feet,” says the team at CalEarth, the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture. The not-for-profit’s SuperAdobe system creates houses that – they say – anyone can build, using locally available earth. Similarly to how a potter might stack coils of clay to make a pot, long or short sandbags are filled with moistened earth and arranged in layers or long coils. Strands of barbed wire are placed between each layer, acting as both mortar and reinforcement. It all began in 1974 when the late Iranian-born architect Nader Khalili became determined to find housing solutions for people with no money and limited resources. Cal-Earth trains hundreds of people in the technique each year. Khalili’s children Dastan and Sheefteh now head up the project.

Image: CalEarth Institute