Haiti Communitere earthship living space: Difference between revisions

Overview

The earthship living space was built at Haiti Communitere as a response to the 2010 earthquake. It serves as a demonstration for how homes can be built from waste material like tires, plastic bottles, and rubble from the earthquake. The base of the earthship is made with tires stacked seven high within the walls. Above the tires is the plastic bottle walls. The roof is steel bars made into a dome and plastered over. The earthship incorporates concepts like temperature regulation, solar energy, sewage treatment, upcycled materials, water harvesting, and food production.

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  The plastic water bottles create a stunning view on the inside of the earthsip.

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  The earthship design incorporates passive rainwater catchment. All of the water that falls on the roof of the main room, the archway, or the restroom is guided to a water storage tank by the contours of the roof. That water can then be collected from a spigot and be used for toilet flushing, showering, or any other necessary task.

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  If the water tank fills up it overflows out a bamboo pipe into a garden.

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  An airway in the roof allows for hot air to escape upwards. This is an important feature in Haiti's hot climate.

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  A shower room for taking bucket showers with the collected rainwater. The water used in the shower is captured by an underground tarp, and is fed to the earthship gardens.

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  The toilet is flushed with water from the rainwater collection tank. The flushed water provides nutrients to the eathship garden beds.

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  The water that is used in the shower and restroom flows to an underground reservoir that feeds the garden beds in front of the archway of the earthship.

Videos

Here's a view of the wall from inside the Earthship structure. The wind blowing through the trees outside causes the light from the bottles to flicker.