The Earthship has landed
France’s first residential Earthship has received planning permission. There are already two UK Earthships (houses built to the specification of Earthship guru Mike Reynolds) but these are eco-showcases in Brighton and Fife – not for living in, and there is another in Valencia, Spain.
Having failed to get planning permssion in the UK, a couple from Brighton decided to build the totally sustainable home in the small French village of Ger in Normandy. Kevan Trott and his wife Gillian are now hard at work on the structure (pictured).
The Earthship Defined
The Earthship is a completely independent globally orientated dwelling, made from materials that are indigenous to the entire planet. The major structural building component of the Earthship is recycled car tyres filled with compacted earth to form a rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber. This brick and the resulting bearing walls it forms are virtually indestructible.
Heat and cool themselves naturally via solar/thermal dynamics
Collect their own power from the sun and wind…
Harvest their own water from rain and snow melt
Contain and treat their own sewage on site
Produce a significant amount of food
Constructed using largely by-products of modern society like cans, bottles and tyres
Waste management has become a huge headache, particularly regarding tyres. Tyres are now considered hazardous waste and therefore not appropriate for land fill. This Earthship utilised 750 tyres in its construction as well as 5,000 aluminium cans and 10,000 bottles as well as other waste products destined for landfill sites or further processing in recycling plants which require more energy.
Water shortages are becoming an increasing problem as we enter into a period of much drier and longer summers. This co-incides with a steady and consistent increase in demand for water. The Earthship in Normandy does not require mains water connections as all the water this building requires is harvested by the roof. It is then used very efficiently internally through a sophisticated water filtration system.
The supply of energy is now becoming vulnerable at a time of great demand. Again the Earthship significantly reduces this problem as all energy demands are fulfilled on site.
Finally, sewage, a polluter along a number of domestic coastlines, is dealt with efficiently on the plot by a simple planter system that operates like a reed bed.
History of Earthships
Since visiting the Earthship Community in Taos, New Mexico in October 2005, Kevan
One Response
Hi there,
I have wanted to build an eathship forever, but here in germany they would never ever, ever, ever give permission to have one built for fear of losing money. All the independent electricity supply companies will no longer exist, which would then puat a lot of stress on the state because they would have to pay unemployment to all those ex-employees. Think how much money they will lose if they can no longer charge what they want for water and electricity and no to mention sewage waste. They charge you for hot water as well as cold water and waste water as well as sewage. That´s all excluding heating costs and then electricity is separate as well. No ways in hell will they allow a nice eco-house even though they scream to the world that they are doing everything for the environment. They force their people to pay tax for their exhaust fumes and every little bit of household waste that get collected from the premises, saying that this all gets recycled to make the environment a safer place for our future generations. All a lot of bull, because all the laws they implement to save our environment brings in millions and gazillions of revenue. Do you really think that the governments will allow us to become independent of them. No-ways, we are slaves to others who run our lives like they feel fit.
Will the French authorities allow another earth ship to be built? We live 30kms from the French border near Colmar. If you can, please supply me with more information and what the earthship cost to build. If the French authorities are not so greedy maybe we stand a chance to build one there too………