I am so happy to finally be penning down what is for me, the most exciting, great and long lived achievement of my life. Anyone who has known me as a young adult will testify that I would talk about not much else except Earthships. I just couldn’t help myself! I got the bug back in the year 2001 after a lecture by Earthship inventor Michael Reynolds. That was the day that my life changed forever. After listening to Michael talk, I knew that this was my mission. Someday or other, I would build my own fully sustainable off-grid Earthship home. It really felt like an amazing idea, and one that I had no idea how I was going to pull off. I had no building experience, not much money, and no clue even what country I wanted to live in! There were a lot of question marks, but also a lot of passion and determination.
So this is a story of my great challenge, in total a 16 year mission! It is a story of soul searching, patience, passion, determination, and magic. It took me 5 years alone to find my spot, after extensive travelling, and living in several countries. The path took many twists and turns, but I never forgot the dream.
To all of you who also dream of one day taking the great journey of self-building, I hope this story and diary will provide you with a lot of good information, advice and hope. Perhaps I can inspire you to achieve the great accomplishment of becoming self-sufficient and off-grid. This is a diary of the milestones and details that I came across on this journey, and also a very humorous look at some of the unique challenges that I came across whilst trying to achieve something very challenging in an even more challenging location. All this and more you will discover as you read my story.
I will post at least once a week, and will have quite a few pictures of the build itself so you can see how I did it. There will be many parts to this, and so I hope you keep reading and discover the trials and tribulations of an inexperienced self-builder, a very ambitious design, and all done on the side of a mountain in the South of India with no road access, no power lines, and no skilled labour. The fact I managed to pull this off at all is a miracle. There was so much magic and divine timing on this project that I know I was supported by the great cosmic brotherhood in ways that even I will never fully know!
So that is my very simple and short introduction.
Please stay with me, and next time we will start this journey, meeting Mr Michael Reynolds for the first time! I was not looking for this, I was quite busy learning to make websites and make money. But then one day, totally out of the blue, my phone rang and an old friend randomly suggested I should go and see this lecture in Brighton UK. I had no idea what he was talking about, but for some reason I went! That is one of the crazy things about life, the smallest thing can take us on great detours!
Whilst you wait here is a great movie from the Valhalla Movement on Earthships
Awesome!
I have built earthshps with Michael and have done a lot of sustainability projects.
I am excited to see eco content here on Steemit and to see a lot of positive response to this post!
I will follow you and check out what you have to share as sustainable building is of the utmost importance. The more sustainability being shared the better!
Im glad you agree! This is so important these days. Being self sufficient is real security and also what our planet needs to be able to heal... im also very happy to see SO many Steemians support and appreciate sustainability.. theres so many conscious and aware people here. I know this will be time well spent writing this story finally...
Glad you are following!!
Yea!
SteemON!
Hey Quin,
I'm happy to let you know I have written a lovely full length article for Chapter 2 of this adventure!
I have also added a little email notification system if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
Very professional!
yes yes yes, I can't wait to follow this project, I have many friends that have built earth ships and domes, some up the side of a mountain with no access like yours.
How exciting, an Earth ship on steemit.
Resteemed
yay! this will be fun! I got too many hilarious and also hard stories and life lessons to share.
Brilliant. I'll read with interest...I have Earthship 1 & have wanted to build one for years too :)
happy to hear! Earthship 1 is a good start! its SO technical its a bit hard to read...
try and get water from the sky! that is one of the best reads and is a lot more 'readable'..
thanks! added to my amazon wishlist.
absolutely brilliant. i'll be watching with great interest!
Glad to see you "launch" this initiative! Steem on!
😄😇😄
thank u.. You wont believe some of the stories i have from this build!
Can't wait!!!
Source Credit: giphy
This is so wonderful. I am trying to lower my carbon footprint through vermicomposting and reusing of bottles as containers instead of buying plastic containers.
My compassion regarding the environment stems from my love of my family and human beings in general. Our earth is being destroyed by greed. The blame should not be placed solely on Corporations and the rich, but on us as well.
It is so much easier to throw things away instead of repurposing items. It is our current downfall.
I am very proud of you and your friends in your efforts to preserve and use our natural resources responsibly. May your God bless you and my God bless you as well for all your efforts.
In admiration,
@sargento
beautiful comment sargento! and i agree with everything you just said wholeheartedly!
Thank you for a great comment!
@eco-alex
Is your construction complete? I take it that it is. Mad props to you! I have looked into earthships quite a bit, but never had the location or oppotunity to take it more than that!
I did hear about a compacting tool, maybe two years ago, that cuts the labor by 1/10th. It does most of the packing and ramming....which, I understand, is a most important aspect of earthship construction!!! I don't think I would even try without this resource...but don't call me lazy. I have worked back breaking work enough in this life to do SMARTER, not HARDER.
I look forward to seeing this project unfold and illustrated! Thanks for bringing this to us! We need more DOING and less 'just talk about doing.'
Peace!!
Thanks em3! To be honest using power tools for ramming is really not very effective unless u have an ultra small team. The best way is to get a good team of volunteers and do it by hand. It takes just a few weeks or maybe a month and is by far the most fun part when done in a group.
If u use power tools then you can only work on one tyre at a time. To buy 10 or more costs a lot and they are not fun tools to work with. So its actually much slower and much less fun! Also ramming can be done by virtually anyone so u can get the cheapest labour or volunteers. Ive had 6 year olds and 70'yeat olds ramming with me.. we put music on and had a
Blast!!!
And yes i 100% agree we need more doing and less talk!!!! Just do it is my motto!!'
;)
I'm happy to let you know I have written a lovely full length article about the beginning the Earthship Eco Build..
I have also added a little email notification system if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
Thanks!!
That's going to be a nice journey, can't wait. Hopefully also including some tips and tricks, do's and dont's from India's number one eartship builder @eco-alex, let it come, let it come...
absolutely! plenty of tips, tricks, do's don'ts and many things in between! GOnna be writing for years!
Yes, finally! That´s the kind of stuff I want read on ecoTrain.
Tales of blood,sweat and tears . :-)
yep all of that ! thanks!
Love this and looking forward to seeing your project come to life. We definitely have the dream of building a sustainable home too but we are still in the traveling and looking for a destination phase.
Im happy to hear this! As they say location location location!! Its so important. I lived in four countries over 7 years before I found my spot. And when i did find it i knew instantly.. it was a profound Eureka moment!! Wishing you a wonderful journey! Im also here to help people with advice and ideas when the time comes...
There will be a time and place! I'm sure of that. Thanks for the tips and tricks. Wonder if you have any ideas for Earthships in areas that are prone to flood if we decide to stay in Cambodia.. and Earthship on stilts... would that be possible?
You could raise the site with dirt and stones, if its really bad raise it a lot. Then you wrap the entire base of the house in epdm membrane which is totaly water proof.
Thanks for the tip! Since we fell in love with the tropics I bet raising the house is what we will need to do or find a spot on the mountain.
Beep beep. Hi @amy-goodrich!
You have used tip! in your comment - that`s my magic word for sending tips ;)
Click here if you wish to learn more!
Hi Amy,
I'm happy to let you know I have written a lovely full length article for Chapter 2 of this eco build story. I think its a great start and want to let people who sounded really passionate know about it.
I have also added a little email notification system if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
Another great post! Looking forward to the next episode ;)
Thank you amy! I think around tuesday the next one is coming. If u want to be sure to catch it just scroll to the end of the post and subscribe to email notifications...
Thanks for the tip! looking forward the rest of the story ;)
Beep beep. Hi @amy-goodrich!
You have used tip! in your comment - that`s my magic word for sending tips ;)
Click here if you wish to learn more!
@eco-alex you are an amazing man! You taught me about the beauty of the Earthship, the concept of off-grid self sufficient homes and the very needed need to stop destroying the Earth. I am truly looking forward to your reading about your 16 year journey of "soul searching, patience, passion, determination, and magic." I guess, I too am on a mission, that of finding inner peace and being. That is why I am writing my journey......it truly helps to express inner passions and love. I wish you all the best in Steemit. I'm glad you happened on my post so I could look at yours. I am so happy! Have a great day ahead! ......Cabbagepatch :D
What a wonderful comment! Thank you for this!! I can hardly wait to start writIng!!
Yay! Glad you started writing your miraculous build story down finally!
Oh wow, this is sooooooo exciting, I am quite familiar with Michael Reynolds and his incredible earthships. I am absolutely fascinated but I never met anyone who is actually building one, so now I am going to check all your posts 😊
Great post!
I helped build an earthship 20yrs ago, unfortunately the project lost funding before it was completed. Seems like the designs have improved over the years. Excited to follow your story here!
IM amazed how many steemians have earthship experience! At least you got some experience during your short build.. and maybe some lessons learned..
Yes stay tuned, more coming very soon!
Well, I still dream of one day building my own and when I see others doing so, it inspires me to no end! thank you for reminding me about this valuable movement.
this is why im doing this.. ive spend so many years holding workshops, giving earthship tours to random people almost every day.. i see how inspired it makes people and thing this is one of the most important things i have to share and teach people. I m really happy i can share it here and not only get this story out of my system but also really help others initiate projects.. I mentor people who are self building for free and will always be around to help you if / when you do take the jump!
i hope you caught the third part!.. its a week old now so the next one is coming very soon.. but you might like to catch before you miss more of the tale!
This third part i think is the most important for everyone to read as it's all about getting started and having vision..
https://steemit.com/life/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-eco-builder-part-3-how-to-accomplish-anything-in-life
That people do what they dream of is also important - My dentist said to me, that he was envious of me because of my lifestyle, so I suggested he does the same, 'not possible' he said, 'I have my work my family etc.' as though somehow my ability and situation was different to his, Doh... I tried to point out his error in thinking, but he didn't get it. He was afraid to let go, afraid of taking the plunge. Most people will only wish for such things, not realising that the reality is within easy reach, all it takes is a leap of faith and a little effort. It's a leap of faith that will ultimately make the world a better place, and if we don't take the initiative, the larger world will ultimately force us to take such decisions. Sustainable means the opposite to what we presently have, which is unsustainable. I have the greatest respect for you Mr Eco @eco-alex and anyone who takes that initiative. Full steem ahead. :)
lovely comment! yes Shelbi its strange how we cant see the elephant in the room no matter how hard we try to point it out..
no no, its not an elephant. its just a large gray animal .. with a long nose
Wow, so happy that I found your blog!! This is so cool to see and follow. Nice to cyber meet you :)
Me too! Happy you found this! I hope you enjoy the ride...
Ahhh the Earthship, such a brilliant idea and one that set me on the path I am on today. Like you my friend I caught the bug and my life has never been the same since. I can't wait to get to know the detail of your story bro.
I am glad I stumbled upon this post. I'm at the very beginning of my journey to build my self-sufficient home...very beginning meaning the desire is there, but I don't yet have the money or the location. It will be very inspirational for me to read your upcoming posts.
Congrats! Enjoy this journey! Im sure you will learn a lot from my story and experiences... i will try to offer many tips and lessons learned as well as some of the technical aspects...
Very best of luck to you!!
I'm happy to let you know I have written a lovely full length article about the beginning the Earthship Eco Build..
I have also added a little email notification system if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
Thank you! I will probably sign up for the email notification since it's so easy to miss new posts on Steemit.
Great! Yes thats exactly the reason i did this!
I'm really looking forward to this. I could not wait and looked at your website. Your house looks amazing.
Thank you.. yes it is an amazing earthship home, it turned out goood.. very good..'phewph!'
Awesome, @eco-alex! Always nice to see a fellow earthshiper, and it's especially exciting to see one being built (in India, none the less). I'm not gonna unleash my avalanche of questions on you right now, just to say I'm looking forward to your series of posts documenting the build.
Thanks stortebeker! Cant wait for the avalanche!
Very cool! I had heard of these, but never thought to build my own. Followed!
Well MAYBe by the end of this journey you will be inspired enough to go for it!! Ill definitely be adding lots of good advice within the story... as well as many other 'detours' .. this story will be taking the scenic route....
Agreed! Anyone interested in maybe helping @papa-pepper get an Earthship built in the future? As the 2.0 version of Bonnie Raitt once e-tuned..."Let's give em something to Blog about!"
papa-pepper, maybe after reading this Chapter 2 that i just posted you will be inspired and another step closer to wanting to do this!! ;-)
I have also added a little email notification system to the end of the post if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
Awesome. Looking forward to this.
Thank you! Yes we start the journey very soooon!
I build stuff. I helped to build a Cobb Cottage near Eugene, OR, once, just to learn about Cobb building.
Have you ever built with Cobb?
nice! i used to live in Portland oregon, always heard about Eugene!
Yes ive built with cob.. Lots of work... lots of fun.. I do prefer earthship and also now earthbag.. I think earthbag is even better than cob and SO much easier and faster and even stronger. That said, there is nothing like a cob party to keep the spirits up!
Pretty awesome process. Please keep us posted I would really love to see and read what are you up to every week. Thanks for sharing
glad to hear you will be following up! And yes i endeavour to post once a week.. The first one will probably come within a day or two.. who knows, with me i might just start writing like mad tonight and post it later today! ;-)
That would be awesome, but try to make it for a nice Friday's night read with some wine :)
oh that's a nice idea!
Now which timezones night!?
It could be 8-9 PM CST
ill do my best ;-))
Amazing I will follow your journey @eco-alex - With some friends we are organizing this for 2018 https://steemit.com/anarchy/@michelrnilles/join-the-2018-asia-tropical-earthship-academy-workshop-now
Awesome!! Will have a read! The eship academy is doing great work spreading the knowledge!! Very best of luck, and i hope my story can also help you..
Hey michel,
I'm happy to let you know I have written a lovely full length article for Chapter 2 of this eco build story. I think its a great start and want to let people who sounded really passionate know about it.
I have also added a little email notification system if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
what about Mr Michael Reynolds is he good person ?
he has done great things for the world ,, YES he is a good person with plenty of character!
Incredible comrades, Your story is very inspired to our readers. I also think, what we do must be completed to achieve the goal
thank you! hope you keep reading!
I'm happy to let you know I have written a lovely full length article about the beginning the Earthship Eco Build..
I have also added a little email notification system if you do read it and dont want to miss future posts.
Thanks again for your support and interest!
Check it out here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
YES and Thanks you! I will be watching for every post. I have the same ideas and I want to leave my country but I have worried that I would not be able to buy land because I would not be a citizen. Can you speak on your experience with buying land in a different country? Thanks and keep steeming forward!
i will speak about it.. but actually i never bought land as i cannot do so in India.. in rural areas.. instead i have a lifetime lease .. which should be enough for me and much cheaper! ;-)
where do you live?
I am in the USSA, unfortunately. I really like Mexico or even some places in South America but I never thought about India. I can't wait to hear about why you decide to live there.
Also, is the cashless thing messing you up at all? That a real bummer and how are you dealing with it? Also, how are you posting? Must be going to town. So many questions!!!
Hey,, what do you mean by this cashless thing!?
I am posting from my solar powered earthship, using my 4g wifi boosters on the JIO network! Its all good here, totally self sufficient ;-)
India went cashless, correct? I was wondering how that would effect someone living there.
oooh! no they didnt go cashless.. maybe in a few years.
they did remove many notes for a while but not all..
OK, that is right. They got rid of a certain bill and are moving toward cashless. I guess this will make crypto very important. I wish you the best and I really can't wait to hear all about it. I am really happy for you. Must be an amazing and free life. I am not one to shy away from hard work, so i would love it. It is even better when the work benefits yourself and family.
I think he meant the demonetization that was months ago.... Now there are nice new bills PLUS plenty of electronic payment options both on and offline. Cashness not cashless I'd say...
Yup correct! Im really missing those 1,000rs notes though!!
Awww an I'd almost forgotten! Should have saved some, just to remember, fondly. 2000 notes are ridiculous 4/5 of the time.
Tell me about it. When the Atm spews out 5x 2000 rs notes i get stuck because the
Shops often can't change it for a small purchase.. its all part of the drivr for a cashless india.. they make it so inconvenient to have money that all the shops are now getting card payment systems..
Plus the move to try and figure out Crypto in South India, Andra Pradesh has a gov't team and I believe Bangalore has quite a few places you can pay in Bitcoin already. What's next? BItChai?
Looking forward to the next postings!
me too.. thanks for your support!
I feel I'm moving in the same direction but not a drastic one. Looking forward to more of your posts.
thanks! yes more to come soon!
Fantastic! I'm so looking forward to hearing your story - I know it's just going to be the most amazing trip. Building an earthship anywhere is quite remarkable. Building one on a mountain in India, I'm sure has provided you with more than a few excellent anecdotes. Can't wait to hear them. Upvoted and Resteemed to the max!!
Thank you mr still! Watch this space!
Indeed I shall , mr eco
OMG, I can't wait to read this. You never forgot the dream. What a huge achievement.
Thank you, thank u!'
Valhallamovement will need to be seen from time to time .
I mentioned them here: https://steemit.com/homesteading/@ecoknowme/dream-greenhouse-what-s-your-style-long-term-solutions-for-homesteaders-permaculturists-and-plant-lovers
But I am in contact with the crew in Montreal. The Earthship greenhouse is still there, but they are working on many new projects now. SuperHero Academy is one, Barefoot College is another and there is a Soil Microbiology side too! check them out if you haven't in a while.
This post has received a 0.20 % upvote from @minnowhelper thanks to: @eutectico. For more information, click here!
Thank you @eco-Alex You are my favourite supermen of Earthship creators .
nice!! complements don't get better than that!>. thank u!
Hey Alex! I recently got invited to join your eco train group. But nobody told me how to join the slack app :3
Can I get a briefing on that
hey! ahh there you are ;-)
Can you email me on [email protected] and i will explain everything.
thanks a lot!
Well I did send an email 2 days ago from [email protected]
You should be able to see it
really sorry i missed that! i've replied now -)
Have had a dream of a similar breed since I was 14. Maybe younger. Since I was a boy with a formative imagination really. This hits the heartstrings. Looking forward to following your journey!
thanks Jason.. may the dream become reality!
I've watched a few documentaries about earth ships in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is the way we should live, good luck!!
yup! glad u agree ;-)
Read part 2 here!
https://steemit.com/writing/@eco-alex/the-remarkable-diary-of-an-earthship-eco-builder-2-the-dream-was-born-why-earthship-s-are-amazing-the-need-to-be-self-sufficient
Wow! I've always kept an eye on building homes using natural materials before, but never heard of the term "Earthship", which seems to be pretty similar, as far as my quick research is showing. I definitely prefer the term "Earthship" though!
Will definitely be following this, as I would love to build a natural home one day :)
thats great! Yes Earthship is a term applied to a specific type of natural home.. where ALL the elements of sustainable building and living are rolled into one,
You can see their HQ page at
www.earthship.org
Amazing thanks :)
I am looking forward to following your project. Living off the grid is a very enviable accomplishment.