Sweet Green Dreams

An Earthship Tale

by Lindsay Seligman

The final destination- a home that works with nature to provide our needs

In my last blog I went over a lot of the technical aspects so here is the romanticized but true tale of my 25 day internship with Earthship Biotecture.

Not two months have passed since I left my Earthship friends in Texas that I find myself back with the same crew but now in a new land. Down south, Todos Santos, Mexico where a beautiful home is to be built for an equally beautiful family, a brother and sister who hope to build more, as well as dream of building an off-the-grid city over land that is threatened by the mining industry who will destroy the water supply here.

The photo above is what we will end up creating. You may not fully understand what it means until I complete my tale so let me start from the beginning....

Part I
Feb 7-14 2010

Once upon a time there was a girl who was camping alone in the wild desert of Baja where she fell asleep to the sound of the waves crashing and the stars above.

She soon found herself no longer alone for there was a whole crew of Earthshipers building a house by her tent.

These strange people rammed dirt into old car tires as insulation for the walls. Look at how many tires they have pounded and this is only 2 days later.

These Earthshippers also worshiped the skys catching the rains that landed on their abode and keeping it below ground in containment systems where every drop was frugally used many times before it was returned to the earth again.

Everyday with her new friends they would retreat to the endless beaches to cool in her waters.

After a hard week of working with her new friends they set out east to play.

Along the way they found how death was celebrated in this land

With death comes beauty there is no one without the other.

Next to this still place, a bounty of life older than our own twisted into the skys so high all we could do was look up in wonder.

A bond was made with my friends and I that day and with a new friend we were sad to leave.

But back to work it was for us because we have a lot to accomplish in so little time...

Part II

Feb 15-21

Anna, the sister of Patrizio, whose dreams of an earthship home were becoming a reality, crouches to inspect a wall made out of cans. The Earthshippers had the power to transform trash into treasure creating shelter and thermal mass to capture the suns warmth.

Eight days later and the shell of the home was already finished by 60 helping hands.

Spectators would drop in from the skys to see this phenomenon happen

This project is so special a film crew created a documentary on how to build an earthship so that it can be shared with everyone.
As Reynold says "an ant can build it's own home- why can't we?"

By the third week the Earthshippers have started to absorb the suns light converting it into endless energy to power their homes- brilliant!

Reynolds, the visionary of these homes, and his wife Chris bask in the Warm Baja Sun

Another weekend and another adventure to see whales, and sea lions, hundreds of Jack fish turning the ocean to a wall of glitter in an off-grid town nearby. Life is plentiful and life is clean the way it aught to be.

Part III
Feb 21- March 5th

On this day, Feb 27, the moon rose above the mountains at the same time the sun was setting into the ocean. This same day we got word of a tsunami warning from an earthquake in Chile.
Hundreds of lives were lost like the recent disaster in Haiti. Reynolds spoke of efforts to create temporary shelters that also supplied the 5 basic needs- warmth, water, energy, food and shelter for situations like these. With a new night comes a new day with despair comes hope.

Adding the final touches, Rory is pretty much the poster boy of this amazing crew. Wherever in the world you see a well made earthship Rory has been there.

Every Earthshipper has an amazing story - read about girls story

From trash comes treasure there is no one without the other.

\Glass bricks, once trash now swirl around a window that will be the front of a long greenhouse. You see the Earthsippers realized that:
"To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves."—Gandhi

The soil is wehre all things come and all things end a perfect cirlce

The finishing touches go on and a splash of color!

An entryway to a home made with lots of love

Although seemingly strange and new the Earthshippers ideas were as old as time- working with nature to provide our needs instead of conquering her we reach a place of wholeness.

In the end of our Journey Patrizio and Anna have a beautiful home that can utilize the earth's energies, the sky's water, and sun's power. And now as an Earthshipper I not only made life long friends and memories but I carry the knowledge to create more homes like this, to respect the earth and utilize her precious resources in a way that keeps her healthy and plentiful for future generations.