EARTHBAG TECHNOLOGY - SIMPLE, SAFE AND

SUSTAINABLE
Dr. Owen GEIGER1, Kateryna ZEMSKOVA2

1
Director of the Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable
Building, USA
[email protected]

2
Co-Founder and President of Good Earth Nepal, a New York
based non-profit organization, USA
[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Earthbag technology is an inexpensive, simple and sustainable method for building

structures. Having evolved from military bunker construction and flood control methods,
Earthbag buildings are notable for their ability to endure fire, flood, wind, earthquake and
vermin, and are used in disaster-prone zones all over the world. In Nepal, 55 Earthbag
buildings survived a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with no structural damage. Because
Earthbag technology makes minimal use of cement, concrete, steel and timber-and the
fuel needed to transport them-the technique is easy on the environment, and doesn’t
deplete scarce natural resources. Earthbag technology also requires less expertise than
more traditional building methods, and only the simplest of tools.
I. INTRODUCTION

Earthbag technology is a wall system, with structures composed primarily of ordinary soil
found at the construction site. The soil is stuffed inside polypropylene bags, which are
then staggered like masonry and solidly tamped.
Barbed wire is used between the layers of bags and serves as mortar. For seismically
active zones, reinforcements like buttresses, vertical rebars and bond beams are
recommended. The classical foundation used in Earthbag construction is a rubble trench
foundation. The roof design can be of any preference, as long as it is lightweight.

Completed Earthbag House, Gorkha,

Earthbag Construction, Makwanpur, Nepal
Built by Good Earth Nepal

Earthbag construction minimizes the need for skilled labor, and does not require any
special tools or machinery. An Earthbag building can easily be built by a group of
unskilled workers, under the supervision of a construction manager.
Earthbags are used in retaining walls and for erosion and flood control, as well as under
highways.
Though relatively “new”, the basic principles behind Earthbag technology have been
around for centuries. Some call Earthbag technology “Rammed Earth in a Bag” or
“Reinforced Rammed Earth”.

Kagbeni Rammed Earth Monastery, built 1429

II. EARTHBAG TECHNOLOGY

Earthbag building offers many advantages over existing technologies:

• Safety- Earthbag technology has now been tried and tested in Nepal. More
traditional building techniques were also tested, and tragically failed

• Ease of Construction- Earthbag technology is easily learned by rural villagers

• Reduced Use of Materials- Earthbag structures require a minimal amount of

cement, concrete, wood and steel

• Reduced Use of Fuel and Transportation- Use of local materials, and fewer
materials, means less need for transport and lower fuel costs

• Less Pollution- Building with soil means fewer factories and smoke stacks, fewer
pollution-belching trucks for transporting the load, and less depletion of Nepal’s
forests and natural resources

• Cost-Effective- Building with Earthbags is inexpensive. For example, a typical

Earthbag house might cost 900 NPR per square foot, versus 2500 NPR for
concrete block construction.

The main material of an Earthbag structure is ordinary soil, obtainable at the worksite.
Most soils are adequate and precise ratio is not necessary, but there must be enough
clay and moisture to bind the aggregate together. The soil can be easily tested without
any equipment, using a drop test or a roll test. The most common mix is:

25-%-30% Clay
70%-75% Sandy soil
10% Moisture
Earthbag construction is durable, and if
the polypropylene bags are plastered
properly the construction can last for
hundreds of years. A study by the U.S.
Federal Highway Administration found
that the half-life of polypropylene fabrics
in benign environments could be 500
years or more. The bags themselves
have a tensile strength even higher than
steel, and can resist circumferential Rolls of polypropylene fabrics
forces generated from the weight above.

Barbed wire helps to lock the bags together, and forms a matrix within the wall system.
Barbed wire resists outward expansion of the wall caused by weight from above, and its
tensile strength resists out-plane forces. Barbed wire should be 14 gauge, 4 pointed.

Earthbag structures generally employ a rubble trench foundation, though more traditional
types of foundations can be used as well. A rubble trench foundation was first
popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1922, and used for his Imperial Hotel design. This
hotel survived the great Kanto earthquake, the most devastating in Japanese history.
Earthbag structures, despite being heavy, have great flexibility that makes them highly
earthquake resistant. An Earthbag building uses its own weight to anchor itself to the
rubble trench foundation. Since the superstructure is not attached to the foundation by
bolts or rebars, the foundation and the superstructure are able to move independently,
minimizing the shock transfer to the walls. A rubble trench is also built of individual units
rather than a continuous beam, further absorbing the shock.

Earthbags are resilient. As per an experimental study on vibration reduction performed

by three Chinese universities (Hohai University; Business School of Hohai University;
Hefei University of Technology), Earthbags have a
relatively high damping ratio, with horizontal as well as
well as vertical vibrations effectively reduced.

Earthbag walls are generally 14”- 15” thick and provide

stability to the structure. The height to thickness ratio of a
wall should not be more than 8, and the maximum length
of unsupported wall shall not exceed 10X its thickness.
Longer walls must be provided with a buttress at intervals
not exceeding 10X the wall thickness. Window and door
openings must be at least 900 mm from corners, and
there should be a minimum of 900mm between two
openings. The maximum allowed width of an opening is
150 cm.

Earthquake reinforcement guidelines:

1. Placement and size of opening and 2. Corner reinforcement

lateral support Increases the in-plane stiffness of
the wall

3. Vertical Reinforcement 4. Bond Beam

Provides additional shear strength Provides integrity to the structure
 5. Cement render with galvanized or plastic mesh
Provides additional strength to the wall to resist in-plane as well as out-plane
forces

All of these materials and methods combine to make Earthbag structures extremely
earthquake-resistant. Tests done in accordance with IBC standards have found that
Earthbag construction far exceeds Zone 4 standards, devised to protect against the very
highest level of seismic activity. Numerous Earthbag structures have been built in the
United States, with Earthbag structures permitted by the California Building Code, due to
high seismic activity the toughest in the United States.

CONCLUSION

Earthbag technology offers a safe, simple and sustainable building option. We

encourage engineers and building professionals in Nepal and other countries to explore
this exciting new technology, and its possible use in those communities most in need.
References and Further Readings:

Earthbag Building Guide, Owen Geiger

Natural Building Blog: www.naturalbuildingblog.com/
GoodEarthNepal.org: www.goodearthnepal.org/
EarthbagBuilding.com: www.earthbagbuilding.com/
EarthbagStructures.com (primarily for disaster relief organizations):
www.earthbagstructures.com/