Simple Survival Earthships

The Simple Survival Model Earthship evolved from the very basic prototype we constructed in Haiti. The purpose of the original Haiti build was to reevaluate the concept of necessity. No matter how well the “developed world” Earthship prototypes worked, they were absolutely out of the budget of what could be achieved in Haiti. This caused us to take life itself to the basics and try to apply the globally proven Earthshipconcepts at a ground zero level. We succeeded… and in the end, we (the entire crew of nine) wanted to have one of these for ourselves. We wanted this unit not only because it functioned very well; but because it was very quick and inexpensive to build, thus leaving the owner with a life rather than a mortgage bondage for the next thirty years. This inspired the Simple Survival Model Earthship we are presenting here.

We have worked on disaster relief projects all around the world for many years. We have made the observation over the years that the needs of the people after all these disasters are the same. They need water, sanitation and shelter urgently.

Recently we have begun to observe another aspect of this. That being that the price of shelter, water and sanitation, even in developed countries with no immediate disaster, is far too expensive. This became apparent after the global economic crisis/disaster of a few years back in 2006/7. This observation resulted in our realizing that what we are forced to develop for a third world country like Haiti after an earthquake, can help shed light on what is really needed throughout the world in both developed and third world countries alike. These are the needs of people… and for the most part, the majority of the people on the planet have trouble affording and meeting these needs. This showed us that…

“WHAT IS RIGHT FOR HAITI IS RIGHT FOR THE WORLD”

We have come to the conclusion that we (the people of the world)
all need…
disaster or not…

1) shelter/comfortable living space
2) water
3) sanitation (sewage treatment/containment)
4) energy
5) food
6) garbage recycling concepts

We need to be able to obtain the above in a way that is not subject to thirty year mortgages and hundreds of thousands of dollars. We need to be able to obtain the above in a way that does not cause devastation to the planet we all live on.

There is an obvious need for a simple survival sustainable living prototype that provides for humans; is in tune with the planet; and can be obtained for minimal money and in a short amount of time. This is the birth of the Simple Survival Model Earthships.
We need a version for the tropics like Haiti, the Andaman Islands etc. and for parts of the world that have all seasons. These units must take life to the basics and apply the Earthship concepts at a ground zero level.

Defining necessity is a big part of the Simple Survival concept. The thought process we took here was… what is really needed? What is the minimum the home needs to provide for its owner? The less that is needed the cheaper it gets. And the cheaper it gets the easier it is for people to afford this type of home. This, of course, requires the owner to do some serious soul searching to determine what he/she really needs and what he/she can do without.

Shelter
The Simple Survival Model Earthship will provide its inhabitants with comfortable shelter via very basic building techniques simplified from what has been learned on the developed world Earthship models.

Water
The Simple Survival Model Earthship will provide its inhabitants with clean water via very basic water harvesting techniques simplified from what has been learned on the developed world Earthship models.

Sanitation
The Simple Survival Model Earthship will provide its inhabitants with contained on site sewage treatment while producing food and flora at the same time via very basic biological techniques simplified from what has been learned on the developed world Earthship models.

Energy
The Simple Survival Model Earthship will provide its inhabitants with a very basic energy system that provides for the very basics of life via techniques simplified greatly from what has been learned on the developed world Earthship models.

Food
The Simple Survival Model Earthship will provide its inhabitants with some basic foods that supplement a very simple diet based on what has been learned on the developed world Earthship models.

Garbage
The Simple Survival Model Earthship will take the use of garbage (by products of modern society) as a building material to new extremes based on what has been learned on developed world Earthship models.

A few years back we all drove big cars. Those were the days of the big Lincolns and Chryslers, and Cadillacs. Even the Chevys and the Fords were big. They were made with thick metal and they were heavy and big. When the energy crunches began, and fuel prices started to rise a few brave companies put out compact cars. They were ridiculed at first. They were called “toys” and “unsafe”. The first models of compact cars were losing issues in terms of profits but they illustrated that you can still get there in a smaller car… and get there a lot cheaper. The fuel prices never stopped going up. Sure they would take a dive here and there but the over all graph on fuel prices was up.

So it is now with housing. Housing has been big and inefficient for a long time. Energy shortages and dwindling natural resources are making us look at smaller, more planet dynamic housing. The Earthship Simple Survival Concept is our answer to this issue.