Why should 'I' use Earthbag ?

SUSTAINABLE

Energy efficiency is a strong plus in favor of building with bags. The massive earth walls stabilize interior temperatures in hot climates. In cold and hot climates, earthbags can be filled with an insulating material, such as lava rock, pumice, vermiculite or perlite. Some builders are experimenting with rice hulls for insulation, which are often free for the taking. In general, lightweight insulating materials (such as those just mentioned) require far less labor than those of tamped earth and provide comfort through the harshest winters or hottest summers.
Earthbag buildings are sustainable since they are made primarily of earth from or near the building site. Earthbag domes do not require wood, thereby reducing pressure on our forests. Expensive concrete foundations are not required if you use gravel-filled bags. In addition, these structures are safe, quiet, nontoxic, rodent proof, and fire, hurricane and flood resistant.

SIMPLE

Earthbags are ideal for owner-builders. The necessary skills for each step of construction can be learned in a few minutes. It boils down to simply filling bags with an appropriate fill material (typically subsoil or gravel) and tamping them solid. It doesn't get much simpler than that. Also, few tools are required - shovels, buckets, garden hose. The few additional tools needed (tamper, slider) can be made cheaply and easily.
Earthbag building can be designed to suit a wide variety of climates. Since the woven polypropylene bags are virtually rot proof, earthbags are an excellent choice for underground structures: root cellars, storm shelters, bermed homes and greenhouses. In climates where wood is scarce, whole houses can be built exclusively with earthbags including the foundation and roof, as is the case for corbelled earthbag domes. Earthbags also combine well with other natural building materials that can be combined together to create hybrid structures. Straw bales can be interlocked with earthbags to build sturdy arch entryways or to add thermal mass to the interior wall of an attached sunroom. Or we may choose to use earthbags for the sunken first level of a structure and then switch to strawbale, post-and-beam, cob or adobe brick for the rest of the wall above grade to make use of an available resource or add aesthetic variety.

AFFORDABLE

Earthbag is surely one of the lowest cost, most practical building methods. It has the advantage of being able to use a wider range of filling materials. A simple earthbag dome, for example, using recycled grain bags and earth can be built for around US$100. A larger, more comfortable home can be built for around US$500-1000. It is more durable than tarps and more comfortable than tents, earthbags work perfectly since even unskilled workers can build their own shelters - all without destroying local resources.