I'd rather build my house with my own earth than go into debt [video]

I did not watch the whole video, but...<p>The video talks about &quot;no cost at all&quot;, except it ignores the massive amount of labour and time required to hand make bricks from mud and go from there.<p>Later on the video talks about ancient structures (pyramids, great wall, etc) that withstood the test of time, ignoring the MASSIVE human cost associated with building those things. How many people died housing a small handful of elites? In what living accommodations did thoses slaves find themselves?<p>I can guarantee you that if ancient pharoahs had access to glass and concrete they would have used it. Especially if it made it cheaper or quicker to build what they wanted.<p>How do you house the population on this planet without making use of cheap to produce, scalable and durable materials such as steel or concrete?

Nice to see a focus on vernacular architecture and avoiding concrete. I just went through the process of having my own house built - a modern extension to a 200 year old vernacular cottage - and it was very frustrating how much modern architects were blindingly obsessed with concrete EVERYWHERE. And it is a horrific pollutant.<p>While there is a lot to be said for building codes, I sometimes wonder if the increasing strictness applied to individual homes is a way to ensure nobody has the option to affordably build their own home with their own hands.<p>(Though I only wonder, I&#x27;m not sure - because I really appreciate how great modern insulation and fire&#x2F;earthquake safety is)

I always view these things as very niave. Over the years I have seen many takes on how to build homes faster&#x2F;cheaper&#x2F;greener. Yes, I could build a small shed out of 2x4&#x27;s and plywood for a couple hundred dollars, maybe even a thousand if we want to have a multi person dwelling. BUT, is it safe from the elements, is it structural, and the aspect almost everyone overlooks is, does it have PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL. If you don&#x27;t have a plan for this, its just a fort, not a home.

Building with local materials makes sense from an environmental standpoint by reducing transport energy. Since local materials will yield in different ways, architectural styles will need to adapt so buildings are resilient to the regional climate.<p>Extreme weather in regional climates demands better quality building materials, and traditional architectural styles may adapt poorly to new climates. Earthen bricks may work fine in the Middle East, but unless the bricks are fired, they cannot survive wetter regional climates (even with their claims of being waterproof), let alone a snowy climate. On the other hand, a Scandinavian-style A-frame will keep snow from accumulating on the roof, but such a design feature is extraneous for much of the world.<p>If you did want to build your own house using local materials, and you have wood available, rammed earth may be a better choice than unfired bricks, but it still won&#x27;t perform too well in cold climates.

I&#x27;d wager that overall quality of life would be higher if a typical software engineer from San Francisco decided to save up $500K, acquire 10+ acres of land in the heartland, and build their own house with 90% of their own labor.<p>In the process, the mind will be forced to learn many new concepts. Lessons of project management and time management will be learned. The body will be excercised and muscle mass added, becoming more attractive to the opposite sex.<p>Hunt, gather, garden.<p>It&#x27;s not an easier path, but perhaps it is a better path than slowly rotting away (mind and body) in an air conditioned cubicle.

Those are beautiful houses. I love the idea of doing something like this, but: A) I&#x27;m lazy, and B) I live in a place that has a ton of humidity. I wonder how such buildings would fare in a non-arid climate?

Wonder how well the houses shown here withstand earthquakes?

And it will kill you and your family in an earthquake. So much for iconoclastic hipster utopian-aspirational thinking.

It is beautiful, but is it earthquake safe?

Grand Designs - Africa Edition

I wish there were more easily accessible resources on how to actually do stuff like this.

Last time someone built a house like that in France, on what used to be a trash landfill (which they cleaned up before hand), local authorities made them pay on daily basis until it gets destroyed, while picturing the family as dangerous psychopaths endengearing neighbours<p>Such initiatives have to be supported, or at least, not illegal in the country, so that it prevents any local dictator with 100 citizens from his power trip on vulnerable population<p>Edit: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr&#x2F;bretagne&#x2F;finistere&#x2F;justice-ils-ont-6-mois-pour-detruire-leur-maison-en-terre-et-en-paille-2847728.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr&#x2F;bretagne&#x2F;finistere&#x2F;j...</a>