The notion is to help the earth by using the earth. That is the technique a former home inspector in Oracle thought of when he built a guest house in his backyard using homemade adobe.

“If you want to talk about sustainable development and affordable housing, I don’t see how you leave this sort of thing out of the conversation,” says Stephen Storm. So to give his guests a more comfortable place to stay, he built a 200 square foot adobe on his property.

How did he do it. “You’re gonna need some dirt, you’re gonna need a place to make the adobes and you’re gonna need a 16-year-old or a crazy old man to do the work for you”, jokes Stephen. 

With this home, it’s all about sustainability. The insulation here is 15% dirt, 85% paper and 100% fire proof. “There’s 2 walls that are painted with whitewash that’s been supplemented with Elmer’s glue and cactus juice. These other two walls are painted with a clay slip”, says Stephen.

Because it’s made from dirt, there is some upkeep. Stephen says, “The surfaces that the rain hits hardest would erode about a quarter inch a year and these vertical surfaces that are not directly impinged by the rain would probably erode at maybe a 32nd of an inch a year”.

But the biggest advantage: cost. Stephen says, “I probably spent more on beer to drink while I was doing the work than I did on the materials that I bought.”

Savings that Stephen and Mother Nature can both appreciate.