Using earth-based materials for building construction is healthy, cost-effective, easy to assemble, and would greatly benefit those who are trying to reconstruct their earthquake damaged buildings.

The world today largely depends on industrial building materials for shelter. The mass production of industrial materials such as cement, steel and bricks has given rise to a generic building construction practice. Whilst these materials and building practice have definitely revolutionized the industry, they still come up short when it comes to meeting the demands of every segment of the population. This is especially evident in under developed and developing countries where industrial materials are still off limits to most many due to their costs and the consumers’ unfamiliarity with the materials. In addition, people are questioning the brazen exploitation of natural resources required for mass production of the above-mentioned materials. But, the fact remains that he need for shelter is growing worldwide everyday Hence, use of materials that are ubiquitous and eco-friendly is imperative to meet this growing needs.

Earth -- soil, mud, or ground as some call it -- is one such material. When you come to think of it, it is most certainly one of the most abundant materials on our planet. It is believed that even today, one third of the Earth’s population uses soil as the primary material for their houses. These houses are popularly known as Earthen Houses. The idea of using what is locally available has been an integral principle in many building construction schemes throughout history.  Earthen constructions have been used since ancient times that go back thousands of years. Greater understanding properties and advancement in construction technology have once again brought back soil (earth) as a major building material.

In a developing country like ours, where we have a history of earth being used to make sun dried bricks in the Kathmandu Valley, rammed earth walls in the Himalayas, and infills in the bamboo reinforced houses in the Terai, revival of earthen constructions is imperative, but not totally surprising. The housing needs that have escalated after the earthquake of 2072 B.S have been at the forefront of the socio-political discourse here in Nepal. Questions are still being raised regarding the best typologies, materials and systems that need to be used for post-disaster housing. Earthen houses can be the answer to all those questions, if properly understood and advertised.

The difficult topography of the hill and Himalayan regions of Nepal, which are also most affected by the earthquakes, makes it almost impossible for regular industrial materials and building systems to be transported and implemented in these regions. Hence locally available materials should be encouraged as primary building materials in those regions. Earth, as mentioned earlier, is abundant in all those regions and also can be a tool to revive lost earth-based construction techniques. They can be the energy-effective and cost-effective solutions to an immediate problem facing the country. Earthen constructions are generally good for heath, and generally good for health, and advanced earth building techniques make them easy to assemble.

Rammed earth buildings

Rammed earth construction is a building technique for constructing walls, foundations and floors using natural materials such as earth, chalk, lime or gravel. Generally moist earth is poured into a formwork in layers up to 15 cm thick, and compacted by ramming. Rammed earth building are simple to construct, and are non-combustible, thermally massive, strong and durable.

Earthen blocks

These earthen blocks are produced by manually setting wet earth in formworks, and are often called adobe, mud bricks, or sundried bricks. They can be made in varied shape and sizes as different types of moulds can be used for production. These bricks can be manually pressed, or machine pressed for better compaction.

Prefabricated wall panels

These rammed earth panels are used as non-load bearing elements and should be used with light wet loam. They are usually edged with timber, since their edge strengths are insufficient.