Hacking the Earthships

"The Phoenix" for sale for $1.5m. interested?

Earthships are passive solar homes made out of natural and recycled materials that allow theirs residents to live off-grid. It's a fascinating concept, and 40 years ago, an architect named Michael Reynolds decided to experiment with various designs to optimize its different functions. Today, there are numerous earthships worldwide. Since off-grid homes are ideal in regions without utilities, there have been some Earthship projects in developing countries. 

For a house to be considered an earthship, it must feature water harvesting, solar and wind power, natural and recycled materials, thermal mass heating/cooling, food production, and internalized sewage system. The end product is a house that has minimal energy bills. It's all pretty nifty, especially for hippies and miscellanous people seeking an alternative lifestyle.

APPLICATION

 I first heard about Earthships when I saw the documentary, "Garbage Warrior."  After visiting their website, I learned of their internships, To apply, you must follow the guidelines listed on their website and submit an application well in advance--at least 6-8 months before the session you intend to attend. I first submitted my application for July in December, and learned (after not hearing from them for a while) that the session was already full. Fast-forward to April, I receive an email telling me that some interns dropped out and there was room for more. and two months later, I was in a car with my great accomplice on our way to Taos, NM. 

There was a period of frustration prior to arriving Taos. The office is short-staffed so email replies are infrequent and it's nearly impossible to get ahold of anybody. My biggest concern was how we were going to survive the month in Taos. The program doesn't provide food nor lodging during the intern session, so interns must fend for themselves. I should note that for $400/month, there is housing for interns, but you still have to buy food. No way. That's more than I would've spend a month on any vacation. So we decided to camp. Sounds easy enough, except for the fact that I am used to camping out in the northeast- trees, mosquito, water, etc etc. not in the desert of New Mexico. Not to mention that one of the staff stressed that it was "very difficult" camping out, as there are rattlesnakes and no water. To be honest, I was expecting relying on my survival skills to pull it through. Never would I have guessed in being so easy. 

SHELTER

Someday, someone will finish this chicken coop.

We camped on the Earthship Greater World Community, not far from the visitor center. There is a flat area available for those want to camp. There is a fire pit and bits of log thrown around for firewood. We felt safe leaving our tents up while we went to the work site. The only danger was getting it ripped out of the ground by the strong winds that roll around in the afternoon. 

Other interns camped in Carson National Forest. It is located higher in altitude and has vegetation akin to the Jersey barrens-- it's a forest. Trees and et cetera. An advantage is that there is a running creek close to some campsites. The donwside is that it is a 30-45 minute commute from the Earthship headquarters. (And did I mention that there was a murder close to an intern's campsite the first week we were there?)

Someone brought his RV and did the RV thing at the RV park located about 5 miles from the visitor center. It's not my scene, but they do have showers...

side view of the "Angel's Nest"

The intern housing is several minutes away from the visitor center in the "Angel's Nest" (or "the Hive" I think they're still playing around with a good name.) --By the way, that link takes you to an old youtube video about the old Angel's Nest. Try not to puke--The building is an Earthship catastrophe and a big, pink enigma. It is what remains of a multimillionaire's cockamamie investment in a pseudo-yoga retreat. Originally a functional Earthship, a millionaire purchased it so his wife could have an illusion of spiritual awakening, or something idiotic of the like. People paid hundreds of dollars to spend a week in this house, sleeping in tiny rooms and doing weird yoga during the day. While you're there ask somebody about the "body condoms." Yeah-it gets pretty weird. The worst part is that the millionaire couple made some expensive additions that compromised the Earthship's functionality, leaving a building that gets too hot during the day, too cold at night, and looks like some type of  extraterrestrial poop. 

I digress, there is a kitchen, (but no refridgerator) so interns must bring a cooler too keep their food from spoiling. There is wireless inside the building, so it comes in handy if you can't stay away from Facebook.  I'm sure that there are other aspects of the Angel's nest that I am not familiar with because we didn't want to pay to live anywhere. It is another source of income for the company, but we were not ready to dig deep in our wallets for this trip. 

TL;DR Do what we did and camp at the Greater World, It's easy, cheap, and you have coyotes as your neighbours and an excellent view 24/7.  

WATER

Our water situation could not have gotten more convenient. There is a rest stop 1.5 miles down the road next to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. It has plumbing. Toilets and a water pump. Nice. 

FOOD

My accomplice stocked up on canned foods for this trip. We ate at our campsite almost every day, except for when we wanted to take a break from canned chicken. Check the "food" section of the previous post for tips on dining out in Taos. ProTip: Sid's Food Market, located on the main street is apparently dumpster diver-friendly. The store closes at 8pm. Arrive at least 30 minutes in advance to collect their goods.  Some interns went to see what they could find, but came back empty-handed.

WEATHER

Taos has fairly predictable weather. It is sunny an average of 300 days/year. We were there for the month of July. During the day, the temperature waivered in the 90s, but the temperature dropped by about 20° at night. Strong winds enter in the afternoon and seem to spin around on the mesa before they move beyond the distant mountains or dissipate. At times, these winds bring in rainclouds that may or may not burst as they cross the mesa. These often leave with the winds. When you're lucky they throw hail. By nightfall, expect a clear night and stars stretching across the sky. 

When the sun didn't wake us up in the morning, it was the heat. The air inside our tent heats up very quickly in the morning. Sometimes I woke up sweating in my sleeping bag. Gross. 

TL;DR, Hot by day, cold at night, lots of wind and sometimes hail.

THE WORK 

It's all manual labour that can be adjusted depending on your skill level. What you do depends on what phase of construction is the worksite. The interns that have done previous work in construction did some carpentry on the site. We all became well acquainted with mixing cement and adobe plaster and mortar.The crew tries to expose its interns with as much variety as possible- which wasn't much more than laying bottle-walls, plastering, digging, mixing, pounding tires, making basic installations. 

If you wanted to learn anything, you have to ask the foreman or crew. Interns do have classroom time, but it is only one hour a week (and not the first week..for whatever reason). For a four week session, we spent 3 hours learning, and about 127 hours working. There is something to be said about what you might learn through the hands-on experience you receive on site. But let's get real, "volunteering" is a more appropriate title to what we were doing. 

I recommend the 'internship' to anyone who has a month to spare and who won't mind the opportunity cost of giving free manual labour. Don't get me wrong, it is rewarding, especially when you see how the site progresses during the week. There is a solid familial bond between everyone in the crew and they make sure to include you in their greater Earthship family. There are very interesting individuals who dedicate their entire lives to Earthships. It is definitely worthwhile going back there for another round of beers.