Mass Appeal

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Reynolds is proving that this does not have to be the case. People can live for very little money, in real economic freedom. "You can preach and argue in Congress until you're dead, and you won't change much of anything. Building Earthships doesn't involve any of that," Reynolds explains. "In spite of the law, in spite of politics and in spite of the economy, people will be free. And it's a quiet thing. I don't have to argue or make people angry. This is just a quiet thing that's happening."

One person it's happened to is Bob Allison, builder of five Earthships and owner of The Allison Company, a luxury custom- home builder in Ridgway, Colorado. "I was the biggest skeptic you can imagine when I first heard about tire houses, and now I'm their best salesman." Though an Earthship convert, Allison still has the same reaction every time he sees one. "Even now, when I see one of these things going up in the beginning, I think it's all crazy," Allison says. "But when you see the finished product, you think it's great. It's a revolution in building."

Earthship owner Pat Habicht is equally enthusiastic, so much so that she built two Earthships. "This is the nicest and most interesting house I have ever lived in. I was disgusted with all the other architects I consulted when I decided in April of 1989 to build a solar house. Michael was the only one who understood." It took Habicht, 58, six months to build her 1,400-square-foot home, working eight-hour days. Even after all the work, Habicht insists it's the way to go. "I love it. Not only do we recycle material for building, but the solar aspect saves trees from being cut for heating." Last winter, Habicht burned only one cord of wood between her two homes. Even as temperatures outside dipped to less than 30 degrees, her Earthship stayed comfortable.

Maintenance is easy, too. Habicht reports that her only upkeep is oiling the wood on the exterior facade to protect it from the dry New Mexico weather. Her monthly expenses are only $20 for electric (one of her homes is on the power grid; the other runs on a photovoltaic system that cost Pat $5,000 to install) and $10 for gas.

Despite these ringing endorsements from builders and Earthship owners and his own increasing celebrity, Reynolds does encounter skeptics from time to time. "There are people whose life-style it doesn't fit," says Reynolds. Even those in his profession were critical. "In the early days, other architects said I was piling junk, not building a house. But they're coming around."

REACH Out

Now that Reynolds has convinced himself and others that the Earthship concept works, he has gone on to a larger scale-an Earthship community. Rural Earthship Alternative Community Habitat (REACH) is currently being initiated on a mountainside eight miles from Taos. Reynolds has purchased 55 acres and begun implementing a program whereby people can own their own lot for a minimum investment of $1,000. The basic deed restriction is that only Earthships may be built there.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print