While UFO hunting and hot spring-hopping in Taos, New Mexico last week, we got to spend the night in an Earthship.

For all you non-hippies out there, Earthships are 100% sustainable, off-the-grid mansions made (almost) entirely out of recycled junk. We're talkin' old tires, beer cans, plastic bottles and mud. Admittedly, it doesn't sound all that glamorous at first, but for luxury- and nature- loving free spirits like us, this place is a desert paradise.

A 15 minute drive outside Taos, across the Rio Grande Gorge, the Earthship World Headquarters is the largest "biotecture" community (a.k.a alternative eco-suburb) of its kind on the planet. Set on a sprawling 640 acres, a handful of fully-furnished "demonstration" ships are available year-round for nightly rentals -- but, in the brochure's words, "this is not just a hotel." Well, obviously...

Hi everyone,

I am sitting in the Earthship Visitor's Center right now, and a man is here to visit. He has a device that measures the CO2 in the air. He says he has never seen a number bellow 400 ppm, unless he is standing at the ocean where the air is very clean. Our Visitor Center measures at 276 ppm, making our air extremely clean he says. There's no CO2 in our VC!

He has been to other eco friendly homes, and measured the air, saying that none have the clean air this building has. He says if the air is not clean it gives people headaches.

Yea earthships!
:)

jess

Nearly three decades have passed since Michael Reynolds built his first "radically sustainable" Earthship dwellings out of cast-off materials such as tires and beer bottles on the high mesas near Taos, New Mexico. His Earthship mantra, however, remains the same: "Live free." That is, off the grid and without power bills.

Earthships have evolved from simple structures lacking flush toilets into multifloor homes with flat-screen TVs, wi-fi, and greenhouses brimming with crops. And they've gone from fringe to 53,000 Facebook fans as a new generation tunes in to Reynolds's alt-sustainable message. Today, there's also a school, the Earthship Biotecture Academy, which teaches design principles and philosophy.

Still 'crazy' after all these years. In 1993 Michael Reynolds was way ahead of his time. Today, in 2012 Michael Reynolds is still WAY ahead of his time... The following article was published on January 10, 1993 in the New York Times Styles Section as America grapples with ecology and economy.

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

About 15 miles west of Taos, a road with no name tapers off into the flat tableland beneath the Tres Orejas, three small volcanic peaks. Soon the road disappears entirely. All that remains is a thick carpet of snow and a set of coyote tracks pitching toward infinity.

But if you can envision an Alternative Republic here, you don't need a road. Thus, a frigid winter morning recently found Michael Reynolds, a one-man Monkey Wrench gang of architecture, barreling through the snowdrifts, his Dodge pickup swerving every which way, destined for an unsightly pile of tires and dirt, his new Atlantis: downtown Star.

by Tyler Allen (from Outlaw magazine)

Twenty-five years ago. Michael Reynolds assembled progressive architectural prototypes into one seminal idea: Earthships.

Integrating solar, wind, thermal mass, rainwater harvest, gray wa- ter recycling and indoor food production, the Taos, New Mexico - based architect builds homes from re-purposed garbage. The exterior shell and interior walls are made from used tires pounded full of dirt, glass bottles and cans, stacked and mortared together with mud.

Hi my name is (removed for privacy). I stumbled upon a few videos of your earth ships & could not believe there are still people like you on this god forsaken planet. I don't want to sound or be foolish but i would love to join your team. In fact i would devote my life to help you further your work or even to just learn from your brilliance so that i may pass it down to my children. I know you probably get this everyday & cant recruit everyone under the Sun but i would gladly give up my job & this dead end society to explore alternatives ways of living. Its all to obvious the American culture is self imploding & is going no where fast. I am studying how to build an earthship with a dream to actually build one myself. I thank you for your work. you have saved so many lives with this work of yours. your are my hero & i have never said that about anyone ever in my life. thank you so very much for your contribution to humanity.

There really are no words...

Our story has been fabulous. We have been thinking about building our own on our ranch in Nebraska so we stayed to see if its what we really want. It is and so much more. We fished in the pond and caught seven fish, all of which but two we threw back. We cooked the two we kept in a banana leaf with a pepper we picked from the garden along with rosemary we picked too. We also made tea from dried Hibiscus flowers and mint found in the garden. We cooked around eight eggs during our stay. All harvested from the chicken coop.

by Jordan Lejuwaan at highexistence.com

Earthships are 100% sustainable homes that are both cheap to build and awesome to live in. They offer amenities like no other sustainable building style you have come across. For the reasons that follow, I believe Earthships can actually change the world. See for yourself!

I just watched the documentary Garbage Warrior recently and it totally blew my mind.

I’ve been aware of Earthships for a few years now and ever since then, whenever I fantasize about my dream home the only thing I can think about are Earthships. To put it as briefly as possible, Earthships are self sustaining homes made out of recycled materials like tires and cans that are covered with mud. They are designed to be completely self sufficient. They store solar energy, collect rainwater, and can process their own sewage. The walls are designed to collect and store thermal energy, which is then radiated at night.  The temperature inside an earthship remains relatively the same year around. With a successful greenhouse/garden, a person could potentially self sustain on their Earthship and live completely off the grid at all times. And they are BEAUTIFUL.

Okay, I'm really excited about this post because BOTH of these things are what I'm dying to do.  Consider volunteering on an organic farm through an organization such as WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) or learn about/volunteer to help build an earthship/earthship-esque home (http://earthship.com/).  There are some criticisms about the original earthship, but there is also a lot to be learned from this design.  This idea is evolving constantly and is very exciting.

Homes with Big Surprises

The specialty features of luxury homes are pretty commonplace: wine cellar, home gym, swimming pool and perhaps an equestrian stable. Yet for some of the most exclusive addresses, there are distinctive features that set them apart from the rest.

TopTenRealEstateDeals.com reached out to its network of real estate professionals throughout the country to find some of the most compelling homes on the market listed for upwards of a million dollars — in many of the following cases, far north of a million.

Looking for a unique place to stay during your next getaway? TripAdvisor can help with today’s list of ten quirky U.S. properties. Whether it’s waking up in jail, cozying up in a train car, or sleeping in a shack, all of these properties offer travelers outlandish accommodations and extraordinary experiences!

2. Earthship Biotecture, Taos, New Mexico– Average Nightly Rate: $120     Part accommodation, piece of art and science project, these unique desert dwellings are made from recycled and sustainable materials and utilize natural elements to provide a comfortable experience for guests. Although each pod is powered solely by the sun, wind, and rain, guests still have access to modern amenities including Wi-Fi, television, and on-demand movies in their rented pod.  A TripAdvisor traveler said, "The structure itself is just beautiful, the creativity combined with science is truly amazing."

Justin Bell and the new Mercedes GL450 at the Earthship community in NM...for some reason!

During a recent trip to New Mexico for the filming of WFCS Season II we came across the worlds largest sustainable community.....and we looked appropriately out of place...!

Being back in Taos was like a long awaited ceremony. The cool, dry mountain air was a refreshing relief after two weeks in the south, and we had the privilege of connecting with inspiring people and an energetic landscape. For me, our visit was all the more meaningful because it was the first time in two years I’ve been back to my hometown during summer months. It is greener than I remembered, and the thunderheads are even more impressive.

By Liam Browne

Imagine no household bills forever. Well that’s the reality couple Daren and Adrianne created with their eco house in the picturesque countryside of Brittany, France. For the price of a terrace in Stockport they designed and hand built Groundhouse, with the help of friends, volunteers and local craftsmen it was completed in 2006. For those of you who watch Grand Designs, it was the house made of tyres and in the words of Kevin McCloud, Groundhouse is ‘ecologically sensitive and treads lightly on the planet’. Daren’s reasons for wanting to build the house are cited as being the fact that ‘people have lost touch with providing shelter for themselves. Property has become a commodity for someone else’s profit with little concern for working with nature to reduce impact and living costs’. He also says that in the UK the concentration of land is owned by the few which drives prices up, citing this as the main reason for building in France.

from Earthship Chile

I'm from Chile two weeks ago we had an earthquake of 6/7 richter, our tire wall stand without problems and our wall is just tires no concrete on it ... enough evidence for me that Earthships are earthquake-proof .

Sorry about my English not mi native language hope you understand.

Greetings from Chile.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003696586770

Click here to rent the Corner Cottage Earthship.

March 2010
Dear Earthship staff - We wanted to drop a quick note to thank everyone there for our very enjoyable stay in the "Corner Cottage" last Thursday and Friday (3/18 & 3/19). What a wonderful dwelling the "Corner Cottage" is!

November 2008

Thank you for the inspiring and transformative experience! This place is as magical and whimsical as its namesake and echo's the creativity, perseverance, and souls of each of the people who helped bring it to life. We look forward to utilizing the vision you have passed onto us in our building future.

December 2008

What a great experience here at the Earthship Phoenix! I enjoyed the peace and quiet and was in awe of the craftsmanship of the house. What a work of art! Hope to come back again soon! - Alaska

by Kirsten Jacobsen

We got a chance to give the new Earthship Education Facility a little trial run this morning as part of a 3 hour scheduled tour for Vista Grande High School, a local Taos charter school.

I set up a temporary screen (read white sheet) in what will be the screening room of the new Earthship Education Facility and showed some slides. Sean and Hillary took the 60 kids through the vintange Visitor Center, around the EVE project, through the Studio rental, a one bedroom Global Earthship, the Corner Cottage Earthship, the Euro Earthship and the Phoenix.

Is this not the COOLEST house you have ever seen?! The best part - it's made out of trash. Old tires, beer bottles, you name it. Earth ships date back to the 1970s and there is a whole community of them in Taos, New Mexico. They are completely off-grid, meaning no fossil fuels, no gas bills, and you can live anywhere. A friend introduced these to me back in June (thank you!). I have since watched a documentary about the architect - Michael Reynolds - called Garbage Warrior.

Earthship YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/earthship

"Many reasons to build something like this besides going "green".
Independence from conventional systems alone gives you a step up from city dwelling. If your source of food, fuel and water were interrupted for 30 days, what would your family do? Everyone thinks of things of an apocalyptic nature when he cause could be entirely mundane. Storms, earthquakes, even a power outage for a week would prove difficult. We think investing is preparing but you cannot eat money."

By Holly Prestidge

MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Published: January 11, 2009

LOUISA, Va.

Having hundreds of old tires piled up around your house usually isn't a look your neighbors appreciate.

But the tire piles around Randy Holladay's dwelling in Louisa in Central Virginia aren't just discarded junk -- they're the walls of his home and most of them aren't visible from the outside.

By Holly Prestidge

MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Published: January 11, 2009

LOUISA, Va.

Having hundreds of old tires piled up around your house usually isn't a look your neighbors appreciate.

But the tire piles around Randy Holladay's dwelling in Louisa in Central Virginia aren't just discarded junk -- they're the walls of his home and most of them aren't visible from the outside.