Earthbag Construction
The purpose of Pod 1 is to demonstrate maximum affordability and a diversity of earthbag designs that will be able to be duplicated almost anywhere in the world without the need for permits. We will begin building Pod 1 within the first month as a living/rental pod for the initial Community Members, visitors, and students. This pod is projected to take 12-24 months to complete and will provide our first rental residences as well as homes that our initial Community Members (The One Community Pioneers) will own if they remain members of the community for 18 months or longer.
Straw Bale Construction
visitor rentals, and an example of modular sustainability that we will build to completion as a demonstration of the largest straw bale construction in the world (2x the size of the current largest building) utilizing approximately 20,000 straw bales to demonstrate a torus within a torus/circular design including 42 residences and 9 common areas including a common kitchen, computer room, laundry room, children’s art and playroom, reading room, meditation room, greenhouse, game room, and central fire pit and social area. The circular and semi-subterranean design of this pod is heating, cooling, and resource efficient with space for fruit trees and additional recreational areas.
Cob Construction
Cob is an ancient building material composed of dirt, straw and water that may have been used for construction since prehistoric times. Some of the oldest man-made structures in Afghanistan are composed of rammed earth and cob and still standing! Pod 3 is being envisioned as 20-30 cob constructed bungalows utilizing the remaining straw from Pod 2 to demonstrate what is possible with large-scale sustainability and cob. They planned to be organized based on sacred geometry, centered on the community outdoor fire-pit, and built to represent the 3rd chakra, or navel center, and the element of fire (“ka” or “hi” in the Japanese system and “huǒ” in the Chinese system) with red and yellow accents to represent both fire and the chakra correlation with yellow.
Earth Block Construction
Pod 4 is being planned as a feat of ingenuity and creativity that will expand on the Auroville Earth Institute earth block structures pictured above to demonstrate a new level of artistic and functional creation for the eco-construction world as an appropriately designed brick pyramid and representation of the 6th/third eye chakra (also the element “kū” or “sora” meaning “sky,” “void” or “heaven” in the Japanese 5 element system). This pyramid will feature 12-15 living/rental spaces, shared common space kitchen, dining area, and a central greenhouse and reading/meditation area, indigo accents, and internal earth block decorative arches and pillars. This Pod is still in the early design phase.
Subterranean Construction
scheduled to be a subterranean pod designed to demonstrate the affordability, beauty, and energy efficiency of living underground. It will represent the 1st/root chakra and elemental earth (“chi” or “tsuchi” in the Japanese 5 element system and “tǔ” in the Chinese system). It will feature a central functional pond maintained through permaculture and natural red rock accents. This Pod is still in the early design phase.
Reclaimed Materials Construction
Right now we are planning to build the first 20 home earthship in the world as representing the 7th, or crown, chakra and the Japanese element of “jīn” or metal. We will build the earthship from a combination of reclaimed materials with key features being passive heating and cooling, wall space utilized for growing food, overall low impact artistic design and violet accents. This Pod is still in the early design phase.
ree House
will most likely be the final pod completed but we would like to start on this pod as soon as possible as it will be the treehouse pod representing the 5th, or throat, chakra that is Ether in the hindu system and wood or “mĂšâ€? in the Chinese system. We are currently thinking of 12-15 interconnected residences built as one massive treehouse for maximum space utilization and structural integrity. This Pod is still in the early design phase.