Could you live in an Earthship?
03.17.10
by Sheri Doyle
We were contacted by a company called Earthship last week. The name of the company intrigued me so I had to see what they sold. When I saw their website I was completely surprised. I don’t know what I was expecting but a house made from recycled materials was not it. I have to admit that I am not crazy about the name, and if I lived in one I would probably not call it an Earthship. BUT, I love the concept, and honestly, I think it looks pretty cool.
The Earthship home is not only made from recycled materials but it is completely sustainable. The electricity comes from solar panels and wind modules, water is collected on the roof from rain and melting snow, the sewage is treated on site in interior & exterior botanical planters, and food can be grown inside and outside of the house. VERY cool!
The house cost about 200.00 per square foot to build. Which isn’t bad compared to real estate prices in some areas. Then when you factor in the savings from making your own electricity and utilizing natural water sources and sewage treatment, the house becomes quite affordable.
The headquarters are in Taos, New Mexico where you are invited to come spend the night in an Earthship to check it out, rates start at 110.00 per night. They are fully furnished, have high speed internet access, digital satellite and more. You can also bring your pet for an extra 25.00. I personally think this would be a pretty neat thing to do and I think Maya the bulldog would be pretty happy spending the night there too.
The company has built homes all over the world in its 40 years of existence so they have experience working in any climate. They are available to build homes anywhere and ask for an initial 2500.00 retainer to get started on planning your home.
It looks so beautiful to me in its uniqueness and its dedication to our planet. I think we are quite lucky to have companies who are dedicated to creating sustainable homes, but then to have a company like Earthship who not only builds sustainable homes but they do it with recycled materials, and they do it with style- fantastic!
Do you think you could live in an Earthship? If so, where would you build it? (I think mine would have to be in Belize 
All photos were taken from the Earthship website, check it out here.
Tags: green living
I want one!!! I’d want to live in Arizona or New Mexico. Thanks for sharing!
YES – We have visited them in Taos a couple times and stayed in a beautiful model in 2004. My husband has been intrigued by the concept since his college days. We have always planned to own one…… life/kids/geography/work has gotten in the way of our immediate goal, but we will at least retire to one…. SOME DAY! Hopefully out West.
We used to live in AZ where the solar concept is more viable. Now we are in Michigan, quite a contrast…….. but you can find earthships all over the country (they are more commonly referred to as Earth-bermed homes…. which doesn’t have such a “new-age” connotation.
i could live in one, can you make one in washington state?
if i had the money i would already know.
I would love to live in one, though it would be a drastic change! I’ve seen specials on t.v. about them!
Wow! That is incredible! I would love to live in one…I would want it in the Philippines!
wow! this is amazing, and i’ve heard a bit about earthship’s before, living in new mexico, myself. next time we take an in-state vacation, my vote is for taos and we’re staying in an earthship. my hubby has always wanted an earth-berm home so i bet i could get him on board an earthship as we discuss our long-term goals!
HOW CRAZY…we have been looking into building one of these or something similar!!! We had a similar idea of what we were working towards then I stumbled upon ES and we were smitten. What can I say, we bleed green here =)
Since we are moving more towards being our own bosses, we are looking to move somewhere more warm. Belize sounds divine but I think we would be staying in the states.
I found these to be an amazing home and ?bed and breakfast/ And to be in Taos is totally awesome. I worked in LasVegas,New Mexico about a 30-45 min drive to Taos if I remember correctly. I hate that I missed out in hearing about this EarthShip while shopping and exploring the area. that would have been awesome to have been able to stay in one of your rooms and gained Knowledge of how everything works and experience and be able to say “Ive Been In That”
Las Vegas NM is a favorite place of mine and look forward to heading that way soon and I will drive the extra to see and stay at your Earth Ship! Thank you for sharing this with us
there is 2 in a town near me and I go to see them all the time they are great although we dont get a lot of sun in winter monthes so they are still on the power frid more then they would liek to be