What is an Earthship Field Study?
An Earthship Field Study is a unique 4 week program where we bring an Earthship crew plus a number of our students to work on enclosing your house. This includes: tire work, footings, window boxes, roof, etc..
Our crew are both Earthship builders as well as instructors, and the field study allows our students to learn under our strict supervision as we are building your house. It creates a unique environment and a learning opportunity for them, and allows you to get the most labor intensive parts of your build done faster, while we make sure that the quality remains at its highest standards.
Why Should I plan an Earthship Field Study
An Earthship Field Study saves you money and expedites your building process.
To give an example:
If you hired a crew of 8 Earthship builders with 16 students, we would be able to get a 2 bed, 2 bath Earthship home fully enclosed in FOUR weeks (assuming all other variables are ok).
If you only hired 8 Earthship builders without any students, the time to get the home
enclosed would easily double.
It is also a great way of connecting and networking with like-minded people that might be able to help you complete your Earthship home. A lot of our clients end up hiring some of our students.
Is there a Guarantee of How Much Will Get Done?
Please note that there is no exact guarantee of what will get done during a field study.
We will be getting as far as we can. You are buying our “machine”, not a specific amount of work done. This is because of the many variables that can impact a build, including weather, funds, access, etc.
We do aim to get a building “roughed in” or enclosed at the very least during a 4-week field study.
How Much Work is it For me to Organize an Earthship Field Study ?
We do all of the work for you. You are welcome to participate in the Earthship Field
Study just as any other student, but we will organize everything for the students and
crew.
What Happens After the Earthship Field Study?
After your first phase field study, you will be left with some form of what we call “shell and systems”. The shell means an enclosed building, sometimes with glass, sometimes not, depending on the glass provider. The systems will be at least started in this phase.
For instance, the cisterns are in and the roof water catchment system will be operational.
It is then your choice if you would like to hire us again for another field study, if you would like to just hire our crew, or if you would like to take on the rest of the build yourself and/or with a local building crew.
You are more than welcome to hire a local building crew at any time to work alongside us and learn from our crew, and we recommend hiring a local plumber and electrician.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Please email us at outreach@earthship.com for a more detailed cost breakdown for a 4 week field study. Please note that the costs are approximate because of the many different factors and variables (anything from weather to distance to the closest hardware store, etc)
Approximate TurnKey Prices for Earthship models:
Global Model Earthship: $425 per square foot
Unity Model Earthship: $400 per square foot
Encounter Model Earthship: $350 per square foot
Refuge Model Earthship: $325 per square foot
