Earthbag Village Time Investment Projections

This page is the open source and free-shared Earthbag Village time investment projections page that will evolve with the open source project-launch blueprinting of the One Community Earthbag Village (Pod 1). When complete it will include detailed analysis of the time it took One Community to build the complete Earthbag Village and each of its components as a sustainable teacher/demonstration community, village, and city model. It will include time investment details for building one dome home, a trio of domes, the eco-shower structures, vermiculture waste processing toilet structures, net-zero water use toilet structures, and Tropical Atrium. Until we actually build and refine the process, this page contains our best projections based on communication with our experienced earth-builder consultants.

Here are the projections we’ve completed so far:

• Projections for 1 team of 10
• Projections for 2 teams of 10
• Projections for 3 teams of 10
• Our Goal: 4 teams of 10 building the complete village in under 2 years
• Additional Considerations
• Summary
• FAQ

 

RELATED PAGES (click icons for complete pages)

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO EVOLVING THIS SUSTAINABILITY COMPONENT WITH US

SUGGESTIONS | CONSULTING | MEMBERSHIP | OTHER OPTIONS

 

EARTHBAG VILLAGE TIME PROJECTIONS

This page is specifically for the time investment details of the Earthbag Village. As part of our global transformation approach to Highest Good housing, our goal is to demonstrate complete housing construction for over 100 people in under two years time. For details on the other aspects of the Earthbag Village (building plans, materials lists and cost analysis, tools and equipment, etc.) visit the complete EARTHBAG VILLAGE OPEN SOURCE HUB. That hub also includes links to the additional open source hubs related to the Earthbag Village (eco-shower structures, vermiculture waste processing toilet structures, net-zero water use toilet structures, Tropical Atrium, etc.). These projections are based on communication with our experienced earthbag construction consultants:

Betty Lenora: Earthbuilding Instructor and Author
Biko Casini: Sustainable Building Expert, Permaculturalist, and Journeyman Mason
John Chambers: Experienced Earth Builder
Scott Howard: Sustainable Building Expert and Owner of Earthen Hand Natural Building

And several others who are not “officially” on the consulting team. Thank you everyone for your help!

 

1 TEAM OF TEN EARTH VILLAGE TIME INVESTMENT PROJECTION

With a team of ten inexperienced but committed people working an average of 8 hours a day together with two experienced earth builders, it has been projected to take 2 months (4,800 hrs) to build to completion our first earth dome home as described in the Earthbag Village hub. Once people are experienced, it has been projected that the same amount of time could be applied to build a complete cluster of 3 domes (1,600 hrs/dome). Using these numbers and adding 4 months to each year of construction for not building due to weather, we have arrived at the following calculations for completing all residences of the Earthbag Village (Pod 1) using 1 team of ten builders:

First two months of building: Complete 1 dome ┏ Total = 1
Months 3 & 4 of building: Complete 2 more domes ┏ Total = 3
Months 5 and beyond for 48 months: Complete 3 per 2 months (72) ┏ Total = 75
Total months = 52 + 4/months per year for not building equals 75 domes in 5.6 years

 

2 TEAMS OF TEN EARTH VILLAGE TIME INVESTMENT PROJECTION

Next we ran projections with two teams of ten inexperienced but committed people working an average of 8 hours a day together with two experienced earth builders on each team. The first two months is still projected to only produce 1 dome because most people are learning. Months 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 production is increased to 3 domes for each pair of months as the most qualified and experienced begin to lead separate teams. From that point forward two clusters of 3 domes are estimated to be able to be built every two months.

First two months of building: Complete 1 dome ┏ Total = 1
Months 3 & 4 of building: Complete 3 more domes ┏ Total = 4
Months 5 & 6 of building: Complete 3 more domes ┏ Total = 7
Months 7 and beyond for 22 months: Complete 3 per 2 months (68) ┏ Total = 75
Total months = 30 + 4/months per year for not building equals 75 domes in 3.3 years

 

3 TEAMS OF TEN EARTH VILLAGE TIME INVESTMENT PROJECTION

Next we ran projections with three teams of ten inexperienced but committed people and we started thinking more about the logistics details. The first two months is still projected to only produce 1 dome because most people are learning working only a few focused hours each a day in rotating teams building just the first dome. Months 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 are similar but with more hours and still only producing 3 domes for each pair of months as the most qualified and experienced builders begin lead teams of the most competent builders. Months 7 & 8 we estimated 5 domes to account for the continued learning curve as those capable of leading the building are clearly identified and less skilled tasks are accomplished by everyone else. From that point forward three clusters of 3 can be built every two months.

First two months of building: Complete 1 dome ┏ Total = 1
Months 3 & 4 of building: Complete 3 more domes ┏ Total = 4
Months 5 & 6 of building: Complete 3 more domes ┏ Total = 7
Months 7 & 8 of building: Complete 5 more domes ┏ Total = 12
Months 9 and beyond for 22 months: Complete 9 per 2 months (63) ┏ Total = 75
Total months = 22 + 4/months per year for not building equals 75 domes in 2.5 years

 

WHAT WE WILL DEMONSTRATE

BUILDING TO 4 TEAMS OF TEN TIME INVESTMENT PROJECTIONS

Next we ran projections for what we think is really possible using these numbers:

• Initial time to build one dome to completion (10 ppl X 8hr/day X 60 days) is about 4,800 hrs
• Experienced time to build one dome to completion is projected to be about 1,600 hrs (300% faster)
• This works out to 600 hrs/week initially and 200 hrs/week for an experienced team building 1 dome
• This equals 75 8-hr weekly shifts initially and 25 8-hr weekly shifts for an experienced team
• Experienced time to build 4 domes to completion is therefore 800 hrs/week or 100 8-hour shifts
• The number of truly skilled people needed to lead a build is only two (“A Team” people)
• A + B Team people needed for working 4 domes = 8 people x 7 Days/wk  = 56 8-hour shifts
• This leaves 44 8-hour shifts for non A/B -Team people

Additional considerations we considered relevant to our calculations:

• Maintaining the “rhythm” and high energy on the build are keys to decreasing build time
• Existing earthbag experience is based on students and volunteers versus committed long-term members

Taking all these points into consideration we started thinking about the 40-50 full-time Pioneers that will start on the property, everything else we will be building, and how we could maximize efficiency. The following strategies were identified for implementation with the goal of building to 4 maximally efficient teams capable of building a total of 75 domes in under 2 years:

1. Identify the 14 most qualified leaders (A Team) of the build over the first 4 months of building
2. Identify the 14 most qualified assistant leaders (B Team) over the next 2 months of building
3. Everyone else is considered “C Team” because they need very little training to fulfill their part
4. Make sure every day and every building team has a minimum of 1 A Team and 1 B Team person on it
5. Make sure the A & B Team Combos work 8-hour shifts to set and maintain team rhythm for the day
6. Make sure that there is a carryover A or B team person for consecutive shifts to keep the flow consistent
7. Make sure people get enough time off from earth building so everyone’s at 100% for when they do build
8. Make sure the non-work environment is enriching and fulfilling so people’s morale and energy stay high

 

THE BUILD

Through careful distribution and limiting of hours earth building, selectively determining the best to lead, and slow progressive learning, our goal is to maximize understanding, morale, safety, productivity, and building efficiency and demonstrate completion of the One Community Earthbag Village (Pod 1) living units in under 2 years.

First two months of building: Complete 1 dome ┏ Total = 1

• Build 1 dome
• Use 4,800 total labor hours to complete task
• 4,800 total labor hours equals 600 hours a week
• Open source share the complete learning process
• Start identifying who will be the “A Team” dome-build facilitators

40 Pioneers start with the help of our experienced volunteers and consultants to learn and open source share how to build the first dome. They work in rotating 4 or 8-hour shifts (10-12 on the site at a time) to accomplish building the dome with 16 weekly hours per individual dedicated to this task versus other infrastructure building tasks.

40 x 16 hrs each = 640 hours/week (40 hr weekly surplus buffer)
5,120 hours total (320 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 3 & 4 of building: Complete 2 more domes ┏ Total = 3

• Two teams working on the same 3-dome cluster build 2 more domes
• Use 4,800 total labor hours to complete task and double our efficiency
• 4,800 total labor hours equals 600 hours a week applied to this building task
• Open source share everything we learn and use for this improvement of efficiency
• Continue identifying who we think will be the “A Team” dome-build facilitators
• Add in identifying who we think will be the “B Team” dome-build assistant facilitators

Build time is calculated at double efficiency as we continue to gain experience and now place the people who have demonstrated the most proficiency in the roles and positions of maximum effectiveness. The 14 people identified thus far as most likely (and desiring) to lead these builds (and our experienced consultants/partner volunteers) now rotate as leaders (working 2-3 8-hour shifts a week) as they work in two teams to build 2 more domes. Both teams work together on one work site to build to completion the first 3-dome cluster. Close working proximity allows for easy question and answers sessions, fine tuning the teams, deepens the experience and learning of the 14 leaders, and helps us as a group to identify if these people will actually be the best suited to become the A Team and who will be the B Team.

The total team of 40+ Pioneers now work in rotating 4 or 8-hour shifts to accomplish the build goal. Each person dedicates 16 hours a week total to this task versus other infrastructure building tasks. The 14 most probable A Team leaders work as the primary facilitators for one 8-hour shift a week and as support facilitators to the most probable 14 or more B Team facilitators for their other 8-hour shift each week. C Team people can work either two 8-hour shifts or four 4-hour shifts.

40 x 16 hrs each = 640 hours/week (40 hr weekly surplus buffer)
5,120 hours total (320 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 5 & 6 of building: Complete 3 more domes ┏ Total = 6

• Three teams working on a new 3-dome cluster build 3 more domes
• Use 4,800 total labor hours to complete the task as efficiently as experienced builders
• 4,800 total labor hours equals 600 total hours each week applied to this building task
• Solidify who we think will be the A Team and B Team facilitators for the rest of the build

Build time is now calculated at triple efficiency as we begin working in 3 teams instead of two and continue to refine our process. All positions are chosen by consensus for this next phase of the build and A and B people now work 2-3 8-hour shifts a week to facilitate three teams working together on one work site to build to completion the second 3-dome cluster. Close working proximity continues to allow for easy question and answers sessions and fine tuning the teams and leadership.

The total team of 40+ Pioneers continue to work in rotating 4 or 8-hour shifts but the goal now is to clearly decide who will be the A and B facilitators and assistant facilitators who will lead the 4 teams starting on the next build. Each person still dedicates 16 hours a week total to this task versus other infrastructure building tasks. The 14 chosen A Team leaders rotate work as the primary facilitators with a B Team assistant facilitator in 8-hour overlapping shifts to maintain the rhythm and flow of the week’s build.

40 x 16 hrs each = 640 hours/week (40 hr weekly surplus buffer)
5,120 hours total (320 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 7 & 8 of building: Complete 6 more domes ┏ Total = 12

• Four teams working on separate 3-dome clusters to build 6 more domes
• Use 9,600 total labor hours to complete task and maintain our efficiency
• 9,600 total labor hours equals 1,200 hours a week now applied to this building task
• Host our first group of volunteer students and identify 10 who will join the Pioneer Team

Our goal for these two months is to maintain efficiency as we begin working for the first time in 4 teams and with volunteers. By the six month mark of just being on the property we will have produced over 300 instructional videos related to all aspects of One Community and, we expect, achieved our goal of becoming the #1 producer of open source sustainability content in the world (click here to read how). This exposure and the rest of the environment we will be demonstrating is what we expect to make it possible for us to bring 20-30 interns and volunteers to join our project. High profile media attention is also fairly predictable (but not necessary for our success) by this time. Of the interns we bring on during this two months of building (now that we have additional housing built), 10 will be invited to join our team full-time at the end of their internship.

As we move into this phase of the build, all key positions will again be chosen by consensus with the understanding that the 14 A Team people will work two 8-hour shifts and 1 morning 4-hour “support role shift each week to cover the necessary transition to a new leader while using what we’ve learned from the past 6 months of building and keeping the rhythm. B Team people also work 2 8-hour shifts and 1 morning 4-hour “support role shift each week to fill the total needed 56 weekly leadership shifts (2.5 shifts/person x 28 people = 70 shifts) and C Team people (20 Pioneer members plus 20-30 interns and other helpers) now work four 4-hour shifts a week to facilitate 4 teams working on 2 different 3-dome clusters. Close working proximity continues to allow for easy question and answers sessions and fine tuning the teams and leadership.

28 A & B Team People x 20 hours each = 560 hours/week
40-50 C Team People x 16 hours each = 640-800 hours/week
9,600 hours total (+ up to 400 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 9 & 10 of building: Complete 12 more domes ┏ Total = 24

• Four teams working on 4 new 3-dome clusters to build 12 more domes
• Every team always has two A Team and at least one B Team person now
• Use 19,200 total labor hours to complete task and maintain our efficiency
• Our first month were we are expecting to produce at experienced capacity
• 19,200 total labor hours equals 2,400 hours a week now applied to this building task
• Host our second group of volunteers and identify next 10 who will join the Pioneer Team

A and B Team members are now clearly identified and we will be looking to set the rhythm for the rest of the build at this point including 12 domes completed every two weeks, adding 10 new Pioneer Team Members every 2 months, and hosting a consistent 40 interns/volunteers/students/helpers at all times. We will choose by consensus who will hold the 14 coveted A Team leader positions for the rest of the build. These people will then commit all 35 hours of their community contribution time to the task of Earthbag Village completion and receive some interesting reward for doing so (permanently name a dome after each of them and add a plaque or something like that). The 14 B Team members will work three 8 hour shifts until the build is completed and will also have some special reward for doing so. Everyone else is C Team. C Team Pioneers will work 16 hours on the build and C Team interns/volunteers/students/helpers will will work three 8-hour shifts like the B Team with the rest of their 40-hour work weeks committed to other aspects of the One Community infrastructure.

14 A Team People x 35 hours each = 490
14 B Team People x 24 hours each = 336
30 C Team Pioneers x 16 hours each = 480
50 C Team Interns/Volunteers x 24 hours each = 1200
20,048 hours total (436 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 11 & 12 of building: Complete 12 more domes ┏ Total = 36

• Four teams working on 4 new 3-dome clusters to build 12 more domes
• Every team always has two A Team and at least one B Team person now
• Use 19,200 total labor hours to complete task and maintain our efficiency
• Continue producing at the previous month’s experienced production level
• 19,200 total labor hours equals 2,400 hours a week now applied to this building task
• Host our third group of volunteers and identify next 10 who will join the Pioneer Team

This month will be the same as the previous month except our team will be 10 people (68 total Pioneers) larger.

14 A Team People x 35 hours each = 490
14 B Team People x 24 hours each = 336
40 C Team Pioneers x 16 hours each = 640
50 C Team Interns/Volunteers x 24 hours each = 1200
21,328 hours total (1064 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 13 & 14 of building: Complete 13 more domes ┏ Total = 49

• Four teams working on 4 new 3-dome clusters to build 13 more domes
• Every team always has two A Team and at least one B Team person now
• Use 19,200 total labor hours to complete task and improve our efficiency
• Produce one more dome than the previous month’s experienced production level
• 19,200 total labor hours equals 2,400 hours a week now applied to this building task
• Host our third group of volunteers and identify next 10 who will join the Pioneer Team

This month will be the same as the previous month except our team will be 10 people (78 total Pioneeers) larger and 20 interns/volunteers less.

14 A Team People x 35 hours each = 490
14 B Team People x 24 hours each = 336
50 C Team Pioneers x 16 hours each = 800
30 C Team Interns/Volunteers x 24 hours each = 720
18,768 hours total (584 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 15 & 16 of building: Complete 13 more domes ┏ Total = 62

This month will be the same as the previous month except our team will be 10 people (88 total Pioneeers) larger.

14 A Team People x 35 hours each = 490
14 B Team People x 24 hours each = 336
60 C Team Pioneers x 16 hours each = 960
30 C Team Interns/Volunteers x 24 hours each = 720
20,048 hours total (424 hour monthly surplus buffer)

Months 17 & 18 of building: Complete 13 more domes ┏ Total = 75

This month will be the same as the previous month except our team will be 10 people (98 total Pioneeers) larger.

14 A Team People x 35 hours each = 490
14 B Team People x 24 hours each = 336
60 C Team Pioneers x 16 hours each = 960
30 C Team Interns/Volunteers x 24 hours each = 720
20,048 hours total (424 hour monthly surplus buffer)

 

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

The amount of planning that goes into creating an entire village like this is immense. We have done our best to account for as many details as possible and build in a diversity of adjustable elements to account for the unexpected. The largest of these is the fact that we don’t actually have to finish this village in under 2 years. Our budget and the other aspects of One Community could allow us to take longer if we needed to. That said, completing the entire village in under two years is something we consider hugely important to A) the marketability of the self-propagating teacher/demonstration hub concept and B) efficient achievement of our 4-phase global transformation strategy. With this in mind, we feel the following additional considerations are important to note:

• Over 100 surplus hours are included in every week’s projection
• Work days could be extended beyond 8 hours if we wanted to build faster
• 6 months of not building have been build into our 2-year completion goal
• We believe building this many domes has the potential for us to exceed build-time projections
• Quality equipment with backup equipment always available will help us maximize efficiency too
• Building this village will contribute significantly to our 6-month global open source leader goals
• Working towards our our 6-month open source goal further supports volunteers to help us building
• The fulfilled living aspects of One Community will aslo help us in achieving our volunteer help goals
• With the 8-hour workday limits we can additionally keep morale, energy, safety, and efficiency higher
• The diversity of other infrastructure projects we’ll be building will also help us attract volunteer help
• We’ll be using the ACE software app to track and improve the efficiency of all aspects of this build

 

SUMMARY

We believe we can achieve our goal to build the entire Earthbag Village in less than 2 years. We will do this through a combination of careful planning and training, effective leadership drawn from a dedicated team, quality equipment, an environment that maximizes morale, efficiency, and safety, and the specific investment of time and energy that our experienced team of consultants have indicated in necessary. Our goal of achieving this in less than two years is something we consider foundational to the marketability of the self-propagating teacher/demonstration hub concept and efficient achievement of our 4-phase global transformation strategy.

 

FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS

Q: Where can I learn more about the complete village?

The open source Earthbag Village hub has more details and convenient access to all the individual open source earthbag components and details.

Q: Why is your goal to build this village in under two years?

We consider completing this entire first village in under two years as foundational to the marketability of the self-propagating teacher/demonstration hub concept and efficient achievement of our 4-phase global transformation strategy because it will demonstrate objectively that creating this new way of living does not take a lot of time. It is also important to our expansion goals and our desire to begin building the straw bale village as quickly as possible.

Q: What makes you think you can achieve building this entire village in two years?

We have consulted with experienced builders and then double checked our timelines with additional experience builders. We have also built in significant additional time to account for the unexpected. On top of both of these key points, we are creating an environment specifically tailored to achieving this goal through maximizing morale and efficiency, an elite team, experienced and effective leadership, and quality equipment and tools.

Q: What if you don’t build this village in under two years?

We have budgeted and prepared to take up to an additional two years, if needed, to complete the Earthbag Village.

Q: You’ve limited individual weekly building time focused on this village to 20 hours or less in most cases, why?

Weekly individual building time is limited like this to keep morale, safety, learning and application, and efficiency maximally high while leaving the rest of our time available to achieve our open source goals and all other aspects of One Community.

Q: Does building an earthbag structure require a team?

No, you can build one by yourself, it is just immensely more difficult. Here’s one of our team show how she did it though:

WE’D LOVE HELP IF THIS STUFF EXCITES YOU TOO

CONSULTANTS | PIONEERS