Down-to-Earth Pools

An astonishing variety of things can be built from bags filled with earth, also known as “earthbags.” One of the most versatile forms of natural building, earthbags can be used in many applications that would be too wet for most conventional and natural building methods. Earthbag pools are a perfect demonstration of this.

Before I describe two pool projects I’ve been involved in, let’s discuss some of the advantages of earthbag building.

From the Ground Up

Earthbag structures are strong, which is why they’ve traditionally been used for military fortifications and flood control projects. The “superadobe” technique produces structures from an unbroken spiraling polypropylene tube with barbed wire between the layers. Other builders prefer “hyperadobe,” or long polyester tubes made of open netting, which allows the fill to blend between the layers, thereby holding them together. To build our earthbag pool, we filled and stacked 14-by-26-inch polypropylene bags