Sealing roofs like you seal a pond ?

After reading some of the threads about sealing ponds using pigs, manure, gley etc. I was wondering if you might be able to do the same thing in reverse. If these techniques work to keep water in a pond wouldn't they work to keep water out of an underground house ? It would be nice to do away with all of the plastics.

yes, but you don't have to be 100% perfect on a pond!!

And, do you really want your floors to be made from pig shit?

Well maybe not the floors, I was thinking more about sealing the roof or outside walls from rain. Paul had a thread about using newspaper layers and I have noticed that the aspen leaves at my place fall into my small ponds and sink to the bottom creatting a layer that may help seal them. I was just wondering if you could do the same thing with a layer of leaves, grass,etc and then clay . Just not sure if it only forms the seal while under water?