Cristian Lavaque

Chris, you may find these helpful:
http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/6145
http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/

Related: Dew ponds



http://www.rexresearch.com/dewpond/dewpond.htm

Neolithic Dew Ponds and Cattleways by Arthur Hubbard & George Hubbard
http://archive.org/details/neolithicdewponds00hubb

http://google.com/search?q=dew+pond&num=100&tbm=isch

Old article on Knapen's air well:

http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=oygDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA45&pg=PA45#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Groasis Waterboxx is a sort of air well, I guess, since it condenses water from the air.

http://www.groasis.com/en

I wrote a blog post about this and part of the solution I explain there actually involves mushrooms.

http://cristianlavaque.com/2010/05/10/the-best-oil-spill-cleanup-solution

Emerson White wrote:
could you impregnate cotton, wool or linen with a heavy wax and then encase that in clay? I'd think you've get a few years out of that. Maybe try and get your hands on a bunch of second hand denim and sow it all together. It wouldn't be easy but it would be doable with DIY skills.

That's an interesting idea. I wonder how long that'd last... Linseed oil could also work, I'm guessing.

Yeah!

It's a beautiful building method... You get a really solid building, for a very low cost, actually.

I dare say this is my favorite building technique, compressed earth blocks.

Second best would be adobe blocks. I like it because it's also very cheap, but I can do it even if I don't have the machine. A great technique to increase the speed is one I found at Adobe Building Systems.

http://www.adobebuilding.com/Our%20System/oursystem.html

Paul, yes, that's the idea.

Here's a website one website I like for this, although their machine is manual, but quite versatile:

http://www.earth-auroville.com/?nav=menu&pg=auram&id1=7&lang_code=en

I've seen hydraulic machines elsewhere. There's even one that outputs a long block, more like a beam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3UoDgRnDqs

I'd love an hydraulic version of the Auram press.

The blocks could also be made interlocking and used to build stacking them mostly dry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6IfjpZ4pOY

Kathleen, I've been wondering this same thing some time ago, so I'm glad you brought it up.

What I had thought I'd try when I actually get to build one, was trying a corrugated roof under the ferrocement. This way, it'd have a space that would separate the roof from the cement and moisture wouldn't accumulate there. That way, even if roots got through the ferrocement, they wouldn't go further. And the corrugated roof would also prevent it from making progress and adds an extra insulation from the living roof that could permeate the ferrocement. I hope that didn't confuse you...

I attached an image to better show the idea. There's the green, the earth, ferrocement, corrugated, wood.

Some days ago I found this product that may be something you could use for that.
http://invisiblestructures.com/GP2/grasspave.htm