Every prepper tries to prepare as best as they can for when SHTF. Besides stockpiling food, water, and ammunition, they also put a considerable effort into having a proper shelter. Following a new trend, Earthships may be the proper bug out location for them. They try to find ways to secure it and make it as comfortable as possible so that they can ride out anything the future might throw at them. For some bugging in is the only reliable solution for surviving, while for the rest of us, having a bug out location is a must. The Earthship is a prepper’s best friend and here is why.

You might have heard of the Earthship concept, but what is it all about and why all the sudden interest?

Earthships are 100% sustainable homes that are cheap to build and provide a living experience that brings you closer to nature. They offer all the facilities of a regular home and they are designed to outlast regular homes. Sure, you won’t have Netflix, but in the end, you will not need it and you will have other ways to entertain yourself.

If you have a piece of land, located away from curious eyes and crowds, and if you have the will power to build an Earthship, you should really consider it and here is why.

Reasons for choosing Earthships as temporary homes

1. Earthships are sustainable homes

As a prepper, when you talk with someone about off-grid living. Most people imagine a primitive living without basic comfort. Some of them have this misconception that living off the grid means you have to struggle every day like you are some “modern caveman”.

There’s nothing more false than that. An Earthship is the best example that shows you can live well, without depending on the others. It is the most sustainable solution that offers all of the comforts of modern homes. When you look at the pictures below you will see the Earthships that some people managed to build. You really wish you could be this “modern caveman”.

2. Earthships provide you with a reliable food source.

  Each Earthship is designed to have a reliable food source. This is why most of them have one or two greenhouses that grow crops year-round, no matter the climate. Since food is essential to survive, having a reliable food source inside your home is an ideal situation.

Not to mention that many Earthship owners add a chicken coop or an aquaponic system in order to have a constant source of meat and eggs for their family.

As shown in this video, building an aquaponic system is an easy and fun DIY project. Even more, some Earthship owners have started beekeeping, just to have fresh honey and a pollination aid for their plants. I’ve written about the benefits of honey as survival food in a previous article.

3. Earthships provide warmth and shelter even for the most pretentious ones.

Earthships are designed to sustain comfortable temperatures year round and keep a constant temperature hovering around 70° Fahrenheit (22° Celsius).

This is all possible due to the solar heat being absorbed and stored in the structure of the Earthship, which consists of tires filled with dirt. The tires act as a heat sink, releasing or absorbing heat when the interior cools and heats up, respectively.

The windows at the front of the Earthship always face south to allow the sun to heat up the entire structure throughout the daytime.

4. Earthships are always powered up and don’t lack energy.

  Another aspect that is not neglected when it comes to building an Earthship is power consumption and the methods required to generate energy. This is why these houses have solar panels on the roof and additional wind turbines that provide all the power you will need.

Some Earthships, which are built near water streams have even a micro-hydro plant installed to harness the power of water and have a surplus of energy.

Living off the grid means learning to live with less energy than your typical first world human. If you manage to do this, you’ll never run out of power in an Earthship.

5. Earthships provide you with water.

  That’s right! An Earthship is designed with a clever rain-harvesting system. The roof will funnel rainwater to a cistern, which then pumps it to the sinks and showers when required.

The water recycling system will make sure no drop of water will be wasted. Your greywater will be used to water the plants and after it is filtered by the plants, it will be used by the toilets.

Even the water you flush is used to the exterior garden to give nutrients to non-edible plants. Having water at your disposal will be a day to day reality, depending on the water storage solutions you’ve chosen, and you will not have to stress yourself out on what to do to not run out of it.

From this article, you can learn more about water storage solutions for when harvesting rainwater.

6. Earthships are easy to build and you can do it too!

  For most Earthships designs, the average building time is somewhere between 3 and 6 months for a 2 man crew. This means that you can build one with your family without having to hire any help. All you need is the printed plans of the Earthship, the tools and the will to do it.

Of course that if you are not the handyman you think you are, there is always someone available to build it for you. There are constructors that can help you with everything you need. From obtaining the permits to advising you about the regulations and laws of your state.

7. Earthships are cheap.

  They are much cheaper than conventional houses. If you decide to build it yourself the cost of the basic models of Earthships could be no more than $15,000. The costs can go up, depending on how large and flashy you want your Earthship to be.

The cost is also lower because besides not needing any help to build it, the materials used for the construction of your house are recycled materials. The main structure is built with used tires filled with dirt. And as you know there are plenty of used tires and tire dumps can be found all over the US. Some of the walls above the tires are created by placing plastic and glass bottles in concrete.

Materials that are also cheap and available in large quantities. Just think about the number of plastic bottles an average American family uses.

8. Earthships will bring you freedom.

  There is no greater feeling than not having to care about monthly bills, oh wait, there is! How about NO bills? How about not having to work a job you hate just to survive and pay these bills?

The Earthship provides you with this freedom. It will provide you with everything you need to survive so that you can focus on things that you like and love doing. You can spend more time with your loved ones, you can learn new things or you can develop the skills that you have.

9. Earthships will keep you safe

The location of your Earthship and its design will provide you with the protection you are looking for. It is an ideal bug out location if you build it in a remote area, where you can’t cause unwanted attention. Even more, you can build it to withstand any home invasion if you do your homework. You can design it to have a panic room, to have only one route of access and an escape route, to have additional protection systems and so on.

You can get a couple of guard dogs as they are the most reliable alarm system. There are many options that could make it an impenetrable fortress. You know your land, you know your house and you have the upper hand. This video will show you more on how you can protect your house.

10. Earthships are part of nature.

  Your Earthship will be part of the surrounding landscape. It will be hard to spot unless of course, the intruders are airborne. Besides providing you with much-desired security, it will also bring you closer to nature. You will learn what plants to grow, to protect you from pests and insects, or what are the best medicine plants you can grow in your outside garden.

One will learn how to forage, how to hunt and how to take advantage of everything that the land has to offer. You will become part of nature and learn to live in perfect communion, you will have more respect for nature and you will pass the same teachings to your children.

An Earthship is a cheap and reliable solution for a BOL. It is designed to be self-sustainable and it will teach you how you can live in nature and be part of it. If you have the possibilities to build one, you shouldn’t hesitate and you should go for it, as I’m sure you will not regret this decision when your family will be safe.

Stay Safe and God Bless!

Other Survival and Preparedness solutions you may like:

The LOST WAYS (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)

US Water Revolution (A DIY Project to Generate Clean Water Anywhere)

Blackout USA (Video about EMP survival and preparedness guide)