Meet the British couple who have spent seven years designing and building a home made entirely out of bits of trash.
Laura Davies and Dave Buchanan live in their so-called ‘Earthship’ in the Almeria province of Andalucia, in Spain.
The couple became expats having moved to Spain in 2002 and initially purchased an old Cortijo, a type of traditional rural dwelling.
Earthships are an idea that originated from American architect, Michael Reynolds, and are essentially a sustainable property constructed from local and waste materials, such as old tyres and drink cans.
As dreamy as it sounds, it didn't all go according to plan for the pair, as Laura admits the project took two years to complete.
And Dave also suffered a very nasty injury during the building process.
Laura said: “Dave had an accident with the bench saw during construction. He nearly lost three fingers and we had to take five months off for him to recuperate. So really it only took a year and a half.”
Laura and Dave's love of 'Earthships' came after she discovered them on the internet, revealing and “immediately fell in love with their handmade qualities.”
“The thought of being able to build it ourselves was inspiring, plus the theory behind them was genius,” she said.
The couple bought a whole set of Earthship books and after reading through them all, they decided it was something they could do and started looking for land.
After searching and finding the land, the pair met with the local town planner to discuss how to get permission to build and submitted their creative project to the council which was approved one year later.
The walls of the home itself are made entirely from car tyres which Laura and Dave collected from their local garage.
They insist they work well at achieving a constant temperature of at least 16C throughout the year.
Meanwhile, the inside of the walls are made from drink cans and bottles held together with mud and papier-mache.
The roof is from local pine beams and collects rainwater, which the couple use for washing, cooking, irrigating in-house planters and for the toilet. Hot water and electricity are generated through the use of solar panels.
The insulation is natural cork from a forests near Valencia and the front of the building is glass.
Acting much like a greenhouse, It also allows them to grow food. It creates solar heat and light to keep them warm during winter.
The couple also called on local residents to collect cans, bottles and newspaper to help them build their dream home, which they have named Cuevas de Sol, meaning “Caves of Sun” in Spanish.
Laura said: “We adore our home and are still sometimes surprised that we built it ourselves! It works so well, and in winter is especially lovely to live in with temperatures averaging 18C without any need for heating - if it does get a bit chilly I'll bake a cake so the oven warms the room. It is beautifully light and airy and lets us look straight into nature.”
