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What can you do with pallets?
Earth Tipi is building homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation for the Oglala Sioux. The reservation needs 6,000 sustainable homes. A few have already been built but many more are needed. In July and August Earth Tipi, with Texas Natural Builders, hope to build the first pallet home with light clay straw.

Please donate $25 to the project and we will write your name on one of the 200 pallets it will take to build the home. A picture of your pallet will be published on the project's web page on Earth Tipi with a link to your facebook profile or page. Each $25 donation will be matched by the pallet stack, a collection of benefactors so every $25 you give is like giving the project $50.

We would like you to 'Like' one of the images below which will write an appeal message to your wall. Help us to raise the money we need to house a family on the reservation.

Regards, Oliver@naturalhomes.org, Shannon@earthtipi.org and David@texasnaturalbuilders.info		  
 
   

A polar bear's
snowboard

 

If you 'Like' this snowboarding polar bear you can help us to reach your friends who we hope will be interested in our pallet house project. We hope they might like to sponsor a pallet to help build the first pallet house on the Pine Ridge Reservation. You decide which of our pictures is the funniest. Maybe you have a fun idea of your own that we could use. If you do please leave a message at the bottom of this page or just wish the project good luck.

If you sponsor a pallet your name will be written on the pallet and a picture taken for the Earth Tipi website with a link to your facebook page.
 
 
 
   

A forgetful person's
key chain
 
Once the frame of the pallet house is ready the structure will be filled with light clay straw and plastered with clay.
 
 
 
   

A giant's toast rack

 
The light clay straw is just a stiff mixture of clay and straw that sits, lightly compacted, between the slats of the pallet. An inch layer of cob, a mix of clay, sand and fine straw, is placed over the dry light clay straw. Finally a layer of clay plaster, with flour starch to help bind and provide a smooth surface, is used to finish the wall. 
 
 
 
 
   

A pair of
elephant earrings

   
 
 
 
 
 
   

A door to the
5th dimension

   
 
 
 
 
 
© 2011 Oliver Blake Swann
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