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DOME HOMES


Zeb

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John Pint, well know local author, posted this in a recent Mexico City News;

 

"Igloo Kokolo

This prize-winning ecology center is only a half-hour’s drive from the town of Petatán, mentioned above, and offers what may be the most unusual overnight accommodations in all of Mexico. Here, Salvador (Chavo) Montaño and his wife run a learning center that “teaches by doing.”

“At Igloo Kokolo,” says Montaño, “we have no electricity, but we do have energy-saving wood stoves, efficient filters made of natural materials for reusing gray water, buildings made of Superadobe, palm-tree roofs, dry toilets which produce odorless compost, solar ovens and even bicycle-powered devices, from blenders to cement mixers.”

It’s the Superadobe house, of course, that gives Igloo Kokolo its name. This was the brainchild of Iranian architect Nader Khalili, who proposed making houses out of the most easily available building material: earth.

You mix dirt with a small amount of cement and water, put it into old feed bags and pile them on top of one another in ever smaller circles to create an igloo. Khalili’s solution was designed not only for homeless refugees on Earth, but also for future colonies on the moon or Mars where, it seems, every inch of the surface is covered with dust.

The two largest igloos have clean, comfortable beds, lights (solar-powered, of course) and you’ll even find elegantly wrapped, environmentally safe soap and shampoo on your nightstand. What you won’t find in your igloo is a toilet or a sink or a shower or a stove. All of these, however, are available a stone’s throw away — just be sure to bring a flashlight! And, yes, the showers have hot water: solar-heated, naturally.

Igloo Kokolo is listed on Glamping.com, a website for people who love spending the night at unusual but attractive sites off the beaten track. I also found Igloo Kokolo on Airbnb where, among 22 reviews, I could not find a single complaint. To book an igloo, contact Chavo Montaño at cell 331 835 8026. How to get there."

 

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There is a conference on building them tomorrow in Guadalajara. It is in Spanish. The contact site/email is rl@roman2.com.mx. 

Thank you for that info.  We will contact him.  We are, however, not fluent in Spanish......(for the conference).

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Thanks to those who responded.  If anyone has any further information on whom could build dome homes, please let me know.

Chavo "Dude" can build them.

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I know many builders of dome type homes. You do realize they are very difficult to sell, and that all cabinet and furniture has to be custom fitted - which in Mexico is a big, expensive deal. Here is a builder near San Miguel Allende with lots of experience:

http://www.flyingconcrete.com/

No one here builds them to sell, only for themselves.  If furniture is placed out from the curving walls, no need for custom making or fitting.

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