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        • The Earthship Visitor Center

          2 Earthship Way, Tres Piedras, NM 87577

          Self-Guided Tours available daily – visitors are welcome to arrive anytime from 9am – 4pm.

          $9 per person for the self-guided tour of our Visitor Center

          • Free for Taos locals and Earthship alumni
          • Free for ages 12 and under

          UPDATED WINTER HOURS:

          Guided Tours available Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 3pm to 4:30pm
          (please arrive a few minutes before)

          $22 per person • Tickets available at the front desk or: https://exploreorigin.com/en/listings/872008-guided-tour

          NEW! Extended Self-Guided Tour 
          $15 per person • Tickets available at the front desk or:
          https://exploreorigin.com/en/listings/876139-earthship-movie-time

          Private Tours available when scheduled ahead of time More Info

        • Earthship Nightly Rentals:

          Earthships allow people to experience a luxurious off grid life. Being self-sufficient does not mean reducing one’s quality of life.

          Our Earthship rental homes are equipped with all amenities that conventional housing provides

          We are 20 minutes northwest of town of Taos, New Mexico. We are very happy to show you how you can live comfortably without harming nature …

          CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT AVAILABLE NIGHTLY RENTAL EARTHSHIPS.

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        • What is an Earthship?

          An Earthship is a type of house built with natural and recycled materials, with energy conservation in mind. It is designed to produce energy, water and food for its own use.

        • An Earthship is a type of passive solar house that is made of both natural and upcycled materials. Several models exist, and can be built in any part of the world, in any climate and provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production. Choose your favorite model.

           

          View Earthships currently for sale or buy some land in the Earthship Community

          Building cost could be significantly reduced if you decide to host an Academy or a Field Study.

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  • Images

Journey: 1971

After graduation (in absentia), I bought an old barn made of railroad ties on 4 1/2 acres in an apple orchard just outside of Taos, New Mexico.  I put in a bathroom and a fireplace from an old boiler and moved in with my first wife Susan.   We had a son, Jonah and five dogs.  It was there that I first started using anything I could find for anything I needed.  I added on to the building with bottles, cans and tires.  I made light fixtures out of tuna cans, a bed for Jonah from wooden Coke cases and door handles from linseed oil can tops and more.

Earthship Journey 1971 - Canon

 

 The first real application of “using anything I could find for anything I needed” was when I first moved into the barn.  A local realtor had a son who had just gotten back from the Navy.  He and his buddies had heard that some “hippies” were moving in to the old barn.  Four of them came in a pickup truck.  The way they got out of the truck clearly told me what was happening.  The barn was full of all kinds of stuff from an old dude ranch.  There were a bunch of bowling pins in there.   I walked out to meet them with one bowling pin in each hand – my first successful re-use of discarded items.  They decided to talk rather than deal with the bowling pins.

Mike Reynolds at Canon
  • Susan, Jonah and the dogs in Cañon, an old neighborhood of Taos, New Mexico. Our garbage home stands in the background.