5 Things I Love About Earthships
Tucked in the high desert of Taos, New Mexico, we had the chance to stay in something truly extraordinary—an Earthship. Built from recycled materials, designed to live in harmony with the land, and full of handcrafted details that made our jaws drop, it was unlike anything we’d ever experienced.
From rainwater systems to bottle walls, every inch of this home told a story of creativity, sustainability, and off-grid brilliance. We left feeling inspired, humbled, and full of ideas we couldn’t wait to share with you.
You might think these look like hobbit villages. Actually, they are Earthships!
*Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here.
An earthship is an unique type of house which produces food and energy, cleans water, moderates temperature, and turns trash into treasure!
Sounds amazing? Let’s take a tour and see how we can apply some of the inspiring ideas to our own homes!
Table of Contents
1. Trash to Treasure
Have you ever noticed that humans are the only species who create “waste”? In nature, nothing is thrown away—everything becomes part of the cycle, feeding life in one form or another.
That’s one of the most awe-inspiring things about Earthships: they take what society tosses out and turn it into something beautiful and useful. 💚
Soda cans become building blocks. Glass bottles transform into glowing stained glass. Discarded tires become walls that hold the earth. Even can lids get a second life as outlet covers. Nothing is wasted—because everything has potential.
The real magic? It’s creativity. When we pause and look at the “ordinary” with fresh eyes and open mind,we stop seeing trash… and start seeing treasure.
2. Harnessing Sun and Wind Energy
There’s something truly magical about tuning into the natural power that’s always been around us—the warmth of the sun, the whisper of the wind. Earthships do this brilliantly.
Beyond solar panels and wind turbines, they’re full of thoughtful, passive design ideas: buildings are oriented just right to soak up the winter sun, windows are placed to welcome light and regulate temperature, thermal mass holds onto warmth or coolness… it’s like nature and architecture doing a graceful little dance!
And while we might not all be off-grid wizards (yet 😄), even small steps make a difference. A simple solar box cooker (yes—we have the Sun Oven, it’s amazing, and here’s a simpler version!), or just hanging a wind chime in a tree, can reconnect us with the elements in surprisingly delightful ways. It’s not just energy efficiency—it’s energy appreciation.
3. Smart designs and water efficiency in Earthships
When we walked into the earthship that we were staying at, our guide told us “Please don’t try to conserve water! Take nice long showers, the plants love it!”
Here we are in the middle of a harsh New Mexico desert, yet there’s an oasis of flowering and fruiting plants thriving inside by the sunny south window. The water in an Earthships comes from harvested and filtered rainwater. Shower water is filtered to feed the plants, and sink water is filtered to flush the toilet.
I remember an inspiring tour where I visited many homes that retrofitted their laundry system, as detailed in the book Create an Oasis with Greywater, so the water is cleaned and channeled into the garden. If that sounds a little complicated, an outdoor shower with bio-degradable soap is a fun way to celebrate water and irrigate our gardens on warm days
4. Indoor Food Garden in Earthships
Step inside an Earthship and you might feel like you’ve wandered into a magical (and delicious) jungle…
From fig trees and bananas, to tomatoes and kale, the Earthship is a mini food forest. All those indoor planters and hanging buckets are not only beautiful, but also bountiful year round. It’s part greenhouse, part jungle lounge, and somehow it all works.
Some Earthships even have aquaponic systems where one can have fish and plants co-exist harmoniously: a genius closed-loop setup where the fish produce nutrient-rich water for the plants, and in turn, the plants purify the water for the fish. It’s a living, breathing ecosystem—right in the living room.
It’s not just about food—it’s about creating harmony, beauty, and nourishment in the heart of your home. That’s a must-have in our near future! If you are curious, check out this wonderful book- Aquaponics for Beginners!
5. Art and Beauty
Just because it’s green does not mean it can’t be gorgeous! Earthships bring joy to people through all the beautiful handmade details.
One can sense the creativity and love that goes into the walls, floors, and furniture pieces.
In our modern world, the time we spend making something for our homes most likely won’t match the money we make in our day jobs, yet the love that radiate from something we make is so valuable that could not be measured by numbers.
Hope you enjoyed this tour! Here are a few of my favorite related resources if you want to explore further :
- earthships: earthship.com
- solar cooking: www.solarcookers.org
- rainwater harvesting and greywater: greywateraction.org
- edible gardens: www.rosalindcreasy.com/edible-garden-how-to
If you love Earthships, you will love this wood fired earth oven that’s easy to build and fun to use! Check out the full tutorial here.
Have an inspired week! See you soon!
Love the photos, and the idea too! Such a beauty and most of it thanks to recycled bottles. Definitely would love to have such fence or something made with built-in glassware. Thank you for the inspiration!
Like all of it…
I just found your site today but I’ve lived in New Mexico near the earthships and they are beyond beautiful , completely self-contained and you can build them yourself .That’s what they were created for by the brilliant humanitarian architect , Michael Reynolds many years ago .
He wanted a way for regular people to have safe and uplifting shelter for the least money and resources .
Google Michael Reynold’s earthships and you’ll be amazed .
he truly is fabulous!!
I love it. And I want one some day. It just makes better sense to build with what you have, than it does to go in debt for 20yr.
totally! and we can live in greater harmony with the earth!
I have seen an article before on earthships. They are of such a unique architecture that it is hard to believe they are made from “trash.” I enjoyed your article very much. If I was President, we would all live in one of these.
thank you ann! glad you are inspired as i am! xx
The pleasure of reading this post…you have no idea! I knew nothing about eathships and love the well-chosen name, the concept and the challenge. It is encouraging to think that even in our urban dwellings (my case) we can still be more mindful about waste, recycling etc. Just until the day we get our very own earthship, that is 😉 Thank your this inspiring and surprising discovery (not so fictional after all, that hobbit house, hun?).
dear friend, i believe in santa, fairies, and hobbits!!! xoxo
What a great place to stay and experience all those innovative ideas. I love the idea of an indoor garden:)
I would love to live in one of these homes. They are just my style. I have always been creative and would love to design a home. They are just fascinating! If I were alot younger there is no doubt I would take on this project. To spend my older years here! Thanks for sharing.
one is never too old to design or redesign a home barbara! best wishes! =)
I would totally live in one of these instead of a home that I have to keep paying for all my life and it’s not sustainable. We should take climate change seriously and the government should built these homes instead of tearing down hills and mountains only to build big homes and drive nature away from their habitats. I love it.
New Mexico is truly the Land of Enchantment.
Wow, I would LOVE to visit an earthship! They looks so incredible and innovative!
Seriously? This is crazy cool! I’ve never heard of earthships before. I hope we are moving more in line with this way of life. By the way, did I see paper bag floors? Too cool!
hi nikki! this one we stayed at does not have paper bag floors, but like you, i am crazy about paper bag floors! x
Great photos! Yeah, I have never heard of these before. I live in California, so this might just be one of those trips we make to say we saw it in person. Very cool. Thank you for sharing..
Thrifting Diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
These are SO cool! I’ve never heard or seen them before, so this was such a great post. I love reading about the recycling of water, etc. What a great experience. And, i love that you shared it with us! Gorgeous photos too!
i knew you will enjoy this dear friend! xo
These are so neat!! I am off to explore further now…
these are so cool! they honestly look like something out of star wars! haha
thanks betsy! i love star wars and these do look like from outer space! =)
These are SO so cool! A friend of mine has recently become obsessed with earth ships and she showed me a bunch of them.
oh brita! send your friend my best! xo
wow I have never heard of these before now, but they sound like a brilliant concept! what a unique kind of stay!
This is soo very cool! I had never heard about this until now! the pictures where great and I have to put this on my list of things to experience! WOW!!
Wow! These are awesome! I’ve never heard about Earthships before.
This whole place is fab and surprisingly beautiful! Love that it uses and utilises all natural/recycled products!
Katie <3
How cool! I had no idea that anything like this existed! Especially in the US!
What can I say? I’m gobsmacked, spell bound and just so happy to have read this post today. This is the first time I’ve heard of Earthships- such a neat idea. Thank you for sharing your experience here Ananda:) I would love to visit one of these some day, or better still create one in the Arabian desert!
that would be amazing! an earthship in the arabian desert! thank you arti, i am so happy that this resonates with you! xo
How cool is that. Wouldn’t it be great to grow up in a place like this
that would be so awesome! xx
These are so neat! I have never heard of them before, but I would love to see one in person!
What a beautiful building, so interesting!
I’ve never heard of Earth ships before. That’s pretty cool.
These are so cool! Some of them remind me of “dome homes”.
LOVE! So spacey and AWESOME!!! Love the plants inside.
This is the most unique home I have seen. I didn’t even know there was such a thing!
These are all over New Mexico! They’re so cool, and the whole concept is beautiful.
you are so right – the concept is beautiful, and courageous!
I love this. I’d totally live in something like this if I could. And, like you said, they’re pretty, too!
me too michelle! i hope we both do someday! =)
I have never even heard of one of those before! That is so cool.
Wow! I’ve never heard of or seen anything like this before. How fun!
I haven’t even heard of these before! How fun!
Wow – I would love to try to stay at a place like this. I’ve always loved the look of glass implemented into the building structure too. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos.
thank you tanya! it is a special place to experience!
Okay, THIS, is amazing. I have never even heard of anything like this – and I was captivated by every word of this post! GORGEOUS! Thank you for sharing 🙂
thank you so much breanna! i thought this might be too out there haha- so glad you like it! =)
Wow, they are so unique, what an amazing place to stay x
hi emma! i think there are some earthships in uk too! xo
I’ve never heard of an Earthship before, but these look so cool! I would love to stay in one someday.
thank you jenna! it’s a great experience! =)
Addendum: your pictures are fantastic!
How unique! Would love to stay somewhere like that!
thank you! xoxo
Wow! These photos are so fascinating and beautiful! I never heard of an “earthship” until reading this post and I love the artistry and architecture that goes into these homes.
That’s so neat! I like the use of the glass bottles.
Thanks for the links at the end of the post – since my husband and I are new to the USA (we moved to California, from Canada) we’re always exploring. We drove down and ended up going through New Mexico, but didn’t see these of course. It’d be nice to drive back there and explore more.
oh nancy, you will LOVE cali! and new mexico! happy exploring!
What beautiful and unique designs of each!