First Earth

A manifesto filmed over four years and four continents, this proposal contends that earthen homes—those made from cob, straw, clay, adobe bricks, and rammed earth—are the healthiest and best houses in the world. Also posing that suburban sprawl should be transformed into eco-villages, this discussion provides evidence of the benefits of this lifestyle in every cultural and socioeconomic context, from countrysides to urban jungles, third-world countries to tribal communities. Beautiful scenes of a myriad of cultures—curving art-poem dwellings in the Pacific Northwest, thousand-year-old Pueblo architecture in New Mexico, centuries-old and contemporary cob homes in England, thatched huts in West Africa, and Moorish-style skyscrapers in Yemen—make this global trek a testament to both the spiritual and material benefits of building with the earth.

David Sheen has been as been documenting, studying, designing, and building ecological housing since 2001. He apprenticed with several pioneers in the field at the North American School of Natural Building and at the Emerald Earth Sanctuary. He is the author of The Red Pill and lives in Toronto, Ontario. Ilya Yakolvlev is a music composer and producer. He has been involved with a number of projects with various artists, writing songs and movie soundtracks.