In the summer of 2008 I enrolled in a two-year associates degree program called Ecotourism and Adventure Travel at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. My intention in joining this program was to become a traveler, partaking in my love for the outdoors and my childhood dream of being a scuba diver. As with anything in life, my time spent aquiring this degree lead me to a life unexpected. Upon learning about the concepts of sustainable living through my class in Sustainable Development, I was hooked. Living in companionship with nature instead of selfishly abusing it’s resources just made sense to me. Once introduced to the practices of permaculture, I knew the type of life I wanted to build with the utmost certainty. 
My passion was ignited, my interest probed. I began reading and learning about all things permaculture and edible forest gardening. Then, in the fall of 2009, during my nine week study abroad on Andros Island in the Bahamas, my need for sustainable living was peeked. I decided to set out on a project to build an edible forest garden on my mother’s twenty acre property in Albany, Ohio. I realized in order to build a food forest on my mother’s property I would need to live on site and ideally have little expenses in my life so that I could focus all of my time and energy on designing and establishing a healthy food producing forest. Having to pay rent, electricity, water, and internet was not going to allow for me to dedicate the time needed for my forest garden project. Thus, I realized I was going to need to build a small house, off grid, to keep my living expenses at a minimum. Strawbale construction was my first thought, so I started as anyone with little experience in house construction would, I researched. I learned all that I could, first about strawbale house building, then at my mother’s suggestion, about earthbag building. My mind was made once I witnessed the breathtaking pictures of earthbag domes that utilize recycled glass bottles in the walls, broken tiles for mosaic, cob sculpted furniture, woodfired cob ovens and earthen floors.
Earthbag construction had each aspect I was hoping for in a building project. It was alternative to conventional construction, affordable, easy (in comparison to most construction types) and it could be utilized as an educational tool to benefit the local community and environment. I was overwhelmed with the desire to learn how to live alternative to the consumerism of modern society. To return to the roots of living, where the bare essentials of life and hard work rule. I craved knowledge in the fields of grey water systems, rain-catchment, composting, solar energy, gravity fed plumbing, and woodfired cooking. I couldn’t possibly keep these lessons and experiences to myself. Thus, I sought to make it so that I could share these concepts with my community. The more I read and learned about each of these practices, the more I wanted to build this life. 
Through educating my local community, students, and interested individuals from across the country, I hope a greater purpose for this project will unfold; to not only benefit me and my family, but to benefit the way of life in our modern society and lighten it’s stresses on our environment. I forsee this project as a walkabout for my soul, as an educational tool to benefit the lives of all those interested, and a resource for sharing time, knowledge, and life experience with my species. Thus, in the summer of 2010, with the help of friends and family, the idea in my mind began to manifest into this physical realm.
