OH, I love, love, love this. I've been smitten with alternative technology and building for 20 or so years. I'm finally living in Belize (my happy place), and we hope to start on our earthbag house when the dry season comes.
So, I have a question, and I'm wondering if you have thoughts. I have an earth bag builder whose opinion I can also ask, but I'm hoping to get a variety of opinions. I have always wanted to do a round house, but when I began designing, I realized that what made the most sense for us was a doughnut. An open floor plan won't work for us because there are five of us. Anyway, I really want a doughnut with a little courtyard in the middle. My concern is a seven month rainy season. Am I asking for trouble with flooding in the courtyard? Maybe I can do some kind of retractable dome or cover over the center? I'm kind of attached to the courtyard idea but not enough to deal with water damage or drainage problems. Were in southern Belize, so it's subtropical not fully tropical. Now I need to go back and read all these other articles!