Tarahumara EcoDome
Guachochi, Mexico.
With support from the Municipality of Guachochi, Mexico, this three “bedwomb” EcoDome was built as a sanctuary space for the Tarahumara (“Raramurie” local Indigenous) women to recover from birth in. Housed at the Center for Nutrition, when women learned they were pregnant they would walk hundreds of miles to come here. I worked with a team of local Mexican and Tarahumara men, building an “Eco Dome” from plans developed by Cal Earth founder and lead architect Nader Khalili.
Each community this work comes in contact with brings out new ideas and methodologies. Everyone makes their mix similar but uniquely. Here in Mexico, the men would make a mound of earth, with a crater hole in the center where the water would go. After being filled, we would wait. The earth naturally soaks up the water. Efficiency is a learned trait of experienced builders, and this technique while used similarly in wheelbarrows previously, was a great method to apply.
