Cost of EarthBags

• EarthBags are currently R5.80 ex VAT (require 24 per m² wall area)
• StopperBags are currently R2.50 ex VAT (require 6 per m² wall area)

 

Fill material

• This is preferably sourced close to or on site, from excavations or surface material.  Almost any earth material can be used, providing it is not top soil or other organic rich soil.
• The fill material may well not have any cost if site sourced.

 

Bag filling

• Bags can easily be manually filled, using a simple wooden plate (template for making this can be supplied) and 2 cones (can be supplied).
•  The approximate filling rate is 300 bags per team of 2 per day.  This is 150 bags per person per day or under R0.70c per bag filled

 

Comparative cost per m2 of wall built

 A m2 of wall with all material and labour included and plastered but not painted will cost approximately

Earthbag wall (may be substantially less dependent on source and type of fill material, unskilled labour rates and project size)	R400
Concrete block wall	R500
Cavity brick wall	R750

 

Costing of a simple structure

The following estimated costing is as applied to a 36 m² (6m(L) x 6m(W) x 2.7m(H)) structure.   Total wall area is approximately 65m² including openings.

• excluding design fees, planning approval
• excluding plumbing and electrical installations and connections
• excluding site clearance
• external walls only, no internal partitions

'Foundations'	Materials incl sand, cement, EarthBags	R2 800
	Labour	R700
Walls	Materials incl Earthbags, sand, mortar for lintels, plaster materials, sundries (rebar etc)	R19 000
	Labour	R9000
Floor and screed	Materials incl. DPC, EarthBags and sand	R2 400
	Labour	R1 200
Roof	Materials	R11 000
	Labour	R2 400
Windows and Doors		R3 400
Total (for basic 36m2 structure)		R51 900

 

Notes on costing

Labour has been charged at a rate of R110 per person per day.
The cost for the basic built structure therefore is estimated to be R 1 440 per m2 floor area.

The cost for a complete house with simple plumbing and electric installations is likely to be closer to a figure of R2 500 m².

Costs of materials are constantly increasing. It should be noted that this is an estimate of costs.

Eternally Solar can supply EarthBags and advice in EarthBag building to a project. We are not suppliers of other building materials and any costs listed above are given only as an indication of the final likely cost of the project.

It should be noted that in this project labour costs total approximately R13 500 @ R110 per person per day

EarthBag costs total approximately R 10 000

Some cost savings may be made if labour rates are lower.

Some material costs may be reduced depending on how the structure is completed, such as the roof.

Material costs can also be reduced through the use of local earth/sand fill material from the site.

In a large scale development, EarthBag costs may be discounted.