Earthship Enterprise Takes Off In Normandy

It’s hard to tell if the bustling crowd of locals have come to stare at the Earthship or the tanned Americans swarming over it who, in a wet Normandy spring, look as much like beings from another planet as the house itself.

Kevan and Gillian Trott (photo left and centre) are building Europe’s first domestic Earthship - literally, a load of old rubbish - in the formerly sleepy village of Ger in the heart of Basse-Normandie. It was a stroke of sheer good fortune that when they found the perfect piece of land for sale, the Trotts also discovered a Mayor, Jean-Marie Fretel, who, instead of thinking: “whacky; not in my commune” immediately grasped the point of the Earthship and thus earned himself a small place in history by becoming the first official in Europe to give full planning permission for an Earthship to be built as a private dwelling.

The Earthship, or Bateau de la Terre in French, is a three bed, self sufficient eco house with a zero carbon footprint, no bills and is built largely from rubbish which would otherwise end up in landfill sites. Kevan Trott’s work as a chartered surveyor in Britain lead to his becoming increasingly fascinated by sustainable housing and three years ago he heard about Mike Reynolds (top photo, right), designer of the Earthship.

“We live in an ordinary house in Brighton” says Gillian, “but really wanted to build an Earthship to show people that it is not some kind of of the wall idea but a perfectly functional house. Obviously if you want a jacuzzi and four plasma screens it’s not going to work, but even in this wet spring we’ve powered our building tools with solar energy.”

The price of land in Britain was too high for the Trotts to realise their dream there so they looked to France. “We knew this part of France - we used to have a holiday home nearby - and this plot of land was cheap enough to take a gamble. When the house is finished we will rent it out so people can experience living in an Earthship for themselves.”

The Trotts have borrowed heavily to finance the project - including flying over the American crew as well as the POM and the WOM (Power Organising Module and Water Organising Module) needed for converting solar energy and filtering water and the solar panels.

“If, as we hope, sustainable housing takes off in Europe the equipment should start being manufactured here and there will be more local expertise which will bring the costs right down.” Indeed, half a dozen interns are working and learning on the project alongside the 10 strong US “Commando Crew”.


What is extraordinary about the project is that it is not an experiment in the middle of nowhere but bang in the centre of Ger with “ordinary” French houses either side. “Lovely people” Gillian says of the neighbours. “And one of the many attractive features of an Earthship is that when we are finished they will simply look out on a grass mound." Exposed parts of the Earthship are being rendered with local stone to make it blend in further. “Although we needed the American know-how for the core building work, we are employing as many local French artisans as possible - thus building up local
expertise.”

The 750 tyres were found locally as well as the 10,000 bottles and the 5,000 aluminium cans came from Sourdeval school and local déchetteries. The roof insulation is recycled clothing from a plant in Calais and the floors will be made from local Vire stone “which has great thermal properties.”

With the American crew now gone, the Trotts are finishing the project with family and friends. You can see the Earthship on the Barenton road out of central Ger, near Sourdeval. The Trotts will be around most of the summer, but if you want to visit inside the house or discuss the project e-mail Kevan first at: kevan@earthship.co.uk

Article and Photos from the Rendezvous magazine, July 2007