Taos is the mothership for Earthships.  These cool homes are “very weird looking”, according to Rachel.  Their website says:  “. . . the Earthship is the epitome of sustainable design and construction. No part of sustainable living has been ignored in this ingenious building.”  They aren’t kidding.

Earthships are made from natural and recycled materials like earth-rammed tires, cement, steel, bottles and cans.  They are typically “off the grid” and also grow their own fruits and vegetables.  Not only are the greenhouses beautiful, but plants are an important part of the design element, as they are also used to filter the home’s gray water which is then used for the toilets.  Earthships catch water from the sky and use it four times in total.  It’s more complicated than this, but I’ll summarize:  1) sink/tub/laundry, etc  2) water inside plants  3) toilets  4) water outside plants.

We visited the aptly named Visitor Center, which is a fully functioning Earthship and were all in awe at how nice it was.  Since it’s been so dry here, we really liked the humidity from the greenhouse!

Check out their website:  http://earthship.com/  or better yet, visit Taos and check them out in person.