What a wonderful earth house, very interesting, using the earth and rocks for insulation. And it looks very nice too.
Reminds me a little of some of the Hundertwasser builings I saw when I was younger. My father was a friend of the great artist, he lived in the Bay of Islands too, where I grew up. Dad is in the alternative power systems business, and did some work for him, while we kids explored the surroundings. All the houses on his land were covered in earth, with grass growing on the roof, one was sunk right into the hilside, barely visible. He used logs, boulders, and beverage bottles for walls, and some sort of solar system for hot water. Dad will know more about it.
How is the water problem by now? Probably not a feasible idea, but the Dutch fixed water problems very well with windmills
