Bushfire Survivor Rebuilds Home From Tyres and Bottles

When Dee-Ann Kelly fled her Pomonal home two years ago with just her pets and a handful of possessions, she watched a bushfire destroy everything she had built. The 2024 fire tore through the western Victorian town, destroying 45 homes in its path.

Now, Kelly is rebuilding in a way that could withstand the next fire. With help from 35 volunteers, she's constructing an Earthship, a home made from recycled tyres, bottles, and cans that's designed to survive the elements that destroyed her first home.

"My strong community was the thing that helped get us through," Kelly said. That same community has now rallied to help her build something better.

Designer and builder Martin Freney has constructed a dozen Earthships across Australia. He explains that these homes are uniquely suited for bushfire zones because of the earth surrounding them, creating a natural barrier against flames.

The walls use more than 350 tyres packed full of dirt, along with bottles and cans fitted between them. The entire structure gets covered with earth, similar to an underground home but built at ground level with soil mounded around it.

The three-month build costs about the same as a conventional home, but Freney says the long-term savings are significant. The earth insulation makes these homes highly energy and water efficient, dramatically reducing running costs.

The Ripple Effect

Across Australia, millions of tyres end up in landfills every year. Kelly's home diverts hundreds of them from the waste stream while replacing materials like bricks, steel, and timber that require energy-intensive manufacturing.

Volunteers like Chevaun Buchecker traveled from South Australia to be part of the project. She's mixing clay from the property with local sand and straw to create natural render for the walls.

"A lot of us have come here for a bunch of different reasons, and I think we've found the community to be the most beautiful, healing, amazing part of it," Buchecker said.

The project has brought together people passionate about sustainable building, creating a living example of how communities can adapt to climate challenges. Kelly hopes her new home will inspire others in fire-prone areas to build differently.

Fire will always be part of life in Pomonal, but Kelly believes resilient buildings can match the resilience of the people who live there.