Earthships help Vanuatu cyclone victims

Earthships help Vanuatu cyclone victims

In March, Vanuatu was hammered by Cyclone Pam. Houses were destroyed, crops wiped out and many people died.

It happened at a time when a huge number of Vanuatu residents were on their way here to work in New Zealand's horticultural industry.

The local industry wanted to help, and came up with a plan.

This year, thanks to the Te Puke community, seasonal kiwifruit workers are taking something special back – an Earthship.

"We had to come to an idea to make a stronger house for the people to survive when there is a cyclone," says Loukatai village spokesman Yata Yalmak.

Twenty-four people were killed and thousands were left homeless in the cyclone.

Earthships can be found all over the world in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some grand in scale. These ones will serve as a sort of town hall, a communal shelter.

Made of straw, rock, tyres, earth and wood, it'll almost be part of the Earth itself – more akin to a cave than a house.

Watch the video for the full Story report.