WEBVTT APPLICATION, VISIT PULLTOGETHER.ORG. THEN CLICK ON, THE AM I ELIGIBLE LINK. SHELLY: CHECK THIS OUT. THIS STRANGE-SHAPED STRUCTURE IS ACTUALLY A HOME. IT’S CALLED AN EARTHSHIP. IT’S A SUSTAINABLE HOME INVENTED RIGHT HERE IN NEW MEXICO. DOUG: NOW, THEY ARE BEING USED TO HELP PEOPLE IN PUERTO RICO REBUILD AFTER A DEVASTATING HURRICANE. ACTION 7 NEWS REPORTER MARISSA ARMAS SHOWS US HOW THEY ARE TURNING TRASH INTO HOMES. >> WE BUILD BUILDINGS OUT OF GARBAGE AND THEY THINK GARBAGE IS BAD. MARISSA: THEY ARE MATERIALS THAT MANY WOULD CONSIDER TO BE TRASH. BUT FOR THE EARTHSHIP COMMUNITY COMMENTING THAT THE FOUNDATION -- COMMUNITY, IT’S THE FOUNDATION OF A VIABLE HOME. ONE OF THE BIGGEST MATERIALS THEY USE TO MAKE THESE EARTHSHIP HOMES ARE GLASS BOTTLES LIKE THESE. THEY THEN CUT THOSE IN HALF, TAPE THEM TOGETHER AND CREATE A CYLINDER LIKE THIS ONE. ALL OF THAT TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL WALL LIKE THESE. THESE HOMES ARE DESIGNED TO PRODUCE THEIR OWN WATER, ELECTRICITY, AND FOOD. AND NOW, NEW MEXICANS ARE TAKING THIS LOCAL CREATION TO HELP PUERTO RICO REBUILD. >> JUST LIKE ANY ISLAND, THEY HAVE A GARBAGE PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY TIRES, AND THEN YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT HAPPENS WITH ALL THAT GARBAGE WITH A HURRICANE LIKE HURRICANE MARIA. MARISSA: LAST SEPTEMBER, PUERTO RICO WAS HIT BY ONE OF THE WORST STORMS THE ISLAND HAD EVER SEEN. HUNDREDS DIED, MANY LOST THEIR HOMES, AND THOUSANDS OF THESE U.S CITIZENS WENT WITHOUT BASIC UTILITIES FOR MONTHS. THAT’S WHY PHIL BELIEVES EARTHSHIPS MIGHT BE THE ANSWER. >> IT MAKES YOU LESS DEPENDENT AND IT DOESN’T SET YOU UP F DISASTER EVERYONE GETS SET UP IN EVERY TIME A HURRICANE ROLLS THROUGH. MARISSA: IN FEBRUARY, EIGHT NEW MEXICANS FROM THE EARTHSHIP COMMUNITY LEFT OUR STATE, HOPPED ON A PLANE, AND FLEW OVER 2500 MILES EAST TO PUERTO RICO AND TO THE TOWN OF AGUADA, SPENDING 10 DAYS WORKING TO BUILD THIS HOME. >> WE THINK IT’S A VERY IMPORTANT EFFORT BECAUSE EVERY TIME A HURRICANE ROLLS OVER PUERTO RICO, 24 HOURS LATER THEY ARE LEFT WITH NOTHING. SO WE GO AND JUST TRY TO LEAVE AN EXAMPLE WHERE AFTER A HURRICANE, YES YOU STILL HAVE WATER. YES, YOU STILL HAVE ELECTRICITY, YES, YOU STILL HAVE A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD. MARISSA: NOT ONLY DID THEY BUILD A STRUCTURE, BUT THEY TAUGHT SEVERAL PUERTO RICANS HOW TO BUILD THEIR OWN. >> THAT IS WHY WE ARE ALL HERE LEARNING TOGETHER SO WE CAN BUILD MORE SAFE SPOTS LIKE THIS. >> I THINK WE WILL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE PEOPLE TO DO THIS FOR THEMSELVES AND MAKE IT SO PUERTO RICO ISN’T BEGGING FOR PEOPLE TO HELP THEM. >> WE ABSOLUTELY TRANSFER OUR KNOWLEDGE TO THEM, THAT’S THE GOAL, SO THAT THEY CAN GO OUT AND YEAH, MAYBE THEY AREN’T GOING TO BUILD THIS EXACT THING, BUT MAYBE THEY WILL SAY I CAN CATCH THE WATER ON MY ROOF. . MARISSA: AN EFFORT THAT THE EARTHSHIP COMMUNITY HOPES WILL EMPOWER AND TRANSFORM PUERTO RICO, NOT JUST NOW, BUT FOR SEVERA