Question
Marc, the home site is on a sort of steep hill and the plan is for an earth bermed house, one story, to blend into the hillside & the roof also earth. Would like to see as little house as possible, two sides with windows and two earth bermed looks like the best plan. Somewhat rugged rural area. No engineers, no permits needed. Hard to get concrete truck to site.  Is there a way besides using concrete to build this kind of house? Thanks for your service as an expert.

Answer
One type of structure I remember from school used "rammed earth" construction.  Pretty simple technology, actually - But not so good in seismicly active areas:

By Do-it-yourselfer (w/other links):
http://diyrammedearth.com/

By professional builders:
http://www.rammedearthworks.com/
http://www.rammedearth.ca/

Another system that I have seen used successfully is hay-bale or straw-bale construction:
http://www.redfeather.org/programsStrawBaleConst.html

Both of these ways maybe not the best for a home that shares 2 walls with moist, mother earth.  Building directly into he hillside may prove to be a challenge, battling natural moisure and the slope's stability.

It can probably be done without concrete (sheet pilings or telephone poles), but with forethought.  Talk to an Architect if you plan on creating a structure that is habitable, when finished. And without windows on two or three sides, it may have a "bunker" feel to it, once you've created it.  Just a thought.

It's on the "edge" of traditional constuction, but I've seen some pretty wild houses in the pages of Journal of Light Construction (JLConline.com), over the years.

Good luck. ~M