Filming finished Sunday on Ignacio’s newest, soon-to-be-famous earthen home.

In September, Shalina Luna and her daughter, Joli Galvan, residents just south of Ignacio, embarked on a warp-speed project to build the 18-year-old an off-grid, earthen house in four weeks – with Discovery DIY Network film crews in tow.

“The recording is a wrap, the filming was awesome and we’re pretty confident that we’re going to get everything finished by our deadline,” Luna said.

While Luna can confirm filming is complete, she couldn’t reveal whether the house is finished because of network contracts – that would be a spoiler, she said.

Community members will just have to tune into the episode of “Building Off the Grid” in December to see how the build went.

Luna could say that recording took place for 12 to 16 hours each day, seven days a week. The film crews kept the family motivated to keep going, and when the crews weren’t around, time-lapse photography captured the family’s progress.

In front of the cameras, the family had to meet deadlines, solve problems, stay on task – and, yes, there was some drama.

“You always see these things on TV, and you’re wondering like, ‘Are they acting that out?’” Luna said. “But when you’re in the middle of recording, you realize we really do have daily drama.”

Galvan said the filming process pushed her to step outside of her comfort zone.

“Whenever the camera crews came around, they saw very real moments,” she said.

Viewers of the episode will be educated about earthen homes. They’ll see something “unique” while watching a family build a home, Luna said.

The family already lives in an off-grid house on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, and Galvin’s new home was built on the same property. Both homes are off-grid: They’re made of locally sourced, natural materials and powered by renewable energy.

“I’m so nervous about seeing myself on TV,” Luna said. “It’s just flooring – it’s all becoming real.”

smullane@durangoherald.com