Heavy rainfall was probably one of the factors that led to the development of rammed earth. This very logical opinion is given online at http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/EarthGuidelines.html#Rammed. There it states:

“Rammed earth, an ancient building technique, may have originally been developed in climates where humidity and rainfall did not permit the production of soil block. For soil block to cure uncovered, there must be at least 10 rain-free days. Soil mixtures for rammed earth are similar to those for soil block.”

After you have protected the walls from direct rain by a roof that extends beyond the walls several feet, and have the rammed earth walls placed up off the ground onto a solid foundation, rain and running water is eliminated as an issue. In areas with heavy rainfall throughout the world there are thousands of rammed earth buildings that are hundreds of years old.

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