I found this article online today, it's from Eco Online. I'm posting this because we still get lots of questions from family and friends about what we are building, will it hold up, is it made from corn (no) etc. etc. This should help answer a few of those questions. A few of the names mentioned in the article (Ianto and Linda) is who we've taken cob courses from at The Cob Cottage Co. in oregon. They are very well known in the cob world and are published authors of a few different books on cob.
Here's the article:
Cob builders use their hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with clay, straw and sand. It is a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Cob is very easy to learn and inexpensive to build.
Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls, arches and vaults. Earthen houses are cool in summer and warm in winter.
Cob has been used for millennia, even in the harsh climates of southern England, where thousands of comfortable and picturesque homes have been continuously occupied for many centuries. In fact, earth homes, built in this free form manner, have existed around the world for thousands of years.
Welshman Ianto Evans and American Linda Smiley, of "Oregon Cob" fame, brought Cob to Australia in 1995, teaching a workshop in Caboolture. Linda McKee and Mal McKenna continued teaching Cob until 2000. Since then, Mal and his builder friend, Michael Leo, have succeeded in getting Council approval for a Cob building, which will be built in the near future. In the meantime, Alan Atkinson of Eco Homes and Gardens has formed a new partnership with Mal, who lives at Bellbunya Eco Conference Centre, to bring Cob building into the mainstream of new green housing approaches, beginning with an exciting series of Cob building workshops at Bellbunya.
Because earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable, many people searching for a more eco-friendly lifestyle are bound to embrace this living, breathing choice of home. Further, Cob is ideal for owner-builders, who can have friends help out with this easily learned form. The cob lump goes straight from the mixing spot to the wall, where it is knitted in using feet, hands and blunt sticks to form one mass -- a hand sculpted home. The lumps are made to your size, making it easy for children to be involved. It is a very safe work site; there are no power tools, as we encourage the use of hand tools and as little timber as possible.
No, Cob is not a fast process: it can be made timeless, though, when we get that right mix of soul and mind. You might as well take your time slowly building your home which, if tended to lovingly over the years, will stand proudly for years to come.
The Cob Cottage Company sits on a 350 acre preserve. We park at the bottom and hike in with all our stuff for the weekend. Here's a picture taken along the main trail. Austin, Noah & Josiah.
The baking of bread or pizza is done in a cob oven. Here's a picture of one.
That 55 gallon drum is a rocket mass heater. It sits in one of the "under construction" houses.
Austin found a tree house that was built a while back by a previous apprentice. He talked me into climbing up. Here's a picture from the top looking down. As you can tell, I made it down and lived to tell about it! :)
An outdoor kitchen where all the food preparation was done. The food was AMAZING! Mostly all vegan.
Lots of cob houses on the property. This one is call The Bedrock.
The Meadow Suite~~this was where we stayed. It's still under construction.
Such beauty...
Noah was frog hunting, he never caught any frogs on this trip. Maybe next time buddy. He was however really good at Banana Slug hunting. :)
Austin and Siah
Siah did some wood chopping...
"Well kids, this is a composting toilet." Says Dad.
This flag means the potty is being used. Wait your turn Siah!
Siah is helping Ann build a "Rumford". We will probably be building one of these very soon.
Lots of cool cob art on the walls...
Court yard wall...
Check out that living roof!
Outside sink for washing up. This sink is just outside of the outdoor solar shower.
The Cob houses have so much character and style.
This is Linda Smiley's House. She is co-author of the book called The Hand Sculpted House. Her house is two story. The outside doesn't do it any justice to the hand carved spiral staircase, the granite kitchen counter tops, the off-grid frig, and the full bathroom. Her house is a true work of art right down to the mosaic master piece in the bathroom. The total to build this house was $5,000 WOW, talk about cost effective!
Inside the Myrtle, a common area for all the visitors.
The Myrtle.
Da Boyz
Bottling the juice.
After I steamed the fruit and the juice was bottled, I decided to blend up the fruit and make fruit roll-ups or fruit leather in the dehydrator. The kids are loving it!
Paned windows on the front and picture windows on the sides. Slightly tilted inward for passive solar.
The round windows in the middle double as canisters on the other side.
The side picture windows.
Side profile.
It's the big dog, a 12" cast iron skillet with lid. Made in the USA!
Another big dog. 12 cup french press. :)
Some wonderful books...
A pair of earrings from Austin, he's such a sweetheart.
Money and gift cards. 
Posts
