I’ve been enjoying the latest newsletter articles by Coenraad Rogmans over at House Alive!. In the article, Building with Sand, Straw and Clay, Coenraad talks about the many variations of the magical mixture of these ingredients. There is a spectrum of ratios that create different variations of these base materials. Including cob, light clay, wattle and daub, bale walls, bale cob, earthen floors, plasters, renders, and paints . Within each application one would use a different ratio for a particular result. Say for instance you are working on a cob wall with built in niches. Ianto Evans teaches about corbel cobs. Cob with long stocks of straw for added tensile strength. Another is light clay, a mixture of straw tossed like a salad with the dressing being clay slip, or watered down clay. Or for an earthen oven a sand clay mixture. You can see how versatile it can be! Continue…
Path to Freedom is a very inspiring website, and cast of characters. The Dervaes turned their urban 1/5 acre lot in to a organic micro-farm; producing 55 to 85% of there own food. They are leading by example. Challenging us to become local, to connect with nature, think about our lifestyle and what is happening with our food supply.
It is our responsibility to know how to feed ourselves. Instead of marching down to the local mega-chain market, seek out local farmers, farmers markets or plant seeds in your kitchen window sill. No lawns left behind… start to mulch your yard; preparing the soil for a new life as a food producing garden. Learn about permaculture and plants that will grow in your bioregion. There are few things we really need. If our bellies are full all else is possible.
If you want to be a revolutionary - grow your own food!
Mixing cob… mesa style. This is a sloppier version of cob that’s good for infill, shaping and scratch coat plasters. Raw earth, straw and water. I’ve been using this for everything lately. In the video it shows a sloppy mix as it comes out of the mixer and the same mix after it has sat out in the sun and the wind. It stiffens up quick. I’m a fan of the cement ( cob ) mixer. It allows you to do several other things while the barrel is spinning. Electricity can come from variety of sources. Of course using power from the sun to make cob would be natural building nirvana. Even better… the human power of friends and neighbors.
