Upcoming Cob Workshop

In a few short days, the kids & I will be heading to a nearby Island for an 8 day cob building workshop. I chose this particular workshop because for a very reasonable price, it included vegan meals for the entire week, and also free childcare. I'm getting very excited to get going - I have been interested in natural building for several years, although to-date my interest has only gotten me so far as reading many, many books, and going on tours of houses built of straw bale or cob.

What I like about natural building, in general, is that it seems to be a way to house ourselves that also minimizes harm to the Earth. It seems healing for all involved. It also seems very empowering for people to be able to build their own house, with minimal skills needed - no carpenter's ticket necessary. I like that a cob building site, unlike conventional building methods, is child-friendly. Children can actually assist with the building, thereby empowering them to one-day build their own house, too... or playhouse, like up at Shawnigan:

I also really like the creative quality of cob - that you can sculpt on the plasters, have curved walls, and the use of the recycled coloured glass bottles inset into the walls. I love the look of a living roof on top of a cob structure - it just looks... right.

So I'm in the process of packing us up... trying to remember clothes for the kids, work clothes for me, non-work clothes, hand tools, camping equipment, toiletries, extra food & snacks (both vegetarian & non-V) for the kids, and raw food for me. I've never actually camped for an entire week with the wee ones, so this will truly be an adventure. Luckily, we'll be within a 10 min drive from the village centre in case I forget anything.

More info about cob:

http://www.eco-sense.ca/

http://www.mudgirls.ca/

http://www.ourecovillage.org/

http://www.cobworks.com/

or read (among other books):

Building green : a complete how-to guide to alternative building methods : earth plaster, straw bale, cordwood, cob, living roofs / Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan.
by Snell, Clarke.
New York : Lark Books, c2005.

The cobber's companion : how to build your own earthen home / by Michael Smith ; illustrated by Deanne Bednar.
by Smith, Michael G.
Cottage Grove, Or. : The Cob Cottage, 1998.

The cob builders handbook : you can hand-sculpt your own home / by Becky Bee.
by Bee, Becky.
Murphy, OR : Groundworks 1997

Getting very excited!....