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The Year of Mud Book

The Year of Mud Top 10 News and Posts for 2011

By The Year of Mud Book, Natural Building Workshops, Wabi-sabi Kitchen, Moisture, Timber Framing, Lime Plaster, Earthen Floor, Strawtron
Pug Cone

Pug dons a dog cone in 2011... but that's not terribly related to the here and now...

2011 has presented us with a wide mix of events and emotions. It’s been everything from momentous, to extremely challenging, to gratifying, and everything in-between. Just like every other year, I suppose, right? Each year is not so different from the last, but at the same time, each year is full of its own unique experiences.

This was the year we experienced some significant health challenges, decided to build a new home, continued to do major renovations to Gobcobatron to correct some of its moisture and heat issues, made some advancements on our kitchen construction, hosted our first mini building workshop, began organzing two major natural building courses, got some rewarding nods in the media, and ultimately, just like last year, kept incredibly occupied.

Here I present the top 10 news and posts from The Year of Mud in 2011.

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My Boing Boing Interview: How to Build Your Own Hobbit House

By The Year of Mud Book, Resources, Media

Avi Solomon recently interviewed me for a bit on Boing Boing, titled Brian “Ziggy” Liloia on How To Build Your Own Hobbit House.

In the interview, I talk about my decision to build with cob, the great rewards and challenges in building your own home, the community building experience at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and more.

If you’re new to this blog (or even if you’re not), please check it out!

p.s. Want to learn even more about how to build your own cob house? Check out The Year of Mud: Build a Cob House book!

 

The Year of Mud: Building a Cob House Book Now Available

By The Year of Mud Book, Resources
 

At last, I finished producing my cob building book, The Year of Mud: Building a Cob House. It is available for purchase through Blurb.com. This book is a story of how I constructed my own home, and what it is like to build with cob. The book features dozens of color images, how-to information and building recipes, and inspiration for those wanting to learn more about cob and earthen building.

Here’s a synopsis and some details about the cob house manual:

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The Year of Mud: The Book in the Works

By The Year of Mud Book

Last December, I mentioned the possibility of writing a book about building my cob house. Well, I never got around to it that winter. But this winter, I have made it a priority.

This February, I’ve chomped down and begun the process of writing a book about the experience of building my cob house from the perspective of a first-time builder. It’s important for me to note that even with the current moisture problems, which almost dissuaded me from taking on the project, I decided it would be a worthwhile venture to get some of my writing in print, in a more easily digestible form, including all those things that I’ve learned, including some of the experiences of the past couple months.

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