I got an email from DR friends Tony and Rachel who made this funky little snow mockup of my house. The first GOBCOBATRON snow home! (Note the little snow cob bed, too… or would that be an iqliq in this case?)
I had been wanting a table for the cob bench in my house, and I realized that those large cable spools would probably fit in the house, if I could finally find one. Well, I did get one, and it fits perfectly! These cable spools make pretty nifty (and free!) tables if you can find ’em.
I did not do anything to finish the table or clean it up – I kinda like it how it is, although the flattened nails on the surface are less than ideal. It could probably use some sanding, too, but it’s not bad. It’s pretty burly, and as you can see it’s been quickly filled up with lots of house flotsam. It makes a pretty swell dining table, too. I like it!
Beginning last year and continuing into this year, I maintained The Year of Mud website to document my first cob building experience. I have received lots of great feedback from readers throughout that continuing process. The documentation process has been very rewarding, and I hope that The Year of Mud continues to be a valuable resource on the web for those interested in cob building.
Now that I am building a shared kitchen with four friends and community mates, I have yet another opportunity to share new building experiences, techniques, and stories. The House That Millet Built will be the website for sharing this new building adventure.
It is safe to say that you can expect the same kind of documentation that I have shared on The Year of Mud. If you have any interested in natural building, especially cob, please follow along as we build our new community kitchen! This is going to be an exciting process.
Here’s a selection of cob building photos from the start to finish of building my house, assembled into a slideshow. Enjoy!
The Natural Building Colloquium is an annual gathering for natural builders to share their work and experiences, and to create a stronger network between builders. The 2009 event at the beautiful Camp Latgawa in Oregon was my first one, and I was very happy to have the chance to attend.
I just got back from a three week stint in Oregon and Berkeley, CA. Along the way I went to the Cob Cottage Company and Aprovehco. Expect some photos and writing… soonish. Here’s a photo of Bedrock, a little cabin at the Cob Cottage Company, for now.
Crappy weather the past week – clouds and rain and minimal amounts of sunshine make for dreary days and little electricity in the Common House, hence a total lack of updates this week, even though there is news to tell.
Today I am headed out to Oregon for the annual Natural Building Colloquium, a regular gathering of natural builders. I’ve never been to one before and I’m greatly looking forward to it. I’ll be in OR for at least a week, if not more, because I’m hoping to meet up with folks and do some traveling around the area, perhaps touring all of the great cob and natural building happenings in the state.
We’ll see what happens. But don’t expect any updates for a while! Off I go…
I, along with four others, have embarked upon a new building adventure. We have just begun the very early phases of building a shared kitchen and social space.
Thomas, Ali, Liat, April, and I are part of a sub-community at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Thomas, Ali, Liat, and I started discussions last year about working and living more closely with one another. These talks and many more discussions throughout this year lead us to design a kitchen space that we can all share. We started eating together during this summer in a rugged outdoor kitchen setup (we keep our food in a filing cabinet, for example), but we definitely want a more permanent structure.
Living in rural northeast Missouri, one thing I have (very thankfully) not had to deal with is building codes. At times, I have totally taken it for granted that I could just wake up one morning, and decide to build a house without telling anyone. There is nothing preventing me from building a home (or any type of structure, really) here. That’s why I can build a house out of cob, without electricity, with a living roof, with all of these crazy things that would NEVER fly in many other places.
So I haven’t uploaded any interior photos of Gobcobatron yet… I promise I’m getting to it. I’ve just been delaying until the interior was sufficiently furnished… I suppose I’ll have to get on that now! Expect those photos soon!
Anyway, here are two photos taken by Ramin Rahimian, a photographer who recently visited Dancing Rabbit to take some photodocumentary-style pictures. I like ’em.
About The Year of Mud
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
