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Natural Building Colloquium

Dec 13
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SunRay’s Magical Treehouse

By Photos, Carpentry, Design
SunRay Kelley Treehouse

A ramp provides access to this funky little treehouse — I love how the underside of the roof catches morning light

SunRay Kelley may be one of the most “mythical” of the natural builders out there. He’s the builder known for saying the forest is his “Super Natural Store”, and his building designs conjure up feelings of the fantastical, magical, funkadelic. I had the privilege of seeing one of his creations in the making at the recent 20th anniversary Natural Building Colloquium at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, NM — a whimsical treehouse nestled in ponderosa pine trees, featuring some signature SunRay touches. Check out the photos of this wild little building ahead…

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Nov 20
Love1

The First Ever Rocket-Style Griddle Oven

By Cob Oven, Rocket Stove
Rocket-Style Griddle & Barrel Oven

The first fire ever in the first rocket-style griddle oven ever!

One of the exciting projects going up at the recent Natural Building Colloquium was this amazing rocket stove-style griddle oven. It’s a wood-fired griddle with barrel oven, both heated by the same fire — in this case, a downdraft fire similar to what you see in the now classic rocket mass heater design. This was designed and built by two mass heater wizards, Max Edleson of Firespeaking and Flemming Abrahamsson of Fornyet Energi in Denmark. It was the first of its kind ever built, and it was really sweet to see the griddle oven take shape over the week.

See below for a sequence of construction images and the finished product. Too cool. I wish I could have taken it home with me.

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Nov 11
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Natural Building Colloquium 2015: A Community of Builders

By Uncategorized
nbc20 group

The NBC20 crowd

What do you get when you assemble 150 natural builders and seven days in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico? A whole lot of jabbering, that’s for sure. Seriously though, the recent Natural Building Colloquium is what I’m referring to. April and I just returned from a long stint out west, where we participated in the 20th (!) anniversary Natural Building Colloquium (NBC). Twenty years ago (21 to be really precise), the idea was hatched to gather individuals from across the country to share ideas and inspiration, and to further the goals of the natural building community. And thus the Colloquium was born. A lot has happened in the time since the first gathering, and this year’s event provided a great opportunity to reflect on the history of the movement.

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Nov 10
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The Return Home…

By Uncategorized
Red Soil, Kingston, New Mexico

I’m back from the foothills of the Gila National Forest in NM… where the sun shines bright and the soil is deep brown & beautiful

It’s one month later… and we’re back in Kentucky after a rather long road trip. I’ve been enjoying the break from the computer/internets, to be frank… that’s no offense to you though, dear reader. It’s nice to be unplugged for a good stint. I am, however, excited about sorting through my photos from New Mexico and the Natural Building Colloquium to share here. It might take me a few days. We have a moving truck from Dancing Rabbit to unload and I suspect the return to remodeling the house here will be swift.

All is well… keep posted for some insights from the Colloquium and more.

Nov 10
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Natural Building Colloquium 2009 thoughts

By Uncategorized

nbco-woods00

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.

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Nov 05
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Cob stories and photos coming… soon…

By Uncategorized

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.

ccc-bedrock

Oct 14
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A brief update

By Uncategorized

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…