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Cob building workshop, Come out to the foothills and learn (Play) in the mud!

Although not technically in Amador County this is about a wonderful real estate subject here in the Northern California foothills

Cob studio round house with solar People coming together to build housing is a foundational human experience that so many of us these days never get to enjoy. The bond built between people who build together is something that has been part of the lives of our ancestors, but that many of us have sadly lost. Now you have the chance to get involved in a weekend of Cob building with a bunch of great new friends.

So you say, “What is cob”? Well you might be more familiar with the idea of adobe. Simply put adobe is straw, sand, water, and clay mixed together and formed into blocks that are dried and then stacked to make walls. This is a far-reaching and well-founded technology that has been used in many parts of the world. Cob is very closely related to adobe, the biggest difference is that cob is stacked wet as opposed to in dry brick form. The finished building can actually be stronger, and often has a more rounded feel to it.
Many things are common to both styles of building. Both are very long lasting, both are very inexpensive, both can be finished in the same ways, both fit most peoples definition of green! And done right both can be beautiful, healthy, human housing.

Best of all, unlike in modern stick building, you have the tools and the background to do this kind of work, I bet each and every one of us has played in the mud! So travel back to your childhood, travel back to humanity’s childhood, and travel forward to see one way we can help to fix the future with cob, a timeless, green building technology.

Come out to the foothills and get dirty! What a chance to learn cob building from the best! Misha Rauchwerger and his wife and co builder Alisheva have built Calaveras County’s first permitted cob building, and they are holding a training workshop weekend. If you are lucky they might even show off their gorgeous straw bale home. This is a hands on learning experience and a great chance to meet wonderful people that you will not soon forget. Feel free to ask me any questions about this, either in the comments or directly, I would love to meet you at the workshop.

Here is the flyer:

Learn to Build Your Own Home of Hand-Sculpted Earth

You can make a difference! Learn about alternative construction techniques: monolithic adobe (cob) and straw bale. Our built environment uses a huge fraction of our earth’s resources and energy, and creates a disproportionate amount of waste and pollution. Natural building is a viable and creative solution. Have fun, get your feet in the mud, and earth stuck to your soul!

hands-on (and feet!) building: mix and build the monolithic adobe wall of a bathhouse addition onto a monolithic adobe studio

topics covered will include: sustainable materials choices, passive solar design, overview of earth building techniques and straw bale construction methods, permitting an alternative home

organic, vegetarian lunch and home-brewed Ecstatic Elixer will be provided

natural building slide show Saturday evening

music jam Saturday night in the acoustically awesome, adobe studio

when: Saturday, November 8th, 9:00am - 7:30pm: workshop and slide show
Sunday, November 9th, 9:00am - sunset: practicum
for people wanting more time in the mud

where: site of non-toxic and natural, solar-powered straw bale home
and monolithic adobe studio (engineered and building code approved)
16061 Curtis Court, Sonora, CA 95370

cost: $50-$100 sliding scale with 10% of proceeds to go to FoCuS
(Foothill Collaborative for Sustainability)
work-trade available (no one turned away for lack of funds)

what to bring:

rubber boots to stomp in the mud and clothes that you don’t mind getting muddy

plate, cup, fork, spoon, knife

If you wish play music Saturday evening, bring a musical instrument and a potluck dish for an evening meal.

Camping space is available for those wishing to stay for the practicum the next day. Bring a tent and a sleeping bag and pad.

to reserve your spot contact Misha: (209) 532-3972
misha.rauchwerger@gmail.com

misha.rauchwerger@gmail.com

Michael Pulskamp face picture fade blue to yellow Michael I. Pulskamp

Mainstreet Brokers

Amador County Real Estate

Posted by Michael I. Pulskamp REALTOR®, EcoBroker®, GREEN desingnee on 10/11/2008 06:10 PM

Comments (11)

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green, cob, straw bale, real estate

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11 Comments on Cob building workshop, Come out to the foothills and learn (Play) in the mud!

OCT

2008

Sounds like fun....

I keep trying to get my husband to visit the earth ship homes when we are in NM.

You can place all your listings at www.SacramentoGrapevine.com for FREE to gain additional exposure to potential buyers.

Sindee,

Come out for the day at least. Bring your camping gear, and decide if you want to stay after you meet some of us and try the building. This is right near by, not all the way out in NM. Just drag him along, and if he won't come, come by yourself. If you are willing to have a crazy open schedule you can carpool with me and save half the gas. I'm about in the mid point from Sacramento to Sonora.

You can actually work on the studio.

OCT

2008

Hi Michael. Oh I love these sorts of things. I think what people are banding together and doing is brilliant. We saw on adobe house out in the middle of nowhere in Missouri once...stopped to look at it and the owner came out to talk to us. Very nice guy. I have wanted one ever since. :)

Yes, Pamela,

There is really something about homes built by PEOPLE as opposed to homes built by companies (not that they aren't made up of people, but once you do something like this you will know what I mean). Building a home is such an important thing for Community, almost magical.

This one is a bit out of your area, but if you look for them you will find this sort of thing going on in any area. Give it a try, there really is nothing like it.

I had not heard of cob before this post and I pride myself on green tech.

Another day and more to learn always.

OCT

2008

Sabrina, Cob is the English name for this building method. It is very old and has been used all over the world by many different people(s), often lime finishes are applied as a final coat,giving even longer life to the building and imparting the almost glowing white stone look that you might see in places form Scotland to Morocco and across the middle east, very similar techniques have been used by some of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The thing is, and I hate to say it 'cause it makes me seem like a kook, this method of building is so hands on that few people would pay someone else to do it, so no industry or lobby ever grew to promote it the way lumber/stick built is promoted. But I would bet that you have seen pictures of cob buildings, you just didn't know that is what they were.

The more we look at the old way of living, the more we find that it fits with these new fangled "green tech" methods. Thanks for the coment!

Thanks for the explanation of Cob building techniques. How does this type of building hold up in areas that have cold snowy winters?

OCT

2008

Well, I know some historical re-builders that have worked on these buildings in the North of England and in Scotland, those buildings have been standing for three hundred years and more. In areas with more temperate climates these buildings are over a thousand years old. If built right, with good overhangs, I think this is a great way to build in areas with cold, wet winters.

Sonora gets snow most years and this one has hed up very well even without a finish coat of lime or other stucco.

NOV

2008

I'm glad I found your blog... a set of synchronicities brought me here and I called and signed up for the workshop this weekend! My husband and I took a four-day long hands-on cob basics class in Oregon last month... loved it! I read on your strawbale post that you have plans to tour others in the area. Perhaps at the workshop we can get owner contact information and setup some visits ourselves!

This is such a beautiful art form and I think it means so much for people to be able to literally have their hands in the building of their home!

Look forward to meeting you!

Thanks Tracy,

Tell us about the synchronicities that brought you here. Most of us (Active Rainers) are web real estate people and love to find out how people found us.

I am looking forward to meeting you and I would love to hear your thoughts on the comparisons and contrasts between the two workshops.

The tour is slow to grow but I would love to introduce you to some of my SB/alt-building people around the area and meet yours.

NOV

2008

While in England this spring I saw many of these homes. I was struck by how unique they all are. I have long been interested in alternative building like, Straw bale, Rammed Earth etc. We have only a few of these homes in Texas, but its a trend that I feel will continue to grow. Thanks for the post and the lesson!

Betina

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