From the Ground Up

(Page 11 of 11)

October/November 1998
By Molly Miller 
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Final Thoughts

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The hand-built cob hermitage at River Spirit is a strange and wonderful place. Despite the ticks, copperheads, and biting bugs, I did not want to leave the forested spot by the river on the last day of the workshop. I have spent a lot of time in coniferous forests, but this week I spent living under a canopy of Ozark hardwoods made me understand how a person can fall deeply in love with trees.

Given the housing problem in America today, in cities, suburbs, and in poor rural counties like this one in the Ozarks, it was at once inspiring and frustrating to see a cob house go up so simply and intuitively. Cob is cheaper, more comfortable, and far more durable than the prefab throw-away homes that millions of us live in. Yet just a handful of people are devoted to cob in this country.

MOTHER would be more than proud to spearhead a cob movement that would take home building out of the hands of the contractors and return it to the people who need it the most. Please let us know of any cob projects you decide to put your hand to. We'll publish some photos of the hermitage at River Spirit when the finishing touches have been completed.

TOOLS LIST level, shovels, buckets, machete, rubber tubs, strawbales, truck, wheelbarrow, trowel, tarps, gunny sacks, cobbing sticks, window screens for sifting materials, whisk broom, tamper

MATERIALS LIST

clay, sand, straw, water, tiles, bottles, decorative objects to bury, windows

RESOURCES LIST

www.cpros.com/-sequoia (Becky Bee's web page)

The Cob Builder's Handbook, (MEB264), is available through MOTHER's bookshelf by calling 1-800-888-9098. River Spirit Retreat Center, HCR 72, Box 85, Parthenon, AR 72666. Phone # 870446-5642.

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  • P L 7/10/2009 12:32:33 PM

    I would love to get involved in this type of building. I have decided on this method because it looks cheap enough that I could afford it. I have been dirt poor for 12 years, working minimum wage jobs and trying to get ahead and am a single mother. So the thought of ever having my own place... it's a pipe dream. Then I happened up on a cob article and started researching self sufficiency and cob building. Then I started getting on real estate sites and going to realtors and looking for land in Washington State that is just bare land. I've found a few with lots of acreage at around $12-15000 dollars, or small RV lots for less. While the RV lots probably won't do the trick, I could easily see myself doing this. If I can ever get the student loans paid off and save enough money, I may be able to do this and finally have "my own place" in six years when my daughter is grown. God willing.

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