Natural building posts from Liz Biz

Welcome 

Before I started this blog I have been writing in my other blog Liz Biz since Jan 2007.

I’ve brought over 2 of the posts I wrote recently on my dream/plans to build a sustainable offgrid cob home. They are full of very useful links and books that I have recently purchased from Walnut Books to help my very very very steep learning curve.

Enjoy.

Post Number One  - September 2007

In a few previous posts I mentioned my wish to build a home in the next few years.

I want a home that:

  • is beautiful
  • connects to a whole pile of ecological values that I’m interested in
  • i can build myself
  • won’t leave me with a 20 year mortgage debt

Now, anyone that knows me is very aware that I haven’t ever built anything – a shelf, a barbecue…and I want to build a whole house… with my own hands (and a lot of other helpful hands). Don’t you just love big dreams?

What I’ve spent over 20 years doing in my work is … building communities, ideas, projects. I have really, really good research skills and when I am passionate about anything I can gather people around an idea (than god I never decided to be a career criminal or dictator).

So, after about 4 or 5 months of working very hard and smart in my business I took the last few days off. I’ve just spent over 16 hours in the last 2 days researching cob building.

Yup – dirt (with some water and straw).

I’ve collected great books and articles on ecological, green and sustainable building for about 10 years. And I highly recommend Walnut Books – a great online bookstore in Cork (Ireland). They have all the top books on every topic to do with sustainable and simpler living. I’ve spent/invested a small fortune over the last few months on some amazing books. And yesterday I ordered a few more on cob building and a few great wall charts on gardening through the year and biodynamic gardening (topic for another day folks).

I have now collected what I think is the definitive list of cob sites (most with great photos), workshops (and one of the best is held in Cork) and cob pioneer builders. I’m going to list a few so if you’re interested you can check them out – and save you the 15 hours trolling the web.

Here goes:

That’ll keep you busy for a while. I’ll post others over time but these sites have great photos and links … so go play.

The Hollies Centre for Sustainability is based in Cork (Ireland) and runs some great courses. There’s a 9 day course running this week on cob building but I’m working and it’s full. I’m booking for next year.

I’ve looked at a range of natural building materials and cob connects with me because it’s:

  • cheap - the dirt you dig for the foundation becomes your walls
  • ecological – it’s about as local as you can get and doesn’t burn any fuel
  • beautiful – of all materials, cob can be sculpted into curves and niches
  • efficient - if you also build using passive solar (and even feng shui) principles – you’ll end up with a very energy efficient home

And – there are cob houses in Devon (UK) that have been around for hundreds of years. They’ve survived wind and rain.

I’ll be building my home using a range of ecological and sustainable methods – compost toilet; rainwater tanks; solar or wind energy; blah blah. Basically, I’ll be building a home that will have a small footprint and won’t leave me paying a huge mortgage when I’m in my 60’s.

You’ve heard of the Slow Food Movement? Sure you have. It’s all about buying local/seasonal and savouring the cooking and eating process. Tasty, relaxing and sensual.

Well folks, I’m starting the Slow Architecture Movement. I’ll take my time learning and researching and going to some workshops (really play with the dirt girls and boys).Then I’ll start building my home in either Autumn 2008 or Spring 2009 – a gift to me as I turn 50 (July 26 2009 – just in case you want to send a present).

As I get closer to building I’ll start a separate blog. Until then I’ll just keep you up to date on this blog. I’ve started a written diary with drawings and notes.

After the last few months of hard but successful work in my business I was feeling a bit like I’d been in the trenches for too long … seeing the grains of sand on the beach … and …missing the actual beach.

These last few days have brought me back to the big picture of my life and what engages and makes me passionate. Researching for my home has really energised and excited me.

There’s heaps for me to learn …and I can’t wait.

Post Number Two – Sept 2007

When some people take a week off they loll. And that’s usually what I’d plan.

I wasn’t planning on taking this week off from work but each day just took me into other spaces than work.

I’ve now spent nearly 30 hours this week researching cob house building online. Some people would define that as hard work. Me? I see it as leisure and a major leap towards creating my own natural home.

A couple of posts ago I listed some of the best sites on cob building. You can also watch dozens of short (a few minutes) videos on cob building at You Tube. Just type in ‘cob building’ and away you go. I also looked at videos on compost toilets – yup – it’s a pretty fast lane kind of life I live.

3 parcels arrived today from Walnut Books – a fantastic online sustainable bookstore in Cork. A big hello to Nora – who answers all my questions with cheerful emails and sends the books in recycled packs. Treat your self to a visit and buy 1 book – just for the craic of getting a parcel. It’s like getting presents. The parcels included a great companion planting wall chart and an organic gardeners monthly calendar – very useful for baby neophyte gardeners like me.

I bought a gorgeous glass cabinet from a local store (I buy local to support small business. If we don’t Ireland will turn into Tescoland – or for my American friends – Walmart land) to house all these wonderful books -treasures of information that will help me design and build my own ecological home.

Here is a list of the books I’ve bought so far – all available from Walnut Books:

  • The biodynamic food & cookbook. wendy e. cook. 2006
  • Results from the biodynamic sowing and planting calendar. maria thun.
  • Complete book of companion gardening. bob flowerdew. 2004
  • More straw bale buildings – a complete guide to designing and building with straw. chris magwood etal. 2005
  • The beauty of strawbale homes. Steens. 2005
  • Build your own earth oven. kiko denzer
  • Places of the soul – architecture & environmental design as a healing art. christopher day
  • Power of limits – proportional harmonies in nature, art and architecture.
  • The whole house book – ecological building design and materials. harris and borer.2004
  • The earthcare manual – a permaculture handbook for britain and other temperate climates. patrick whitefield. 2004
  • Natural home heating – the complete guide to renewable energy options. greg pahl. 2003
  • The organic gardeners monthly reminder calendar.michael littlewood. 2005
  • Companion planting chart. michael littlewood.
  • Put your hands in the dirt. activities and projects.kiko denzer
  • Home Work. handmade shelter. lloyd kahn. 2004
  • Shelter. lloyd kahn.
  • Building with cob. adam weismann & katy bryce. UK. 2003
  • The cob builders handbook. becky bee. usa.
  • The hand sculpted house. evans, smith & smiley.2002

Yup – that’s a really really cool reference library . I’m still waiting for books I ordered but that’s all part of the fun – never quite knowing when a parcel will arrive here in Ballinamore.

Some of the books have been gifts to very dear friends. The straw bale books go to Pat in Boston. She and her partner are planning to build a strawbale house in an urban USA environment.

The 3 cob building books are pretty much the bibles of cob building and I’m glad there’s one from the UK as well as the USA contingent. Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley (USA. Cob Cottage ) will be running the cob building workshop I’ll be doing next year in Cork. Nine days of very practical learning.

I’ve also started a written diary that’s already filling with ideas and questions and drawings. I plan to write a workbook on this whole experience and self publish it in 2010 through Lippylala Publishing (my own business that’s in start up phase. I’ll be publishing a Life Dreaming Workbook in 2008 as well as Business Planning for Artsworkers Guide in 2008) – when the house is complete (everyone touch wood).

I was writing in the diary last night about the values and personal qualities that passionately drive me & will help me in building my home:

  • beauty in design and execution
  • ethical buying and sourcing of materials
  • ecological view of building
  • local sourcing of materials and labour
  • community involvement in building and learning – I’ll be inviting school groups on site
  • slow building to take the time to grow the design and enjoy the experience
  • sensual design in the look, feel, scent, touch & taste of the whole process
  • spiritual in honouring the people, place and space
  • respect for the land and people involved in the building
  • playfulness in the design and building – have fun with the mud
  • celebration through all the good, bad & downright ugly
  • energy save it, respect it, share it
  • low to no debt so I’ll take my time and save and only borrow from the credit union
  • integrity in all my dealings with people and the land
  • joy in creating my own home
  • gratitude for all the gifts in my life (people, skills, information …) that will make my ideas a reality
  • recycle & reuse as many materials as I can
  • courage to be true to my values and ideas – particularly when it’s raining and people say it can’t be done
  • persistence beyond inspiration and the first burst of enthusiasm
  • resilience when even the silver lining has another cloud
  • planning a framework of ideas so I can be creative within a structure of building
  • research and gather information to inform all the design and building
  • support from friends and people I don’t yet know – and I’ll give support in return

So – in 5 days I’ve made a major life decision; researched it and begun the first small steps towards making it real. I’m chuffed beyond words.

I’m happy to share any information I collect on this 2 or 3 year journey. Just leave a comment with your email and I’ll get back to you.

And just in case dear friends and family think I’ve lost the plot and will now be eating weeds and living in a mud hut – I booked myself for a 2 day retreat in a gorgeous hotel overlooking an irish lake (Wineport Hotel) in 2 weeks. A great place, amazing food – and – I’ll be spending the 2 days doing further design for my home and businesses while sipping some bubbly in the guest lounge with its 24 foot windows and lake views.

Don’t worry family – Lizzy is well able to look after herself.

A sustainable life does not mean a refusal to care about and for myself – in fact it’s the exact opposite. The more aware and conscious I become of the whole ecology of building a home and living a sustainable life – the more content and healthy (mind, body, heart & spirit) I’m becoming. You know me well enough that I’d never become po faced. I’ll enjoy this new journey (it’s actually a deepening of an existing journey) as much as I do pretty much everything in my life.

Right – I’m off to the shops to get some nice food for a small dinner party tonight.

You have a great weekend.

Regards

Liz

Leave a comment