Cob Building

The workshop got postponed til June 9th.

But this article came out in our local paper and it explains what is going to happen here much better:


Local Earth Building Series Empowers Both Women & Men



Using soils and rock from the earth, wood from nearby beaches and forests, and by recycling materials like coloured bottles, broken pottery and tiles, car tires and windshields, the MudGirls Natural Building Collective have rediscovered the home building alternative that many people are searching for.



Looking back towards tradition and forward to a sustainable future they have been building beautiful, unique, energy-efficient and inexpensive homes for themselves and with others. The effects of current day construction methods and development are beginning to be felt by many people the world over, both intellectually and in the form of chemical sensitivities and environmental pollution. Many habe been left wondering if there is an alternative to the harsh materials and resource depletion that go hand-in-hand with modern housing.



Jen Gobby, founder and co-ordinator of the MudGirls, says she “believes strongly in keeping the learning of [natural building] skills financially accessible, as well as a very inexpensive form of building for the owner-builders that we assist. We build with gifts from the generosity of the earth, and want to honour that generosity."



The MudGirls have been facilitating workshops for two years, during which students trade their labour for the skills they gain, which makes it both a cost-effective and communal experience for all involved. “I must say, cob is the most fun, back-to-the-earth, down-to-earth way I’ve ever built,” says Amber Hieb, a MudGirls member. “For me, coming from a long line of builders—all of them being men: my brother, my uncles, father and grandfather—to be able to reclaim building for myself, in a way that is using what is readily available and accessible around me is rewarding on many levels.”



Although there are workshops offered for both women and men, there is an emphasis on women for this very reason: to change not only what is built but also how. “Where presently we have a more rigid, square, hierarchical model of construction, the MudGirls represents a shift towards a more fluid, feminine, cooperative way of building—from the bottom up,” says Julie Chadwick, a new MudGirls recruit.



Until now, the MudGirls have used cob—a mud made of clay, sand and straw that one sculpts into form—for their main building medium. However, this summer they will be expanding their horizons by offering their labour in the creation of hybrid projects that can include elements of building with adobe, strawbale, wattle and daub and earthbags.



“The Mud Girls aim to empower women and men with the skills and confidence for building both shelter and community,” says Gobby. “We want to seek new and ancient ways to live in harmony with the earth and to also have a singing dancing laughing good time while doing it.”



They will be working as crews to help people who are embarking on their own natural building adventures, offering services from basic eco-renovations of an existing home to helping build small structures such as cob ovens, outhouses or garden walls, to assisting with the construction of cottages and homes.



This summer season the collective is also offering some of the most extensive and exciting natural building workshops to date. Each one is tailored to include aspects of both hands-on skill sharing and building, and an emphasis on subjects such as Social Activism, Alternative Technology and Alternative Transport. Through the workshops. Participants will get the opportunity to experience true communal lifestyle, with group camping, childcare and home-cooked meals.



Workshops are happening in the Nanaimo area this summer! The Earth Masters Program has teamed up with the MudGirls to offer a series of affordable weekend hands-on opportunities to get to know cob from the ground up. The adventure begins with learning how to scout out just the right site, to finding ingenious ways to incorporate recycled and scavenged treasures into your home. Participants will learn how to sculpt walls out of the earth beneath their feet, split cedar to shingle a roof, and make non-toxic paints from little more than household items.



For more information about the upcoming Nanaimo area, five-weekend workshop series, starting June 9th and 10th please contact: Earth Masters at 250-753-5605; or communityassets@telus.net .