Mud… Mud… Glorious Cob!
Unclogging the brain is a good thing; it brings in fresh ideas, inspirational thinking, and, our old favourite, new perspective. Fulfilling requisites for after work play; a change of scenery, a little exercise, some fresh air and maybe some quiet time can be accomplished in many ways, but unless ‘away from work’ activity is something such as sword-throwing, it’s probable that, on occasions, familiarity will weaken the focus and the brain will start to fill up with all those thoughts that need to be drained away. Ideally brain burn-off needs something fresh to focus on; a new challenge to distract from the usual routine.
Mission ‘switch-off time’ resulted in a trip to Kate Edwards of Edwards Eco Building; Sculptor, exceptional sustainable builder, and cob specialist. Edwards Eco ticked all the boxes, with the inclusion of cake and a `stomping time’, and Kate’s buildings tick all the boxes with the addition of art.
Back to the basics of building and happier than a pig-in-mud, instruction was given through the various stages of this little or no environment impact traditional style of building. The mixture of sand, clay and straw construction was playing-in-mud made simple with all pressure removed in the level playing field of sustainability.
`Dig a trench and use what you take out to build with’ is the practice, but could equally be the eco-twist on a pay-as-you-go type business model. Add in that construction starts from on the ground and builds upwards, is one of the cheapest building forms, has no shape restrictions, is resistant to tremors and has been around for centuries, all goes to illustrate that it’s possible to live outside the box.
With cob building you are your own designer, your construction is your own and you build with your own materials on your own ground. With no mortgage, health or fitness restrictions required, no experience, power or special tools required, the time with Kate was more relaxing than a mud bath and the brain, rather than drained, was reinvigorated. Creation would commence, however, having no time, `BOB’ the Pizza Oven (Built Outside the Box) is still in the blueprint stage, but thanks to Kate, the perfect recipe for after-work play is enabled.
(Image credit: Leszek Leszczynski Article credit: Copyright SUF)
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