Earthen Building: I’ve had the great pleasure and privilege to participate in three cob building projects. Cob is a mixture of sand, clay, and straw. With our hands in the earth, our spirits come alive as we reconnect to materials humans have used for thousands of years.
The three building projects: 2012- House Alive in Jacksonville, Oregon; 2014- One Day Cob Build with Be the Change Project in Reno, Nevada; 2019- Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community in Tawang, India.
2019, Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community: A 3-month project overall. I spent one month building with a small international team of natural builders and 5 Jhamtse student apprentices- led by House Alive. It is Jhamtse’s founder’s dream to have a village of earthen homes for their community as the children age out of the Jhamtse school. We were in the remote foothills of the Himalayas and just a stones throw away from Bhutan. It was quite an adventure, and our cabin is so special! You can watch a 10-part video series documenting the project here. Photos by Shannon Welles, except for the image of the finished cabin at the dedication ceremony by Coenraad Rogmans.
2012, House Alive: This lovely cabin we call Luna has earthen walls, floors, plasters, and paintings. I am so honored to have been a part of her creation. This slideshow will give you an idea of the process. All photos by Shannon Welles.
2014, One Day Cob Build for Be the Change Project: On May 9, 2014, a group of roughly 60 people gathered in Reno, Nevada, to build a cob house in one day. Read more about it and watch a video on my writing page. Photos by Shannon Welles and Kim Doyel.
