Earth Building Workshop with Open Synergy - Cob, Strawbale and Adobe - Limbro Park - Johannesburg - 21 Jabuary 2006

EARTH BUILDING ON THE HIGHVELD

OPEN SYNERGY WORKSHOP

Limbro Park - Johannesburg - 21 January 2006

Another successful earth building workshop took place at Flo's "School of Earth Architecture & Construction" in Limbro Park, Johannesburg.

Flo's green spam machine unearthed a dozen plus group of very interesting and wonderful souls brave enough to leave their mundane problems aside for a day to concentrate on issues of higher order: like earth building.

There were a high number of built environment professionals present at the workshop including five or six architects, interior designers, land surveyors, engineers and home builders.

The group turned out to be overly intellectual and wouldn't stop talking and asking questions until around noon but once the shoes came off it delivered a fine performance on the cob floor and proved to be particularly good at plastering.

It is encouraging to see that earth building systems are entering the realm of mainstream architecture, design, construction and decor on a very practical level. Everyone present at the workshop had very practical reasons for being there - there is nothing academic about earth building in South Africa today, as was the case in the seventies and eighties.

Each month brings news of earth buildings going up or being completed somewhere in the country. A plethora of synergetic or associated technologies and philosophies are starting to make a noticeable impact on our society and our mainstream economy.

Contact Flo at Open Synergy to book your place in the next Earth Building Workshop... http://www.opensynergy.co.za

The quality and composition of the soil used in the construction of earth houses has to be continuously monitored to assure strength and consistency.

Here Flo explains how to conduct and analyze sampling.

The process of building begins with collecting soil which has been "mined" from a borrow pit and graded through a mesh to exclude large aggregate.

The soil is tipped on plastic ground sheets laid over a layer of straw.

As with a traditional sand and cement mixture the pile of material is hollowed out to accept water.

Once water is added the feet go to work mixing the material to attain a plasticity similar to conventional cement mortar.

A number of groups can get going at the same time...

Once the soil and the water have combined into a paste straw is added.

The straw is treaded into the soil mortar with gentle actions to avoid damage to the feet.

Jason, Karen and Flo cobbing in perfect synergy.

Spontaneous outbursts of dancing are frequent when cobbing ...

The plastic ground sheets are used to "roll the cob mixture" to attain complete straw and soil integration.

Mastering this technique is one of the reasons it is advantageous to personally attend a workshop.

Flo demonstrates how to make adobe bricks from the cob mixture using ice cream tubs.

Flo demonstrates how to make cobbs.

Flo demonstrates how to build with cobb.

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