Cob Job.

[Miranda-Johnston]

Hi Mike!  Just thought I'd take this opportunity to respond.  I have been
away from the computer lately and it is awfully hard to plunk myself down
in front of the screen again, especially on a beautiful sunny day!  

Here's a brief background:  I am 34 years old and currently without
insurance, but am in great health.  I have rarely had insurance, probably
will soon have some through my wife's job.  In my many years with my
family's business in northern New Hampshire I have acquired the equivalent
of at least one year's of carpentry experience along with plumbing,
electrical work, small engine maintenance, masonry, etc.  It has been a
while, but if the same holds true for this work as it does for a bicycle,
I'm all set.  

I have a Bachelor's degree in English, history minor and a Master's degree
in International Administration - my focus was in community development and
intercultural training.  Since graduate school I have spent a couple of
years with policy focused orgainzations working with the United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development and with the US Agency for
International Development as a consultant.  Upon tiring of the bureaucracy
and DC atmosphere, I headed to Mexico to work with several local Mexican
NGOs working on very grassroots environmentally-focused community
development in rural communities.  I have also worked with AmeriCorps in
New Mexico.  When in DC, I was very involved in environmental and social
justice activism.

 As far as my philosophy, I am not a martyr, but I do tend to do an awful
lot for very little ($$) when the cause seems worthy.  I could (and have
been) be called a professional volunteer.  However, to plan for the future
I need to begin to more seriously pursue money-making activities.  I have a
firm belief that I can maintain my high moral standards and also make a
decent living and provide for the future.  I intend to make natural
building a central focus of my plans and also to continue my
environmentally-focused community development in the US and in Mexico.  I
am currently looking for opportunities to increase my experience in natural
building (cob, etc.) via conducting workshops and also, by contracting out
for home building, much in the manner you have been following.  

When I was much younger, I used to jump off rather tall buildings, ledges,
cliffs, etc., but I never met with much success in reversing the momentum. 
Climbing up was fun though!  When I was younger, I was also pretty much a
part of the US Ski Team, but several serious injuries and age combined to
convince the politicos that I wasn't worth the effort.  I still long for
intense physical challenges, and I see cob as a very constructive and
worthwhile (not to mention healthy) way to build myself up again.   

So, regarding your current search for an additional worker, I am unsure
that I would be able to earn the amount of money that my wife and I have
determined is sufficient to cover our bills and keep us with a steady
income.  My current job pretty much sucks, but it is dependable and I do
have time available to build something better around here.  It would seem
to me that I would need to stay at a campsite and find transportation to
and from the site.  Those two would combine to limit my "take-home pay."  I
hate to feel that money is going to be such a determinant of my current
activities, but my situation seems to demand it.  So, I have forwarded the
request to some friends to see if they are interested.

Please keep me in mind for your future projects though as I can be more
flexible and able to commit if I can control a few more of the details like
transportation and lodging.  Thanks so much for your communications.

PEACE  stevej