Berkeley Cob Project

[Otherfish at aol.com]

to willison
re your message of 9/27
for good info about cob contact cob cottage co in oregon
& order a copy of the book "cobbers companion"
a very good book filled with cob info
also you could get becky bee's book - also very good
-try charmaine taylor - she can send you these mail order
-watch the coblist for her email address as she posts frequently

the berkeley cob project is going slowly - we've been limited to cobbing only
on weekends & have gotten about 1/2 way thru the cob in a month
-we're having difficulty getting a consistent turnout of experienced cobbers
-we're mixing the earth, sand & water in a small cement mixer & foot mixing
the straw into this on tarps - it cuts the labor way down - i recommend it
over all foot stomping
- its quickly becomes very clear to anyone building with cob that some form of
mechanized mixing is key to getting the building done with any thing
resembeling efficiency of your personal time expenditure
-I envision some forward looking production cobber to be inventing a cob
machine run by some quiet form of alternative energy (electric motors powered
by solar panels) or (a horse ?) or (a wood fired steam engine) that you can
back up to your material source & which will extrude cob out the other end
faster than you can build with it
-when this happens - well - watch out. the muds gonna hit the fan & we'll see
cob take its place in the competative world of making buily shelter for
people.
-make you the mud
cob on
john fordice
otherfish at aol.com