Cob: bullet resistance of cob

[Michael Burns]

On Tue, 16 Nov 1999, Tom Fetter wrote:

> With respect, I'd prefer that this discussion was carried on off-list.  I'm 
> not only uninterested in the bullet resistance of cob, but find the prospect 
> of the discussion goes completely against the principles which have led me 
> to consider cob (or other environmentally sound building practices) in the 
> first place.
I'm not sure where the issue of principles fall into this unless you are
opposed to people living in war zones. However, in most of the Central
American villages I've visited that have suffered from heavy fire fights,
the residents did not habe the luxury of leaving as a matter of principle.
They also weren't choosing to have their town terrorized either. 

I guess I am perplexed because I actually find this interesting and
relevant. In the town (in Guatemala) where I lived, folks talked about the
advantage of mud brick and cement houses because they were better to hide
in during a fire fight. Actually, they considered cement better ,although
very old, thick and well built mudbrick houses could usually stop a bullet
from reaching the inhabitants. Unless of course the were opposed oin
principle to avoiding bullets. Maybe this list is intended only for N.
Americans who have seen little warfare in the last 100 years, but an
appeal to cob building, in
my narrow view, is that it is accessible to people around the world, alot
of which is still suffering from armed conflicts from time to time. 

Let's put it this way: You have one piece of land to build on. You don't
have the wealth to decide to move elsewhere, and the guerillas hav just
moved into town. Are you going to feel better onprinciple that you are
living in a cane shack when the military launches its offensive to retake
the town?

The isuue of living according to  principle takes on a whole new meaning
when this is a luxury, and a benefit of living on top of capatilism food
chain.

-Michael Burns

> >
> >One of the things that I hate about home construction (one of many) is
> >how flimsy everything is. Hopefully not too many on the list will take
> >offense if I opine that a home should offer protection against more than
> >cold and wind.
> >
> >In that vein, has anyone done any testing of how a properly build cob
> >wall stands up to bullet impact?
> >
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