[Cob] Re: Second Natural Building colloquium of the east (Cob)

[Raduazo at aol.com]

    I just got back from The Second National Building Colloquium of the East 
in Bath New York, and it was fabulous.     It was a gathering of like minded 
individuals unlike any that I have seen. The love and energy that flowed back 
and forth among the community and the Peace Weavers was unbelievable. I found 
myself crying tears of joy several times each day. 
    There were so many natural building projects going on that it was 
difficult to take it all in. The straw bale meeting house went from foundation to 
roof in a week. 
    A slip-straw building went up just as fast with demonstrations of several 
ways of making slip straw. 
    The posts and beams of a post and beam structure were lifted into place, 
bale walls were in-filled and we got a demonstration of spraying a clay-straw 
mixture with a gunite arrangement. 
    We built a straw bale round house in two days, completed a dragon oven, a 
children's playhouse and made a substantial beginning on a cordwood sauna. 
    Rob Roy demonstrated moving a one ton rock into place on the shores of 
the pond. We sang and danced and beat drums and had one heck of a good time.
    There were no cob structures so I helped build the stone foundation of 
the oven, pour the foundation of the sauna, did my family fun wattle and daub 
birdhouse class, took over the cordwood sauna for a couple of days, did a bamboo 
demonstration, concentrated on manufacturing slip for the other projects and 
taught classes on screening and hydrating clay. (The clay that we got was from 
a seam in a rock quarry and it was very dense and difficult to hydrate.)
    Ianto was there with his slide show and a demonstration of his rocket 
stove, and I think there will be a cob project coming soon (Perhaps for the next 
colloquium). If not the sauna calls for a cob wall and they need a cob 
enclosure for the generators. I will be back, and I think everyone there agreed that 
this is going to be the home of the Third National Building Colloquium-East 
and perhaps many more. I certainly hope so.
    It should be noted that you learn a lot by showing up early and/or 
staying late to these things. For example you get to build the foundations, and 
cover roofs. And, you get a discount on the fee besides. This is something to keep 
in mind for future colloquiums.
    I hope to see a lot of you at the next colloquium. You will not regret it.
Ed