[Cob] stem wall height

[Damon Howell]

Hello,
      The going philosophy of the stem wall is it has to be knee high  
to keep the cob walls from getting soaked from splashing rain, right?  
What do you think of starting the cob lower to the ground and adding,  
say, flagstone to the bottom part of the wall. Would the high stem  
wall be necessary even with a super wide eve on the roof?

Damon
N. GA