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

[Mark Piepkorn]

I posted a quickly-assembled temporary page of digital snaps with half-done 
captions from the Colloquium. The film shots haven't been processed yet. 
Eventually it will be expanded and spread out over a few pages in 
consideration of low-speed connections. Thinking back, I don't think I got 
any pictures of Ed, one of my favorite people in the natural building 
movement. I hope Sarah did. There are a couple shots with Ianto in 'em.

http://www.potkettleblack.com/natbild/nbce04.html

I second Ed's sentiments below.


Mark


At 10:12 PM 7/4/2004, Raduazo at aol.com wrote:
>     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