[Cob] Tropical Cob

[Aurora Levins Morales]

Hi folks--
	I'm brand new, and have been silently reading for a while. 
My brother and I want to build a cob house on our land in Puerto 
Rico, where there's lots of clay, sand has to be purchased, and the 
most abundant local plant fiber is from banana plants.  Bananas are 
related to jute, so stalk fiber should work, but it would be great to 
know if anyone's tried other fibers besides actual straw, which is 
not easy to get in the mountains of Puerto Rico.
	It's clear from reading other posts that we need a raised 
foundation and big eaves to cope with the heavy rain and high general 
humidity.  Fortunately, our childhood house was built on a six foot 
thick slab of cement, and if we dig out around it, we should be able 
to keep water running away from the house. We also have bamboo and 
some Honduran pine on the land.  Any other thoughts about tropical 
construction?
	Thanks, Aurora
-- 
Aurora Levins Morales, Ph. D.
2425 California Street. #6
Berkeley, CA 94703
510-540-1262
510-717-3189 cell
510-540-0165 fax
aurora at historica.us