Tag Archives: cob

The Year of Mud: Building a Cob House by Brian “Ziggy” Liloia

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Michael Janzen

Brian “Ziggy” Liloia just finished a book documenting the process of building his tiny cob house at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. The book is titled The Year of Mud: Building a Cob House. Ziggy began construction in April of 2008 and moved in on … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged book, brian liloia, cob, dancing rabbit ecovillage, The Year of Mud, ziggy | Leave a comment

Work Exchange Opportunity at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Michael Janzen

Ziggy (Brian Liloia) let me know about an upcoming work exchange opportunity coming this summer at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Ziggy and a few others are building a 350 square foot cooperative kitchen. It will be built with a roundwood timber … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement | Tagged cob, dancing rabbit ecovillage, straw bale, timber frame, work exchange | Leave a comment

Hybrid Cob/Earthship Workshop in October

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Michael Janzen

David Reed will be hosting an intensive 10-day cob/earthship workshop in Hempstead, Texas starting October 1, 2010. The workshop will show you everything you need to know about building your own cob home. Participants should plan on bringing their own accommodations … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement | Tagged cob, David Reed, Earthship, New Jura Natural Building, texas, workshop | Leave a comment

Sustainable Architecture – Metal Boxes vs Earthen

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Michael Janzen

This post was sparked by a comment from Steve, one of my long-time readers. In a nutshell, he suggested that people would be much better off living in handmade homes than living in machine-made prefabs. Like most people, modern prefab … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged adobe, cob, earthbag, LEED, prefab, rammed earth, sustainable architecture | 17 Comments

Living like it’s 2050 – Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Michael Janzen

The folks at fair companies have been making a lot of great videos that focus on sustainability and simple living. This video was filmed in North Carolina at the Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute, which is dedicated to exploring ways modern humans can … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged cob, fair companies, North Carolina, Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute, Tim Toben, Transition Town Movement, Yomes | 5 Comments

Earthbag Daydream

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Michael Janzen

When I first read about Ryo Chijiiwa’s tiny cabin on Tiny House Blog I was fascinated by the adventure this fellow was on. He quit his job at Google, traveled America, and is now working to setup a more comfortable … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Concept | Tagged adobe, cob, composting toilet, daydream, earthbag, humanure, Joseph Jenkins, Laptop and a Rifle, rammed earth, Ryo Chijiiwa, sawdust toilet, tiny house blog | 6 Comments

World Hands Project – Pallet Houses in Mexico

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Michael Janzen

While the World Hands Project is currently going through internal re-organization I was happy to find that during past workshops they’ve helped people down in Mexico build some simple homes from shipping pallets. Instead of using some kind of manufactured insulation … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanitarian | Tagged cob, Humanitarian, mexico, pallet house, pallets, shipping pallets, sustainable architecture, Workshops, world hands project | 5 Comments

A Cob House You Can Build

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Ziggy’s cob house at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is complete. He’s also posted a lot of detailed information about the construction process, cost, and sweat-equity required to build such a house on his Building a cob house blog. The house … Continue reading →

Posted in How To | Tagged adobe, cob, cob house, dancing rabbit, dancing rabbit ecovillage, dirt, earthen, ecovillage, reciprocal roof, rocket stove, sust, sustainable architecture, ziggy | Leave a comment

How To Build Rammed Earth Walls

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I was contacted recently by Michael Thompson a fellow I follow on Twitter, and a self-taught rammed earth expert. He and I share a passion for low-cost building techniques. He asked me to do him a favor and whip up … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged adobe, cob, dirt, earthen, form, michael thompson, norfolk, rammed earth, rammed earth former, uk | 6 Comments

See these eco-pods at the Water Woman Festival

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I was recently contacted by Ray Cirino who is the creator of these clever little eco-pods. There are actually three styles but this little one is my favorite. He builds them from mostly recycled and reclaimed building materials including old … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged cob, eco pods, ray cirino, reclaimed material, recycle, reuse, sustainable architecture, tiny pod, tree house, water woman | 2 Comments