Mud Home News, July 2024
Australia Workshop Details, Sustainable Building, Rammed Earth, And Off-Grid in Wales.
Well, I’m having a beautiful time here in Transylvania throwing and crafting mud, and sharing some pretty indispensible skills. I love being in other peoples’ lands and hearing them speak. This place has such a peaceful, kind and supportive energy.
Before I move onto July’s copious offerings of information and inspiration, I’d like to mention my planned workshops in Southern Australia this October and November at D’Annie’s Farm.
25th- 29th October: Earthbag Building Workshop.
1st-4th November: Cob and Clay Plaster Workshop.
These workshops can only go ahead if enough people sign up in advance, so if you are interested, please do sign up quite soon. The last date for the early bird price is 21st of August 2024 by which time we'll be clear if we have enough people.
I very much hope to see some of you there!
How to Bring Nature into an Interior
Nature is the ultimate calm and inspiration, and I find it the best way to turn a home into a sanctuary. I was recently asked to join a panel of experts discussing how to bring nature into an interior. There are many many ways to do this. If you are in a "normal" house, you may find some of these tips useful.
Sustainable Building: What Is It? What Isn't It? And Is It Even Viable?
In the West we live in a world high on judgement, and low on deep common sense. The result is a kind of paralysis towards environmental issues. People simply give up because hey, nothing is perfect, and everything apparently wrecks the environment in one way or another, and the eco version always costs fifty percent more.
So this month I’ve decided to delve into sustainability a bit, and hopefully offer some alternative ways of approaching or reviving the issue. Because as Caroline Till points out in this Dezeen article, companies are starting to pull the plug on sustainability funding.
“The balances are tricky. How can we remain vigilant to greenwashing while not demanding unrealistic perfection?” she asks. Yes. Good point.
Maybe it’s the hours of watching clay plaster dry, or avidly staring at cabbages waiting for them to grow, but I’m a believer in increments. Taking a small step in what looks to be the right direction is better than just standing lamely on the spot and being dragged backwards by other forces. Almost everything is made up of increments in this world. Even volcanic eruptions happen after years of daily buildup below the surface. So, while my own comment (see below) on this subject might not help sustainability lawmakers, it might help us as individuals to navigate the warrens of eco choices and feel a lot less paralyzed.
Off-Grid Couple Live the Good Life in the Welsh Woodlands
Picture having a beautiful, cosy home nestled amongst fifteen acres of fairytale forest. Now imagine having monthly living costs of less than £25 in the UK. Does that seem impossible?
Mathew Plumb and Lauren Youngs have proven that it’s not only possible, it’s a happy and fulfilling life. Along with their cat, four pigs, and twenty chickens, Mathew and Lauren spend their days working on their natural building projects, and enjoying the fact that they don’t have to commute to an office every day to afford the kind of freedoms that most people only dream of.
WalesOnline has an in-depth look at Mathew and Lauren’s off-grid life in rural Wales.
Is Rammed Earth the Right Choice for You?
If you’re trying to decide on a natural building technique, rammed earth is definitely something to consider. In this short video, Natalie Bogwalker discusses the pros and cons of using rammed earth for natural building, helping you make an informed choice about whether this is the right technique for your building project.
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Atulya K Bingham