Mud Home News, May 2024
My New One-Off Live Workshop in Romania! Plus an Unusual Earthbag Feature, Rubbish and Susty Building, and Korean Cordwood.
Hello dear Mudsters,
This month is a very exciting one for me, as it heralds the first live workshop I’ve run since 2016. For too long, I’ve wanted to share my experience first hand, because nothing quite compares to getting your hands dirty, and playing with clay. There is definitely a solid barrier (earthbag wall?) between reading or watching a Youtube video about mud building, versus actually experiencing how easy it is just to grab some dirt and turn it into a structure. A workshop is the perfect way to break through that roadblock. After that, the sky is the limit really.
So without further ado, this summer I invite you all to a special one-off clay plaster workshop in the magical hills of Romania. Transylvania no less!
My Special Four Day Clay Plaster Workshop in Romania
July 11th - 16th 2024, Baile Chirui (Transylvania) Romania.
Earth plaster, or clay plaster is one of the most useful and satisfying skills you can learn. When you've understood how each material in the plaster works, you'll be also able to:
Plaster a home naturally.
Make simple earth/cob structures like cob ovens and hen coops.
Use mud as mortar.
Render a stone/brick/breeze block wall.
Create a daub for wattle and daub structures.
Create beautiful clay plaster sculptures.
…plus a whole lot more. For all the muddy details click the link below.
There are only 10 places, so don’t hang about!
An Unusual Earthbag Feature
Jim and Jess of Our Self-Reliant Life have built this incredible outdoor bar from earthbag. It was a practice run for a bigger build, but it’s a fantastic project in and of itself. In this video they do a quick walkthrough of the process, including a great explanation of how to make an arch.
Off-Grid Rubbish and Sustainable Building
There are so many facets to the “problem” of trash: building with it, reusing it, what about recycling? How to deal with garbage when you’re off-grid in nature? How to reduce it? Because heck, as a species we have a real problem with the stuff. As with all these environmental issues, we also have piles of judgement that tower far higher than the actual garbage dumps themselves. It’s unhelpful because there’s no simple answer (other than stop buying stuff), and many many subtleties to consider.
Here’s what I’m doing with my rubbish. Roll on the judgement:) It’s complex, so stay alert.
Korean Cordwood Soil Houses
These soil houses, often called “cobwood” in the West, are traditional peasant homes that dot the Korean countryside. The homes are made completely of soil, but now builders are using cordwood rounds in the walls for structural stability. Richard Flatau explains how he discovered these houses, and what he has learned about how they are built.
https://cordwoodconstruction.org/korean-cordwood-cobwood-soil-houses
Thanks for being a beautiful part of The Mud Home project. If you love this newsletter, do share it!
Very best wishes,
Atulya K Bingham