Mud Home News, November 2024
Mud in the Outback, My Next Workshop in Bulgaria, Palette Cob, and Smart Watering.
What an incredible month this has been! I arrived in South Australia one starlit night at the back end of October. A little lady picked me up from the airport. She clutched a lump of mud in one hand, and a witch’s hat in the other. I was so sleep-deprived and disoriented, I didn’t work out the connection until the next day: Dirt Witch!
I’ve spent well over three weeks in D’Annie’s incredible off-grid world. What an adventure! This is a remarkable project, an earthbag farm huddled in the heart of the Aussie bush with mallee trees, blue bush and acacias stretching as far as the eye can see. There’s so much wildlife around, most days I feel I’m on safari. But more on that at month’s end. You see, I came here for a reason: a clay plaster, cob, and adobe workshop.
On November 1st, seven beautiful people rolled through the red dust up to D’Annie’s farm. Each was quite different from the others, and yet as is so often the case with mud building, in a matter of four days we were all bonded by mud. Friendships were cemented. Alliances forged. It’s one of the great joys of natural building workshops, and everyone has gone away inspired and galvanised to create something that suits them with the skills learned. Here are a few photos from that unforgettable course.
My Next Workshop: Bulgaria, May 2025
While we’re on the subject, mark it in your calendars — my next natural building workshop will be in Bulgaria, 23 - 26 May 2024! This will be an exciting four-day event including wattle and daub, natural renders, and traditional mud brick restoration. Tickets will go on sale shortly, so keep your eyes peeled.
Palette and Daub?
I love wattle and daub and find it to be one of the easiest natural building techniques, once you have learned how to make a great daub and finishing plaster. Here’s an interesting take on this method, utilising palettes instead of weaving a fence of wattles together. We’ll be creating something a little similar in the workshop in Bulgaria.
Smart Watering Systems (and How to Set One Up)
It’s so hard to transmit to people who’ve never lived off-grid just how important water is. Sometimes it seems they think of everything except water! Having a water source is fundamental, and engineering proper access to said water is just as important. “Oh I’ll just pump it from the stream,” people will say. Yeah...I’ll wait until I see it myself. It’s usually not that simple.
You can do nothing without water: washing, cooking, building, and finally growing food. This is where 90% of your water will go. So you’d be really really smart to set up a watering system from the get-go, just like Annie did here (though possibly not quite as massive:).
Annie’s Very Smart Watering System
D’Annie’s farm is one of the most impressive and innovative small off-grid homesteads I’ve ever seen. This is mostly a one-woman show, and I’ve learned a few things from Annie. One thing I will never ever do again is try to water things by hand. Annie’s watering system is so brilliantly constructed, she is managing to grow a … polytunnel of food, a figery, a food forest, and multiple massive gardens in the middle of what is practically a desert. She does this by clever use of timed watering systems, smart planting, a deep love of plants, and some decent mulching. Having seen what she has achieved, I’m sold.
Want more natural building info?
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For paid subscribers and patrons, November’s Mud Home Podcast includes a very interesting interview with Annie.
Annie should be on TV to be honest, but she likes her privacy, so it’s a real priviledge to be able to speak to her.
Why did a suburban woman who had never built anything, suddenly move off-grid to the sticks?
Once she made the decision, how did everything magically manifest?
How did Annie find this magical piece of land?
Is Annie completely alone here?
How did she build a 400m2 earthbag kitchen almost single handedly (with no experience)?
How did her plans completely change once she listened to the land?
What strategies am I going to copy from Annie?
How has Annie managed to create an oasis in the desert?
What is a mallee tree, and how does it help Annie?
What does Annie love most about her new life?
Why are some people overwhelmed when they come out here?
How has The Mud Home community helped Annie?