Our Natural Building Course

The first time I stepped onto a tarp full of mud, sand and straw to mix "cob" with my bare feet was a memorable moment.  I was flooded with energy and joy, and I remember thinking, "If I ever have children, I wish to do this with them".  Since then, life has taken me in many directions, and I am blessed with three beautiful children.  As a mother in this time of technology, I find myself often wishing that I had more meaningful, practical, and earthy work to do with my kids. There is something magical and medicinal about working directly with the earth.  I feel it when I garden, and I have felt it when working with natural building materials.

I believe that when people become more viscerally connected to the Earth, they instinctually wish to live their lives in a more ecological and reverant way. This is one of the ways that we can counteract the environmental destruction that we are witnessing on a massive scale. I hope to empower people to build with natural materials, through teaching classes to both adults and children. I also plan to utilize natural building as a livelihood, specifically by building earthen ovens and beautiful garden benches and walls.

This summer there is a natural building course being offered in Oregon by  Conrad Rogue.   The course will train us to build our own cob cottage, earthen oven, garden walls, and to even teach a one day course of our own.  Children are welcome to attend and participate, and I have decided that Isaiah is old enough (he will turn eight the day after the workshop ends) to really jump in and learn with me. I feel that it would give him so much confidence to learn some of these skills and to be able to share them with others.  When we return, we plan to offer at least one course, free of charge, to share what we have learned and give it back to our community. 

There is so much uncertainty in the world right now. But the earth is here, beneath our feet and all around us, asking us to take notice and connect.  Nature has a wisdom that can guide us to live in harmony with ourselves and with all of Life.  I wish to offer joyful, simple solutions to the bigger question of how to live in harmony on this planet, and I wish to involve my children in this process. We will be so grateful to be able to attend this course and learn the ancient art of natural building.  And we will be very excited to return and share it with all of you!

Here is a link to the House Alive! website, where you can find the course description in greater detail: http://www.housealive.org/complete-cob-and-natural-building

The funds we raise will pay for our tuition and travel expenses to and from the course. 

We will be thankful for every donation, no matter how small! 

With gratitude,
Sara and Isaiah