I want to live in a mud home!
Cob is a mixture of straw, sand, earth and water. This malleable clay-like substance has been an energy efficient and earth-friendly building material since ancient times. Heated benches, fire places, ovens, even entire homes can be built from cob, and for very little money.
Picture by neil-san on Flickr, some rights reserved.
Building With Cob
Go ahead, play in the mud!
Cob homes can be built in almost any climate, and the technique is fairly simple to learn. It is an attractive material that looks very similar to adobe. It lends itself to creativity and many homebuilders choose to add personal touches such as built-in shelves, nooks and seating.
The shapes of the houses are anything but the usual. Preferring to curve and avoiding right angles, the walls of cob homes often meander in circular, organic forms. Cob building has a reputation for being somewhat addictive. Builders often find themselves unable to stop adding on to their homes and projects. (Consider yourself warned!)
writing desk
This cob house was built by a guy named Ian
funky doorway to cob home
a fabulous cob house on Mayne island
2nd floor bedroom
living room
Cob Rose Bench
Cob Bench - Portland, Oregon
Cob Bench Tree Trunks
Cob Oven - The Canelo Project, Arizona
Find a cob workshop!
Information about upcoming cob workshops and even apprenticeships can be found at cobworkshops.org
Here are a few more great cob and natural building resources:
Cob Together
Seven Generations Natural Building
House Alive
Yestermorrow
Green Home Building
(highly recommend this one)
Kleinwerks Natural Building
Would you live in a cob house?
My favorite cob building book
The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage: The Real Goods Solar Living Book
Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 12/02/2008) 
Wikipedia: Cob
Cob is a building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe. Cob is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity, and inexpensive . It can be used to create artistic, sculptural forms and has been revived in recent years by the natural building and sustainability movements.
Are you a TreeHugger?
treehugger.com (I love this site)
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byOther great books about Natural Building
Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/02/2008)
Building With Cob: A Step-by-step Guide
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $29.70 (as of 12/02/2008)
The Good House Book: A Common-Sense Guide to Alternative Homebuilding Solar * Straw Bale * Cob * Adobe * Earth Plaster * & More (A Natural Home Book)
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $15.64 (as of 12/02/2008)
New Igo GREEN Tip of the Day
Have thoughts on natural building?
Have you been to a workshop? Are you planning to go to a workshop? Are you a natural builder daydreamer? Do you scrach out fantasy cob home designs on scraps of paper? I'd love to hear from you!
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