The crew that can do it all. After two short months together, we as a group developed a very strong bond. Near the end of this internship we worked as though we were a single unit of a mudslingin adobe/cobb/ earthbag house making machine. Above is our last gathering before we all parted ways to begin a life filled with the knowledge of the wonderful experience that was and is Mama Roja. Although emotional, everyone managed to hold back the tears and express gratitude for the great opportunity. We had been through a lot together. teaching each other all sorts of great things from beer brewing to salsa dancing. I am so thankful for everyone here especially; Marcelo (for always being so excited to teach something and be challenged by the projects, big or small) Kim ( For her amazing ability to lead and accepting us all with such a gigantic heart) and of course Ashley (for being a great parnter in learning.)

Speaking of Ashley here she is knee deep in the earth mixture that would soon construct a sweet house.

Here I am Standing in the half dug hole that we made the mixture in. The hole digging and preperation of the earth substance for the building was one of the most difficult parts of this project because that clay is so damn heavy. This hole would eventually be about twice as deep as seen here.

These are the earth bags that acted as the foundation of the house. The posts are the primary supports for the walls as well as the roof. these posts were burried where we could dig and basically balanced into place where there was a huge rock preventing us from digging. At this point they are a little wabbly but later became very stable.

Filling earth bags with rocks dirt and a little bit of lime to help with moisture control.

Here im dusting off a post after a fine percision cut with a chainsaw

Fuastine is chizzling a space in the post to secure the beam that runs across the east wall of the house. After putting all the beams in and shoring everything up this structure was begining to look more like a stable house looking thing. This day was a great success for the three of us, (fuastine Marcelo and myself) While everyone else was working hard on seed saving. On a side note we all learned the utter importance of seed saving in order to promote diversity in agriculture and keep the control of seed in the hands of the farmers and not the super mega agro-firms.

here is the roof going on. Another triumphant step in the development of the house. Here I can give a special shout out to Earth Code who helped a great deal in this part of the project. They stayed with us for about a week and had all sorts of great insight and ideas about sustainabilty. I think its safe to say we all learned a little something from this dynamic duo. you can learn more about them @ www.earthcode.org . check it out they´re promoting a great message.

As seen here, the walls are beginning to take shape

So this is how we created the walls. First we started with a bunch of sticks and then moved to wire which proved to work much better. Then we wraped each tier starting at the bottom with what we were calling Chorizos. Basically its a sausage made of the earth mixture and dried grasses that we harvested from nearby. We found that Rye grass worked great for this step because it was soft and easy to work with.

Here is Ashley passing off a fine chorizo. Occationaly while making the wall we would all break into song and have a big ol´sing along ... well some of us anyways. Inbetween the chorizos and wire tiers we put salvaged windows and wine bottles to allow light in the structure and provide a bit of an artistic touch.

Here is the beautiful door that went in O so easily. and next to it is a little more of that artistic touch. This design was put on by ashley useing a little more straw and mud after the wall had been finished for a day or two. NICE!

Here is a shot of me right after getting two Cavities filled in Obera.
Im trying to give a full smile but the right side of my face is not working at all. Its also proof that I can grow a mustache and it only took me seven weeks

These next two picture are of a close to finished product. due to the immence amount of rain that we recieved in november we were not able to fully complete the house but we got dang close. Still to be done is the floor, the rest of the south wall on which we used Adobe bricks, the final plaster coat and then Paint. So i think it safe to say that we got 95% done. Im very excited to see pictures of when it gets done. This could also be an excuse for me to visit some time in the future to see the completed product in person

Over all we learned a great deal about construction out of the materials found right below our feet. Almost anywhere in the world there is some technique available for building with earth and sustainable materials. This building experience was also paired with a wealth of information about how and why to build in certian orientations and styles according to the sun and moisture and climate and more.

There is so much more that can be said about everything that has been shown here. I know that I will be digging deeper and searching farther for information on how to live in a sustainable way. building with earth is only a small part of the answer but a very important and easy substitute for the conventional ways.