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Choose from the
Natural Building Experience, A Day in the Woods, Deadwood Screens,
Wattle and Daub, Intro to using Lime, Clay Selfies, Greenwood in
Building, Off-grid Compost Toilets ...
Fraser applying daub to hazel wattle
Human powered daub mixing!
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That Lightbulb Moment 9.7.2018
I love my work. There’s
something very special about the people I work for and with. Just
recently I had the privilege of coaching two surveyors from Smithers
Purslow in vernacular construction skills.
Like for Like
Fraser and Zoe had come to
assess the progress of the ‘like for like’ wattle and daub
reinstatement that I was working on, but ended up ‘having a go’.
Using human energy
I’d spread my tarpaulin out
with a careful blend of best Suffolk Boulder clay and reconstituted 600
year old daub. On the pile of mud I’d sprinkled handfuls of straw. What
happens next is called ‘the tarpaulin method’. Fraser was pre-warned
and had brought his wellingtons.
Mud sticks
Sporting a big grin Fraser
jumped onto mud and straw and used his feet to mix the materials
together. It was stickier than expected! A word of caution is needed
here. Clay is both slippery and sticks to everything! Boots rapidly
turn into ten league anchors. It is lots of fun and a great green gym
activity.
Moments later ...
And so it was that Fraser
reached down to reduce the weight of his clod-hopping foot wear. Still
with a look of delight he stood up and in his hands was the nicest lump
of vintage daub. In those few moments of stomping the mud and
straw had been transformed into building material.
Transformation
That is the light bulb moment
that I see time and time again, and it is a joy to facilitate:)
It’s the moment when the
simplicity of the materials shines through. It’s that moment when what
looks like waste material is transformed into a natural and low impact
building material with deep green credentials.
A change of perception
However it’s not just the
physical conversion of materials at work here. What follows is a major
shift in perception. This is a building material directly from the
landscape. Historically it was harvested from the site that it was then
built on. And when its life as a building was over it returned to the
earth and left no trace!
And here we are! Reinstating daub in a timber frame house dating back to the 1400s.Transformation on many levels!
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