Cobbing continues, and pergola goes up.

Once you begin building a cob wall, you can't stop for more than a few days, or the wall will begin to dry out, and you will have a hard time getting the "lifts" (as each new layer of mud is called), to merge into one cohesive cob wall. So, our life has begun to revolve around stomping straw into mud, and applying it to the ever growing walls.

Ali has even perfected the art of talking on his faithful phone while he stomps.






The walls are reinforced vertically by re-bar and horizontally by a black mesh which is added every 450mm. This mesh is kept straight and tight with steel bodkins threaded through the mesh.










We have found it best to have four people working on stomping, two on each tarp with a batch of mud. As the straw is added it is stomped and turned using the tarp.










Another batch of the clay / straw mix ready to apply to the walls.














Here Woofer Mel from Canada places a "brick" she has formed from the clay/straw mix and placed it on the wall forming part of the next lift.













We are using string lines to keep us building straight. The clay mix stays pliable for a few days so you can move it slightly if necessary.











The re-bar are joined as you move up the wall, at the top they are bolted into a big wooden beam which circles the room and holds everything in place.



















Before the re-bar were joined, the next two layers of mesh were put in place. Ali is holding them up with his hand as he works on the re-bar joiner.









As well as the cob walls going up, Richard and his men have been working on the pergola on the cob cottage also. Here Oyvind and Caleb carry the timbers needed for the work.









Richard prepares the telephone poles for their new role of holding up the pergola.














Caleb assists Jarred with placing each new piece of timber.












The pergola had been Jarred's project, and you can see the look of satisfaction in his eyes once it was all done.











As the hand made furniture for the Earth House has arrived from the joiner, Oyvind has faithfully oiled it, bringing it alive with colour and warmth. Here he is working on the shelf which will hold the television, and bedside tables. Even the toilet roll holder gets the royal treatment.