A little over one year ago, I started building my first cob house. And simultaneously, I started The Year of Mud to document the entire building process. I have kept regular documentation going since I started designing my house, all the way through making an urbanite foundation, to building cob walls, constructing a reciprocal roof frame, and more recently, making a rocket stove and living sod roof.

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You can help spread awareness about cob building by helping The Year of Mud to continue to share cob building stories and information.

Cob building is a time-tested, sustainable natural building technique that can thrive in these times of increasing unease about the future. Cob houses can help promote a lower impact lifestyle and increased ecological awareness, and contribute to local community and culture.

Help The Year of Mud demonstrate sustainable building techniques and simple living by supporting this website’s efforts to share continuing examples of natural building.

Many have already been inspired, and many more can be motivated by examples of cob building:

Your blog is great! Of course, it’s making me incredibly impatient to get started on my own cob adventure. Thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences! – Robin

Can’t wait for more. I found this blog today and have just completed reading it. Whew! Thank you for the extreme detail. Very enjoyable. – Matt

You are living my dream! I have been wanting to build a cob house for five years, but one thing or another has always held me back. But reading your blog has been almost like doing it myself. – Knobbly

Your donation will help promote cob building and support The Year of Mud to continue to share cob building stories, how-to tutorials, documentation, and photos for my first cob house and future natural building projects.

Please take a moment now to support The Year of Mud in promoting and inspiring cob building methods and techniques. Your donation will go towards maintaining The Year of Mud website and future cob building projects.

No matter the amount, every contribution helps!

Yours truly,

Ziggy





You can also contribute by sending a check to:

Ziggy’s The Year of Mud
1 Dancing Rabbit Lane
Rutledge, MO 63563
USA

Thank you!

7 Comments

  • The Ecologist says:
    June 12, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    Wow as I explore the web and the world in search of all the shades of green building I find one inspiring endeavor after another…and this is certainly one of them. I hope this isn’t your last cob built house!
    Isaac
    http://www.builditgreenconcepts.com

  • Stan says:
    June 20, 2009 at 11:16 pm

    I think it is fantastic how we are using renewable energy and going green in so many ways. I’m not sure this house would be for everyone though. I do however think we need to do things like reducing our energy usage, things like installing geothermal heat pumps to replace high energy heating and cooling systems.

  • ziggy says:
    June 24, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Thanks, Isaac. I hope it’s not my last either!

    Stan: I agree, I don’t think everyone will (or even should) go out and build a cob house. Although I would like to see all different types and styles of natural building being practiced more, since I don’t think conventional construction is sustainable. Different techniques are best suited to different regions, and I hope that over time people will begin to relearn more natural ways of building.

  • Linda Lindberg says:
    August 30, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    Hi Brian, I am doing a story for our newspaper about a local family building a cob house. I would also like to use some of the information from your many sites on the internet. Could I use the information if I give credit to you? You are asking people to spread the word and that is just what I am going to do. Thanks.

  • Roofus says:
    November 21, 2009 at 9:00 am

    Ziggy, let me tell you what, I’ve been reading this for a while now and I’m INSPIRED, man. You’ve done beautiful work, I would LOVE to build something like this.

  • ziggy says:
    November 22, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks, Roofus!

  • preethi says:
    February 13, 2010 at 10:53 am

    Hi
    Need some information on cob work. Can anyone help? My house in india is built using laterite stones as it rains heavily there. However, I wish to have a cob house interior. When I’m indoors, i want to feel like i’m liviing in a cob house. So far I’ve not used concrete in this structure. It’s just laterite, wood and terracotta tiles. Is it possible to plaster the walls with mud and get the same feel of a cob house inside? By teh way, i’m not an architect but am very very fascinated by cob work.

    Pls help

    Preethi