The Sociable Weavers (Philetairus socius) build these incredible communal nests one straw at a time using a technique called thatching.
Category: building
Earthen Buildings are much more durable than we think
Chinese Tulous were built centuries ago and are made of rammed earth, a natural building technique. Time to reevaluate building practices.
Final part of the West Coast trip
After Sebastopol, we stopped over at Emerald Earth for the night and had some good conversations and even better dinner. It was our first night sleeping in a natural home. How amazing it was, not a single foul chemical to be perceived. When we got there it felt like we were in the middle of…
Emerald Earth Natural Building Intensive
Ever since I found out about natural building, I realized it was something I just had to get into. Having been in and out of the ceramics world for over two decades now, it seemed a natural progression to sculpt homes. If you have never been in a passive solar designed natural home, I highly…
Book Shelf: The Hand Sculpted House
I got this book in preparation for a week long natural building workshop I’ll be attending in early August. This is written by pioneers of the American cob renaissance Ianto Evans, Michael G. Smith, and Linda Smiley. Just getting into the meat of it, but could not help but post about it. So far it’s…
Cool Home Design
We’ve been busy here at home. Friends from Israel dropped by for a stay. They have been traveling all over the US. One of the stops they made was at Natural Spaces Domes. They are a Minnesota based Geodesic Dome Home design family business. After talking with the family, my friends decided to make one…