What is cob?   
St. Thomas Anglican Church in Shanty Bay, Ontario. Built with cob in 1839
 
Earth is universally and easily available. It has been used a a building material throughout history and in most cultures around the world.  
 
 
Ancient cob building in Devon, England. Inhabited since 1539		 Cob building is a form of earth architecture and was for centuries a staple of British and Western European home architecture.
 
 
 
Cob was used as a building material in Canada  by early immigrants from the British Isles.  

As recently as the great depression of the 1930's, cob was promoted by the Roosevelt administration. It was subsequently subverted by powerful lumber barons who smeared it as Bolshevik inspired.  Earth archecture became another casualty of the cold war. 

  
Cob home near Toronto, Ontario.
Built in 1827
 
 
The tradition of earth building is again enjoying a revival in Europe and North America. 
 
 
Contemporary English cob home.
 		 People from all backgrounds are looking for building methods which place the highest value on social and ecological sustainablity.cob buildings meet these standards.
 
It is an easy to learn technique based on locally available resources using a mixture of clay, sand, straw and water to build the walls. Cob earthen walls are extremely durable, lasting for centuries, and create no pollution or disposal problems for future generations. Cob structures are well suited to a variety of temperate climates. 

They can withstand earthquakes, won't catch fire, are energy efficient and inexpensive to build.
 
Clay, sand and straw is mixed by foot on a tarp or with a cement mixer to speed up the process. Clay acts as the glue, sand hardens the structure, and the straw works like rebar to give the walls tensile strength.
 
Cob is Mixed into a dough like consistency, and then placed  onto the walls up to two foot thick and worked in to create a monolithic wall structure. No forms are used, allowing the builder to create any shape desired. Think of cob building as house sculpting. Typically contemporary cob has beautiful curvilinear walls and many sculptural details.
 
The process of cob building is loads of fun. Allow your inner child out to play in the mud.  
Not surprisingly, many cob builders experience a personal transformation.		 Cob building releases our creativity and 
the easy-to-learn technique is personally empowering. It demonstrates that most people can easily acquire the skills needed to build a home.		  
Cob massage studio, Oregon. built in 1996
 
Interest in cob and other forms of natural building is growing.  The Down To Earth Building Bee is helping to make earth architecture more accessible to the public through educational outreach and through our summer workparty program.