Anne's story
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Two
women, Becky and Caroline showed slides of homes that had been built by women.
Caroline continued, showing slides from the Beijing Conference while discussing
the design and practicality of the complex constructed for that particular
Conference.
What
a way to begin the women’s cob building workshop—with slides of women
builders, their homes and a feminine perspective on the design of a major
complex.
On
the cob building site we found the footings in place and cobbing materials at
the ready. Building was the task at hand, this included making mixes of cob and
adding the mix to the wall—hands and feet became the formwork.
As
the height grew, timbers were cobbed into the wall to take the weight of a plant
propagation bench.
Door
and window frames were built on-site and cobbed into position. The cob was
sculpted out from the walls for seating, and moulded to fit the female shape.
A
fireplace was included to heat the garden shed; alcoves and a wood box were
added; coloured glass was strategically placed to draw colour and light into the
room.
Each
day included time to build, followed by a detailed look at building use and
design, rendering walls, materials suited for earth construction, site selection
and building specifications.
© Earthwise Women and the author (reproduced here with consent)