Cob: How do folks... and community

[Michael Crumpton]

> On Thu, 26 Aug 1999, John Schinnerer wrote:
> 
>> The most important thing in my opinion is to take a long hard look at "the
>> demands of everyday life" and act to change them so that this becomes less
>> and less of an issue.  It's only been an issue for a small part of the
>> population for a few hundred years out of human history...let's start
>> turning it around before it gets any worse!
>
> True. Funny how it seems a problem that building a cob house would take a
> couple years of full time labour. People spend 20+ years of full time
> labour just paying for their crummy innorganic boxes they live in.
>
> Of course, most people are already caught up in the rat-race and only have
> the choice of pouring their hard-earned cash into rent or into a morgage
> on a conventional home. If I was in that situation, and let's say I had a
> familly too, my strategy would be to try and make it as much a communal
> effort as possible. I guess you could say I'd start a club.  The club
> could fundraise, buy some land, and build.
>
> So the question has become a more general one of how do people find time
> to do things like be in a club AND work full time, AND raise a familly.
> The answer, I guess, is to not watch TV and join a club your familly can
> join too. > Anthony Glaser
> aglaser at engsoc.carleton.ca


I think that Tony gets right to the heart of the problem. The problem with
cob is not mechanical but social.

 I think that 1st world economies tend to encourage people to isolate and do
it all themselves, and avoid making connections with others. All you have to
do is look at the highways in Southern California during rush hour, filled
with misesrable people, each in their own 2500lb coccon, pissed off at all
the other people that are making their commute so long.

If the norm were to have real community with the people you lived around,
barnraisings (straw, cob, papercrete...) would be the way homebuilding was
handled. After all if you had 30 people working on a cob house you could
make a palace in 8 weekends, while still keeping your dayjob, and of course
you would be living with your neighbors/friends (after all anyone who would
build you a house for free has got to be a friend) for the 2 months that you
were building.


Michael

-----------------------------------
Where there is communication there is peace
www.microcolor-inc.com
mcrumpton at earthlink.net
fax:(707) 516-3879
Voice:(909)683-8362
Michael Crumpton
1159 Athena Court
Riverside CA 92507

 "The United Nations' Hunger Care Project says someone dies
of hunger somewhere in the world every 3.6 seconds. The Hunger
Site http://www.thehungersite.com makes it easy to help...
simply click on the Donate Free Food button and a serving of
rice, wheat, maize or other food will be donated on your behalf.
The food is paid for by corporate sponsors who get advertising
on the site.