Cob: cob philosophy

[John Fordice]

To all on the list,

Here is something I posted in 1998.
It's still relevant in the light of the recent Coblist wrangling about
the new Cob Book (  which I eagerly look forward to reading ).
Ianto and Linda have done a lot to open my eyes & for that I thank them.
However, in my analysis of the way the world works, there are some
things in the view they espouse to which I cannot subscribe.

This is that 1998 writing.
It's basically a discussion of some implications of the "purist" cob philosophy.

...............................
.......has reminded me of a certain philosophy re cob that I find
troublesome. 

Specifically that of: low cost as the "ideal" ethic of a "correct" cob 
culture. 

Each of us is in an economic reality - some folks have less $ ( either
by 
choice or circumstance ) and some folks have more. These are realities
of our 
personal lives & we are faced with either living within our economic
means or 
changing them ( having access to more $). 

I am pleased when I hear of someone creating a low cost cob building
based (in 
part) on using low cost or no cost recycled materials. Getting free of
the 
economic burdens of modern life is a noble thing. 
However it bothers me when this use of recycled, reused, rejected or
cast off 
materials is touted as somehow freeing us from the "evils" of modern 
industrial production and thereby making the us more "correct" than we
might 
otherwise be. 
I am troubled by this for two reasons: 

1. It ignores the fact that for these cast off materials to be available
to us 
they still had to be manufactured by someone. And if the materials are
low/no 
cost because they are industrial seconds, that simply means that another
unit 
of the same industrial product that was not a second was produced to
take its 
place ( a gain for you, but an additional loss for the planet). Only a 
recycling that reduces pollution , unnecessary transportation or
wasteful 
original manufacturing has real benefit to the larger world. I mean,
recycle 
& reuse as much as you can - just don't hold it up to be more than the
personal 
bargain that it is (if that's all that it really is). It's important to
be 
brutally honest with ourselves on this - no delusions are needed - we
have 
enough of those already. 

2. This bothers me even more - the idea that removing cob from the
economic 
mainstream is a superior goal. Again, if you can get free from modern 
economic madness by all means do so. Its just that there is a WHOLE
WORLD 
of people for whom that is not reality. For cob to be effective in the
lives 
of most people it (cob) must find a way to fit into the mainstream
patterns of 
economic life. To say that cob must be in a non money world as much as
any 
honest cobber can stand is selling us all short. We as cobbers need to
work 
on all fronts. If we see cob as limited to only a frugal & humble being
then 
we are marginalizing ourselves and cob into a position that will keep us
on 
the fringe. Again - the fringe is fine if that's where you personally
want to 
be - its just that the fringe is just that, the fringe. But if we truly
want to 
change the beast we must strike at its heart & like it or not - being
able to 
have an economic impact on the lives of people will do that in a way
that the 
economic and cultural margin cannot do. 

please think on this - 
regards 
john fordice 
THE COB CODE PROJECT