Housing Coop

We got together with our friends for the second 'session' of our housing coop. It was our friends turn to choose the type of house we tried our hands at making. In combination with the world expo and their study of Madagascar we built a mud house. Well, truth be told a mud house contains much more than mud! We combined mud, clay, sand and horse manure (nice and fresh!) A frame was built out of fresh branches, a whole dug in the ground and it was mixed. Depending on their varying bravery, they set to the mixing with hands, gloves on and off, or sticks. I am sure you can imagine the jokes that we were treated too during the process.

After the right mixture was obtained we made a wall around frame. Bricks were also made, some using their hands and some in ice cube trays.

We returned a week later (which contained many rainy days) to play and check on the creations. To my surprise the hut held up fabulously in the rain, it look the same as the day we built it. We talked about the strength of the hut, the composition being biodegradable, perfect for a nomadic people. The herding lifestyle lending itself to lots of dung for construction. It was another interesting project.