Over the last several weeks we have enjoyed getting to know some other homeschool families in the area. We try to meet once a week rotating homes with the intention of offering project based learning based on sustainable farming methods.
This morning we were invited to participate in building an earthen oven. The oven is really big, at least 3 feet in diameter and will be large enough for at least 8 loaves of bread. I'm already dreaming one up for our family to build!
I don't know enough about cob building to offer much technical detail so I will simply share what we did. Buckets of sand and clay where collected from around the property and dumped on a large tarps. A pile of straw was chopped and sprinkled on top as was a few splashes of water.
The volume was turned up on some good dancing music and the mixing and stomping began.
Once the right consistency was achieved bricks where kneaded and patted by hand then added to the base of the oven.
I am grateful for a little hands on (or foots on) experience and hope that we will be able to participate in further stages. For those who are local the family is offering workshops for the next three Fridays and you may contact me for details. And for those who interested but too far away this book was recommended as a must read on the subject.
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