The Social Effects of Natural Building

by Ianto Evans

licen years ago, the word cob went only with corn.Natural Building was a term seldom heard. In thepast five years, as both concepts have been incorpo-rated into the language, WChave all had the opportunity toretlcct on what it is we’re really doing. The popularity ofNatural Building, and the ease with which it grips people’simagination (cob especially), is surprisingly powerful, farmore than one might expect. Thousands of people are nowinvolved, from sheer aficionados and workshop groupiesthrough contractors and full-time specialists in construc-tionAlmost universally, they show enthusiasm far beyondthe purely rational. I have heard it said that cob building is“a mission.”A recent article in many newspapers calledLinda and myself “evangelists.” Recent “converts” toNatural Building sometimes describe themselves as “bornagains” who feel enlightened by the experience. It couldseem that there’s a danger of a simple construction tech-niquc becoming a religion.What have we started? Why does it have such wideappeal‘? What is the magic in all this, and what will bc thelikely results? It stems obvious that this is not just aboutsubstituting mud for studs. It’s not the technical part thatfascinates us, so what deeper ribs are being tickled’?The success of cob owes a lot to the strawbale move-ment. The idea of living in a house made of horse beddinghrokc entrenched stereotypes, and the sight of or photos ofbuildings not rigidly rectilmear, with thick walls and natu-ral lighting, owner-built without complex skills at poten-tially rock bottom prices, all opened mental doors. If yotican build your own bale house for $15.000 in a weekendwith fifty friends, then anything may be possible Sadly, asindustry and government regulation intrude into the pro-cess, many of the latest strawbale buildings have revertedto being unimaginative giant boxes costing as much as aframe house. Would-be natural builders are often optingforcob, and with it structural stonework,roundwoodbeams,earthen floors and plasters and the relaxed curvilinearshapes that natural geometries prescribe.As the American dream home becomes a toxic,unaffordable nightmare, the discovery of cob buildingoffers many people a vision of sanity and a snug affordablehome. Magical houses are central to our search for truequality of life, so many new natural builders are able to shedindustrially promoted habits they have become increas-ingly dissatisfied with. They throw out the TV, quit theirawful job, pull their kids out of public school, and reformtheir diets. They lose weight. look more relaxed, and stopworrying whether the bank will repossess their dwelling.Natural building is often the first step to escaping theshallowness, drudgery and lies that our society promotes.But am I painting a picture of mere middle classsmugness, a selfish elite superciliously gloating while theless fortunate get ill from toxic house syndrome? Whatabout the rest of the country, the other 96% of worldcitizens, and how will the good life for these few translateinto the survival of our descendants? Are we addressingplanet-wide extinctions, the ozone layer, nuclear war, orrising sea levels? How exactly do our own housing choicesin 2001 affect the big picture? If the ship is sinking, asappears likely to many of us, does carefully furnishing thelifeboats make things betteror worse? To help answer theseessential questions, let’s look at how Industrial Consumer-ism worksandourownpartinit, then we’llevaluate theroleof cob houses in slowing down the catastrophe that sur-rounds us.Whatgovemssocietyasweknowit?Primarily,money.We live in a dollar democracy. Each dollar spent is a votefor destruction; every dollar not spent (or earned for thatmnttcr) is a vote for sustainability. Why‘? Because moneyis tokens forenergyresources and services. Yourresourccs(matter) are roughly interchangeable with energy - theFirst Law of Thermodynamics, and E=Mc2 point that way.To spend a dollar is effectively to open a valve in thepipeline that carries resources from mine to dump. Themore we spend, the faster the flow. The GNP is a fairmeasure of how much goes into the landfills. Similarly, adollarenwzctlpulls resources through the same pipe, createsequal mayhem.But surely. I can use money wisely, responsibly?What if 1buy an organic lettuce from my neighboring farm?Surely that’s Good Money? Well, yes, and no. What doesthe neighbor use money for? Gas for the tractor, rent on theland, taxes on income, medical help for the kids. Some ofthat money flows immediately to corporations and prac-tices we all despise and don’t want to support. It’s hard tocontrol where a dollar goes after it leaves your hands.