Want to learn earthen plaster?
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When you learn how to create gorgeous clay plasters from the earth around you, you begin an amazing journey into natural building.
Want to learn earthen plaster?
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Last week, as luck would have it, I ran into a two natural builders tucked away in the hills of central Portugal. Lucky me; they showed me around their fabulous cob creations (not to mention plying me with vinho frisante and humous). Take a look at this wonderful cob oven with cob seating area Frenk and Nicole built. It's gorgeous. But that's not the half of it. It's also water-resistant. The area containing the cob oven and seat isn't protected from the rain. Yet the cob has stood its ground. How did they do it? They coated the entire thing in 3 layers of linseed oil. I'd heard about linseed oil from a few Mud friends in India where the stuff is cheap and easy to find, but I'd never tried it myself, because in Turkey the cost was prohibitive, more than organic olive oil! "Yeah, it's not cheap here either," Frenk lamented to me, but good on him, he tried it anyway. "You heat the oil in a pan first, though not to boiling point. Otherwise the brush melts,” he explained. Frenk and Nicole made their cob mixture out of clay, straw and sand. Initially, like me, they imported the clay. Then they realised the local earth was clay rich, and a glorious rust colour to boot. Frenk is something of a rocket stove wizard, and has engineered another in his kitchen. If you want to look around it, check out the video. It’s very informative. The guy should have his own channel:) Do you enjoy The Mud Home?
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