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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Starting a tiny off-grid world for the second time is a lot easier. You know what you need, and in which order. First time off-gridders, or off-grid planners, often don't know where to start. And your conventional home won’t be a decent guide for the very different world of off-grid living. So here’s my list of the first ten things you need to organise when you go off-grid. I’ve broken it up into two sections: The Short Term focuses on your immediate survival needs. These will get you through a season, but they won’t be enough to keep you going indefinitely. The Long Term addresses how you will sustain yourself. While there may be some variation to the order I’ve put things in, trying to solve long term problems before you’ve got the short term covered is going to be stressful and energy devouring. You have limited muscle power and patience. You want to use it well. The Short Term (Survival) 1. Temporary shelter. You can survive weeks without food, three days without water, but in the wrong climate even a night without decent shelter can kill you. So you need somewhere to sleep while you set up your off-grid world. It will depend on your weather, but I’ve seen tents, campervans/trailers, mobile homes/prefabs, containers, and wooden huts all used as possible shelters. 2. Water. If you haven't bought land yet, don't get a bit without water on. I did survive on Mud Mountain without running water for 2 years, but it was pretty exhausting. In a perfect world you want to have your water sorted out before you even move on. But this isn’t a perfect world, and that often doesn’t happen for any number of reasons. It really should be one of your first priorities though. Having a decent supply will save so much work. 3. Tools. Which tools you buy first will depend on your terrain. But some mixture of the following tools are your basics: Pick, rake, spade, scythe/sickle, machete, hammer, nails, saw, wheelbarrow, secateurs. Your wonderful Black and Decker jigsaw will come in very handy one day, but not on the first. Nor the second. At the outset, you will doubtless be clearing terrain and shifting rocks, building fences and basic structures (see four). 4. Kitchen/Toilet. So, you have a dry, warm bed, you have water, and you have tools. Now you need a space to make food, and another space to crap. Which of those you deem most urgent will depend on when you last ate. The most basic cooking area requires a small hob or fire, a sink of some description, and a place to store food that won’t be ravaged by animals. The simplest and most environmentally friendly toilet option is to build a composting loo like this. Or this. 5. Access for a vehicle. This is arguably a higher priority, but you won't die without a road. It’s just a major inconvenience. A must say, I’m a bit ambivalent about access because the great thing about a lack of road is that it keeps nosy parkers out. But the truth is, unless you're walking and never want to bring anything in, life is very difficult without some sort of track into your land. 6. Somewhere to wash yourself, and wash clothes. You’ll want a basic shower area. It will depend on your climate how you go about that, but anything from a space in the forest, to a bit of bamboo matting hoisted up will provide some cover (if you need it). You’ll also want a floor that drains fast and doesn’t become muddy. If you don’t use polluting detergents, rocks and gravel do the job simply and cheaply. Wooden slats are another shower floor option. The Long Term (Sustain yourself) 7. Friends and neighbours. Your network is crucial (and bear in mind I'm a hermit). Start getting to know folk asap, because something will go wrong at some point. The easiest and fastest way to build a community is to be helpful and generous with your time and knowledge. And not to start asking for things before you’ve deposited a little into the favour bank. None of us is entitled to friends. They are earned over time. If you are in a country with another language, then you need to learn it, like, yesterday. It changes everything. 8. Veggie patch and homesteading; chickens/goats etc. Trying to start a smallholding before you’ve got your basic needs covered is a bad idea. Animals and plants need care, food, and plenty else. They give back in abundance. But often only after time. So I recommend going a little slow with your homesteading mission. It’s a step by step, long term project. Certainly, it’s one of the most rewarding aspects of the tiny, off-grid lifestyle. But it requires consistent dedication and in the first six-to-twelve months you will be busy enough getting your infrastructure up. 9. Power (solar panels/wind power etc). Notice how far down the list this is. Power is nowhere near as crucial as modern Westerners believe. And I actually recommend a while without it. It's beautiful. Solar power is now so cheap and widespread. If you are strapped for cash, you can begin with a small system to meet your basic lighting and laptop needs. I always recommend investing in rechargeable hand tools too, because you can charge their batteries even from a tiny solar system. Normal power tools with cables need a lot of juice in one go, so unless you have a generator, or a substantial solar/wind system, you’ll have trouble. 10. Income. Yeees, this is perhaps the trickiest of your off-grid requirements to realise. You don't need much income, but as I have learned over the past eight years, you do need something coming in. It deserves a post in its own right, so I’ll save that one for later. So that’s my list. I also put the question to The Mud Home Members Group, many of whom are building off-grid worlds. Here are other things folk added. I think they are all excellent pieces of advice. “The only thing I would add is, A PLAN! I cant tell you how many clients I’ve worked with who got started without one and how many simple mistakes can be avoided by simply taking a bit of time to plan and prepare. If nothing else it will save you a ton of time going to the store to get things you forgot.” Oliver Goshey, consultant and natural building expert. “Be realistic about what you can accomplish.” Nicodemus Ford, earthbagging in California. “I recommend a like-minded mate to share the journey with. They'll get on your last nerve, but you'll come out of it laughing at mysterious things that no one else can really understand. I would add, take a break from time to time. Go and look at something beautiful, or just stay in bed for a day and recharge.” Cath Coffee, earthbag pioneer in the UK and tiny-off-grid-world-builder in Portugal. “Water! Washing machine! Another decent pair of hands, and plain good energy to share in the awesomeness.” Jehane Rucquoi, earthbag pioneer in Nevada Do you enjoy The Mud Home?
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Can you put earth plaster on drywall or gypsum? We have some very inspiring people in The Mud Home Facebook Group; and a variety of artisans and building techniques. For the house renovators, Camilla MacDonald's and Erhard Groneth's work in Germany is going to be very interesting. It’s been wonderful to watch this farmhouse transform from a bunch of dust and brick like this... to this: And finally become this cosy, airy abode: And it happened so fast! Applying Earth Plaster to Difficult Surfaces What’s a difficult surface for earth plaster? Any surface that isn’t porous and doesn’t breathe is going to be tough for clay: Portland cement, drywall and gypsum all fall into this category. What can happen is that because those materials don’t breathe, humidity collects behind the plaster and pushes it away from the wall. But it certainly can be done. And I have to say, just by applying earth plaster you can radically transform the feel of your home. How did Camilla Plaster her Walls? Camilla had a tricky surface to plaster. She enrolled in The Mud Home Perfect Earth Plaster Course, and her work has contributed to an extra section in that course. It’s an example of the beautiful results you can create when you know what you’re doing. 1. First Camilla tested a lot of different primers and plasters on small areas. I cannot stress how important that is, because no one else’s plaster recipe is ever going to be the same as yours. Your walls, your climate, your clay and the atmosphere of your building are never going to exactly mirror someone else’s. 2. She properly prepped her surface (or substrate). In this case it was gypsum plaster and drywall. For a totally natural primer for non-porous surfaces, you could use wheatpaste mixed with clay and possibly sand. But sometimes a number of variables will conspire, and that won’t work. In which case you can do what Camilla did and buy one of the professionally formulated primers on the market. In her case she used Superputzgrund. Mike Wye in the UK also has one or two primers. 3. Finally she applied layers of plaster to her walls, allowing each layer to dry properly before adding the next. In some areas she added just two layers, and in others the full three layers. Was there a difference? “Good question,” she says. “There is no visual difference, as the clay paint top layer is identical. But I would say the air in the rooms with the thicker layers is nicer...” Using Clay Paint One thing I love about this earth plaster job is the way Camilla has painted the walls. She used a white clay paint, and then added natural pigments to it. The result is original, light and airy. You may not have realised earth plaster can look this sleek. Her bathroom is quite a masterpiece. The Earth Plaster Course Updates The Perfect Earth Plaster Course has a 25% discount until Sep 5th 2022. It's a very comprehensive course, so take a look. Do you really need to do a course? Can’t you just research a bit online and slap it on? It’s only mud, isn’t it? Well, that’s what I did of course on my first earthbag house. And that’s why it took me nearly 2 years to get my plaster right. So yes sure, you can do what I did. If you’ve got plenty of time and patience, go for it :)) If on the other hand you want a simple but in-depth guide (with videos) on how to get your plaster looking great on a whole bunch of different substrates - earthbag, cob, strawbale, stone, or even drywall - then the course is going to be the easier and potentially cheaper option. Here’s what some of the other course participants have said: "Your course was invaluable." Cath Coffey, earthbag builder in the UK. "Very informative and good instructions in the text and videos! Absolutely helpful, thanks for putting it together." Nanda Doornik, cob oven builder in Ireland. "Atulya has the ability to make natural building very accessible, empowering the participant to believe in their ability to do it." Emma Batchelor, course participant. "Through the third lesson and loving it!" Wynter Miller, course participant. This online course will show you:
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