I remember I arrived to school after a warm three-month summer off. Not expecting anything extraordinary, I met Pablo and three students at the door of the cob building ready for a day of easy work.
I mean what should I have expected. I have never worked with mud and straw. And here were a bunch of people building something with it.
I wasn’t very enthusiastic to work with a part of the earth that makes you look like a child playing in the mud, but I had an urge to see what the buzz was going around about natural building. So I put on my dirtiest clothes and jumped in with rocks in one hand and mud in the other.
After a couple hours, the buzz of natural building got me a little intoxicated—I was finally understanding the benefits of building with the earth. Yes, at first I was hesitant of even putting my hands on a cob house, but that was because I was afraid of getting my feet wet—literally and metaphorically.
As I gained the courage to dive in, a fascination and curiosity arose in my mind— I had as many questions as there are stars in the sky—and the people I worked with left an answer for every one. As my relationship with the cob building deepened, so did my friendships with fellow students. While working we laughed, learned and made mistakes as a team; there was not a moment where I thought I had too much responsibility or not enough. We started as a team of students and ended as a team of students.
I didn’t think I would value any of the moments I had playing with cob, but I will say I was completely wrong. I learned more than I imagined. I learned about nature and the way to be a part of it rather than fight with it. I learned sustainable living.
I am glad that I was part of such a project. I am certain that future students will laugh and learn from natural living too.
Best wishes to all who are interested,
Bardia Behmard
Natural Living School Student
Fall 2011
Natural Living School 