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Why Natural Building?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The process of creating using the materials available in our local environments can be a powerful tool to bring us into the here-and-now, a mindful awareness of the present.  This effect is similar to that felt with permaculture design, growing your own food, sculpting or even baking.  Using natural materials necessitates direct contact with the elements and careful observation with hands, eyes and bodies.  This can teach us to appreciate not only the realities of our immediate world, but also gratitude for what nature has provided for us to use.
 
Its also really, really fun.

Local, readily available materials

 

More sensitivity to site,  local environment & scale

Holistic design & appropriate use of technologies & passive systems

Less energy used through the life of the building

Less environmental destruction

Happier planet

Less manufactured materials required

Less resources used for extraction, processing & transporting materials

Less funding to large  corporations

Greater democracy for all

Happier society

Less expenditure on materials, less work required to pay back debts

More independant & empowered

More time to build, maintain, create & enjoy as part of an active, healthy lifestyle

More self- sufficient & satisfied by home that is tailored to fit

Happier people

Michael Smith
Ianto Evans & Linda Smiley
Elke Cole
Aristotle

"Natural building is any building system which places the highest value on social and environmental sustainability.  It assumes the need to minimise the environmental impact of our housing and other building needs while providing healthy, beautiful, comfortable and spiritually uplifting homes for everyone.  Natural builders emphasis simple, easy-to-learn techniques based on locally-available, renewable resources.  These systems rely heavily on human labour and creativity instead of on capital, high technnology and specialised skills... In natural building everything depends on local ecology, geology and climate, on the character of the particular building site, and on the needs and personalities of the builders and users... Natural building is personally empowering because it teaches that everyone has or can easily aquire the skills they need to build their own home."  

 

"Cob has been used for millennia even in the harsh climates of coastal Britain, at the latitude of the Aleutians. Thousands of comfortable and picturesque cob homes in England have been continuously occupied for many centuries ... This ancient technology doesn't contribute to deforestation, pollution or mining nor depend on manufactured materials or power tools. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn't it make sense to return to nature's most abundant, cheap and healthy building material?"  

 

"Natural Building invites full participation of all parties involved- it has the ability to integrate everyone's creative input and expression, and from that comes the beauty of the truly 'handmade house' " 

 

"What we learn to do we learn by doing."

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