This is not a fad or craze, but rather a building technique that has stood the test of time. It is also, unfortunately, one of the many environmentally friendly techniques that was nearly lost in this century when we have been awash in a culture where every challenge is solved by the use of gallons of fossil fuel. The current revival of cob building, not surprisingly, has its epicentre in the Pacific Northwest, where the population has a heightened sense of all things environmental. Unlike most home-building techniques, cob is a flexible and forgiving medium. It does not require experience or great physical strength.
Cob is affordable.
The author claims that a cob house can cost as little as one-sixth of a conventional house. Cob is comfortable. The thermal mass in the walls means that a house is warm in winter, cool in summer. Plus, cob walls muffle sound, giving houses a sense of peace and harmony. Cob is long-lasting.