This page will be expanded to include a more detailed description on COB and how to build with it. The clay, sand and sraw are being mixed into COB by the woman and child. This photo, like all others with a colored border, are linked.
Earth is probably the world's most common building material.
The word cob comes from an Old English root meaning a lump or rounded mass. Cob building uses hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw, a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Cob is easy to learn and inexpensive to build. Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes, curved walls, arches and niches. Earth homes are cool in summer, warm in winter and suitable to rainy climates.