Building with Cob in Mexico

Last December, I headed for Mexico with my family in order to build a cob house for a family of seven, and to teach a cob workshop to about 25 people, five of whom were local Mexicans. We lived and worked for two months in the town of Zipolite, a rustic travelers’ paradise on the southern Pacific beach of Mexico. Although there were plenty of tourists, there was an absence of corporate influence: No big hotels, no lawns, no pools, no banks and an all cash society (no credit cards). The town and the beach were wonderful, the water was clean and warm, the restaurants all served locally caught fish, the tropical fruit was cheap and plentiful, and the whole town felt safe and laid back. Without kidding, it was hard to find reasons why we shouldn’t move there. (That is still the case right now!)

The cob house we built was for Pedro, Christina and their five children, ages 2-15. Pedro worked six days a week as a landscaper at a local university, making about $10 per day, while Christina mostly took care of the children. They lived in a shack with virtually no land surrounding it. Although they were not poor, they would never be able to save enough money or have enough time to build themselves a new home. However, a long time ago Christina’s father had staked out about an acre of land in town, that, with the help from the Mexican community land laws, had become theirs. The land had a spectacular view of the mountains and some usable, not-too-steep land for growing vegetables and fruit trees.

The result of the workshop crowned the land with a beautiful 300 square foot, all cob cabin, complete with a palm leaf roof, a sleeping loft, water tank and a separate composting toilet (called “dry toilets” in Mexico). The entire cost for the project was paid for through the fees of the workshop participants. Pictures of the projects can be found in the Cob Workshop Picture Gallery on my website.

I want to share with you a few interesting reflections and observations from our building experience in Mexico:

• A big machine had prepared the building site for us, which created a huge pile of “extra material.” This turned out to be a very usable mix of sand and clay for our cob. We ended up using the entire 20 yards of material for the walls. The “straw” was some locally grown grasses, usually used for live stock, and the palm leaves came from a nearby eco-community, who also provided the crew for putting on the roof.
• Although the materials we used for our cob were far from ideal, we were once again blown away by the strength and beauty that building with cob can give you.
• In 1997 they had the first ever hurricane on that part of the coast, which swept away half of the houses in town, including Pedro and Christina’s (Pedro’s sister died in the storm as well). As a reaction to the disaster, people resorted more and more to using concrete brick as their prime building material, thinking that concrete can not blow away. The blocks are mortared on top of one another, completely unreinforced which makes these buildings incredibly dangerous in case of an earthquake. In addition to that these buildings are very hot, unpleasant to be in, and expensive. Needless to say that cob construction deserves a place, also in this part of the world.
• Variations of earthen construction were still being practiced in the area. I witnessed several waddle and daub buildings in town and was told that in the mountains they build rectangular cob houses, using pine needles as fiber.
• Very few of the negative stereotypes that float around in the USA about Mexico and its people held true in this town: People worked hard, materials and tools were there when you needed them, people were organized, it was an extremely safe and healthy place to live, there was no extreme poverty, homelessness or beggars. Children looked happy and healthy and were always willing to work. We saw very few overweight people and although there was no dentist in town, most people had beautiful teeth (we heard it may be the corn tortillas).
• It was a great joy to have my children (5 and 8) travel with me. Several other workshop participants brought theirs as well and they all enjoyed it enormously.
• Building in a tropical climate made us do things differently. We decided to leave the building with a “dirt floor” instead of a concrete or cob floor. It is easy to wet it down every now and then to keep the dust down. A finished floor would create a house cleaning headache as you walk in and out of the house so often. The windows don’t have any glass or mosquito netting, so that the breeze can freely flow through the house. Netting is usually only placed over the bed.
• Metal and wood are very problematic building materials and therefore we used them as little as possible. All the metal rusts due to the ocean breeze (a refrigerator will last about three years, a computer or printer two years), and all the wood gets eaten by termites. The wood we used for the roof and the loft got soaked in a boric acid bath, seemingly the only thing the termites can’t stand to eat. Other people put used motor oil on wood to preserve it. With all this in mind we arched every window and door, ending up with a “woodless” wall system.
• It is quite an emotional experience to give someone a house. The last night of the workshop, we had a closing ceremony (and party) showing our gratitude for this opportunity to participate in the creation of such a beautiful place, and showered the family with symbolic house warming gifts.
• The fact that they were moving to a place where they could grow some food was as important as the new house. Even during the building project, trees were planted and land was cleared for gardening.
• Considering the other houses in the neighborhood, we sometimes felt that the house had turned out too exquisite for them. We are not certain how the new house will effect their social relations, and to what extent it could cause problems for them in terms of jealousies and misunderstandings. Many people thought the University was paying for the house. The family was very well liked in the community and so we believe things will work out for the better. It did make me aware however, how careful you have to be when doing development work.
• When we left, three locals were planning their own cob houses, and one foundation had already started. We are hoping to do it again next year as we sensed that the knowledge we shared was appreciated and there was a real place for cob construction in the area.

My next newsletter will be on my experiences with earthen floors including helpful hints on how you can put one in your own house.

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