Cob: How it's made

Time to Volunteer Again!

Susan Clellen demonstrating cob technique

VOLUNTEER TO BUILD A COB BUILDING!

The Stewardship Center is a natural construction project using straw bale and cob. You can learn an art of homebuilding that dates back to the ancient communities of Mesopotamia and is found in contemporary buildings in Europe, Africa and the U.S. The project was started last summer and as an all volunteer crew project will continue this year and next.
We’re eager to get back to work. During the months of May and June we will be finishing up the cob walls. Once the cob walls are finished there will be a hiatus for several weeks while the cob dries thoroughly before the next steps which include a bond-beam, sealing the top of the “porch area”, electrical work, installing a door and doing the finish earth plaster on the cob. There are week-end shifts available for volunteers who want to help on the project and get some very hands-on training in natural construction. We are also looking for some week-day volunteers to assist Susan Clellen, our designer/builder, with prep work, mixing cob, carpentry, etc. For information call Jan Zorman, project manager, at 216 321-5935 x229, or email zorman@shakerlakes.org


Join the FUN, bring a FRIEND

Build and Craft the Cob Walls

Initial Target Dates: Saturdays and Sundays May 10th to July 12th 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. OR 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Volunteers Needed: Age, over 17; 4 per shift

Description: Volunteers will learn about preparing cob and will hand build Stewardship Center walls; prep and clean up projects as needed.

To sign up call Marissa Patsey at (216) 321-5935 x 225 or email patsey@shakerlakes.org

Wrapped up for the Winter But Looking Towards Spring

Stewards' Stewardship Stew Saturday Nov. 3

Jan Zorman and Tori Mills host a season-ending thank-you stew for anyone who volunteered on the Nancy King Smith Stewardship Center in 2007. (If you even thought about volunteering, you're invited!) 

Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007, at the Nature Center, noon to 2. 

Anyone interested in joining Jan, Tori and contractor Susan Clellan for great stew and good conversation is welcome. Or just stop by to see the latest. This is a low-key event to mark the end of this year's efforts: 650 hours of volunteer work from 144 volunteers. Work resumes next spring. Thanks to all who've made this a great project!

RSVP to Tori Mills, mills@shakerlakes.org, or 216 321-5935 x 234. 

 

Stewardship in a Word

mixing cob

We've recently asked artists, volunteers, board members, students and friends of all flavors to give us one word that symbolizes "stewardship" to them. Here are some of the responses:

Purple, care-taker, connection, religion, care, husbandry, long-term, tree, gratitude, resourceful, dream, helping, responsibility, nurture, healthy, personal time, misunderstood, conserving, guardian, collective ownership, sanctuary, treehouse, forest, hand, leaves, pine needles, nuts and seeds, tools, community, water.

Post your word and it may just end up in the Stewardship Center design. Oh and check it out, more progress, last weekend...................building friendships while building walls.

Malloy building cob walls

Tree Post, Straw Wall & Volunteers! Oh My....

Less talk and more action! We're excited that most of our Stew postings are less words and more photos of people actually building this building! The framing, temporary roof and strawbale wall have now been completed entirely with volunteer help. Visit the homepage and click on the link to our volunteer sign up. The clay and sand arrive on Friday. Co-ed, barefoot cob mixing starts Saturday. Stomp on by.....

With resounding volunteer help last Saturday, the straw-bale wall went up in a flash.

Securing the Red Oak post in the center of the building with help from Mark Hoenigman, of Busy Bee Tree Services, and the three Muds-kateers in their little brown building hoods.

More Pictures

Ring beam finished

First truss in place