Funding Proposal for Cob House Eco-Building Training

INSTRUCTORS: Claudine Desiree & VIVA HANSEN - CruzinCobGlobal

Description of Eco-Building and Cob House

Eco-building is an approach to construction that aims to minimize the environmental
impact of buildings. It is based on the use of sustainable materials, environmentally friendly construction techniques, and bioclimatic design.

Cob House is a traditional construction technique that uses a mixture of earth, sand, and straw to create strong and insulating walls. This technique is simple to implement and does not require special tools or materials. It is also environmentally friendly, as it uses local materials, it does not produce waste and is also one of the most affordable types of building material.

Cob wall structures, due to their width, lend themselves to having load bearing walls, however, a wood or concrete ‘ring beam’ is recommended to support the roof structure.

Advantages:

• High thermal mass is very energy efficient in both summer and winter, and ideal for passive solar heating and cooling. Indoor temperatures vary only about 5 degrees Celsius between summer and winter (17-22 degrees Celsius), making it naturally cool in summer and warm in winter.
• Environmentally friendly: Low carbon footprint and embodied energy.
• Relatively easy to build for owner builders and unskilled labor.
• Lends itself to free-form walls
• Excellent sound insulation
• Cob buildings are capable of withstanding seismic activity, but must have a ring beam
• Fireproof
• Can easily be built up to 3 storeys
• Cob can easily be recycled.

Who am I and what are my motivations for taking a cob house training course?

My name is Karl Ahnee. I am a Mauritian artist and photographer, with 15 years of
experience and since 2017, I've started personal research on ecology, agriculture, and
conservation, driven by a passion for environmental sustainability. Aiming to reorient my
professional activities towards these fields, I am currently taking online courses, such as:

• A Business Approach to Sustainable Landscape Restoration" from Erasmus University Rotterdam
• Ecology: Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation
• Google Project Management certification

Through this training, my objective is to leverage the acquired knowledge and exchange of experiences to reinforce and disseminate expertise in the field of eco-construction in
Mauritius.
The training will introduce to everything I need to learn to build a Cob Building from foundation to roof, including electricity (housing & outlet/switch boxes not wiring), plumbing prep, plaster, floor and artistic elements.
The Global C.O.B. Team (Community of Biobuilders) consists of trained cob builders of all nationalities, ages, specialties and in all areas of the world, ready to teach a workshop or lead a project. In support of more earthen construction replacing concrete on the Planet and increasing awareness and experience of natural building everywhere, especially in the non-Western countries where the awareness and need is greater for well-built earthen housing.

Claudine Désirée - Master Cobber/Cob Instructor

Born and raised in NYC, Claudine carried her Manhattan/European roots to California and beyond. She studied Geography, International Relations/Development and International Environmental Policy in the academic world in California, France, and Switzerland. She has 20+ years of experience in ecoconstruction and has been leading workshops on the subject in the US, in South America, Europe and Africa.

CruzinCobGlobal (CCG) vision:

First, CCG seeks to expand the global awareness, understanding and practical experience of Earthen “Cob” Construction as a safe, healthy, ecological, economical, strong and durable building technique everywhere on the Planet.
Secondly CCG seeks to contribute to the reduction in concrete-based construction and
cement production thereby increasing the well-being of all life and the biosphere. CCG’s mission is to collaborate with individuals and communities around the planet in organizing and holding Cob Building workshops in which they lead an international/intercultural group of 10-15 students in the construction of all (foundation,
walls and roof) or part (just walls) of a small structure (10-15m2 or 110-165ft2) in a period of 10-28 days. CruzinCobGlobal is on a planetary mission to teach cob building, as it is practiced in California and Europe. CCG leads workshops for local and international students who learn and build together, not only a beautiful ecological structure, but intercultural communication and understanding. It is a multi-faceted opportunity to learn cob building, a language, a culture and community living.
After 7 years of teaching in the US, CCG is proud to have launched the international model, CruzinCobGlobal in 2015, and has already taught 12 workshops in: Spain, the Canaries, Senegal, Cabo Verde, France, Morocco and Santa Cruz, CA since starting in March of 2015. In the Spring and Summer of 2017 hold workshops in Cabo Verde, the Azores and Portugal.

Detailed workshop description & schedule

Cob Outdoor Kitchen with Oven, Rocket Cooktop & Reciprocal Roof in the Azores Islands (São Miguel)

Participants in this workshop will learn:

1. The ins and outs of earth-based building, including cob, wattle and daub & earthen plasters
2. How to design and install a reciprocal frame roof structure
3. All about rocket stove technology: history, design, principles of combustion, fuel selection, best practices, and how to integrate one into other cooking systems such as the Lorena stove
4. How to design, build, and operate a clay-based oven
5. A general approach towards designing an outdoor kitchen, including space optimization and efficiently locating appliances

The cob construction used for our case study will be a clay-based outdoor kitchen, covered by beautiful reciprocal roof structure (self-supporting roof construction). The kitchen will include a wood-fired cob oven (masonry oven). In weeks 2 & 3 we will start with building various dimensions of interconnected lava stone foundations to support our Cob Oven, Rocket Stove Cooktop, and Counter/Work Table and Shelving and then begin making cob as the students learn the technical building of an Oven and Rocket Stove & Cooktop. In week 4 the work is completed when the students learn about earthen plasters and how to apply them. Most materials will be local to the island, except the refractory bricks and possibly one straw bale. This workshop is designed as a crash course to familiarize participants with the global skills for building an outdoor kitchen. A lot of material will be covered and a lot of different tasks and processes will be happening simultaneously. Theoretical discussions and lectures will help contextualize the work we will be doing.

4-Week Schedule:

• Week 1: Reciprocal roof
• Week 2: Foundations and drainage, Cob, Rocket Stove Core, and plumbing prep
• Week 3: Oven and Lorena stove, install cabinet, shelving, storage and prep surfaces, and begin plaster prep
• Week 4: Finish plaster prep, plaster

Socio-economic landscape:

Women and children are the most likely to be affected by poor living conditions. Leveraging and disseminating the expertise in the field of eco-construction in Mauritius, will provide the opportunity for women to take a proactive step in serving their communities.

Having decent and affordable homes are in many ways the stepping stones of neighborhood revitalization. This is a long-term, holistic strategy that supports residents to improve the quality of life in under-resourced communities.

According to Non-profit Organization Habitat for Humanity International, helping future
homeowners build their own homes alongside volunteers, enables them to achieve the
strength, stability and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and for their families. Ensuring that access to adequate housing is prioritized, leads to greater climate justice, gender equality and political inclusion.