Born to Build

Human Evolution. Why are we here?? How have we survived?

The US military survival guide says you can only survive 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. 3 hours without SHELTER!?  We modern humans, otherwise known as "Homo sapiens sapiens" are 200,000 years old, and the number one reason why we have existed into the present day is because we know how to build shelter. Seriously.

I imagine our collective genetic lineage strung heavy with codes that enable each of us to construct a shelter that protects us from the elements.  You wouldn't be reading this, you couldn't be here without it. 3 hours is all we got! However our culture has outsourced this primitive skill, disconnecting all of us from what we have been born to know. We no longer have relationships with the structures we inhabit.  The contemporary woman and man now believe we are incapable of this most basic human skill. We have come to accept that only highly specialized humans can participate in a craft that without, we have yet 3 hours to survive? I can not accept this. I won't. I started this building craft 5 years ago with very little building skills and along my journey I feel this connection deepening with my "wild self." The earth can be used as a building material, of course! Its abundant, a material that I don't need a store to get, free of charge as long as I work hard enough to get it, a way of building that doesn't require big machines but instead my bare hands, a way of building that is intimate and requires a real relationship with the materials being used, using a material that actually promoted health. What if general contractors around the world united to create regenerative, healthy and beautiful structures, and homes that actually are healthier, stronger, last longer and more exciting all by using MUD!

One major goal I have is to expose the ill effects of a conventional building world that creates incredible amounts of waste and has such a huge negative impact on the environment.  Living in the monotony of studded wall systems, dry wall, square rooms, and forced air circulation systems has made us sicker and deadened our imaginations and our creativity. Buildings that are "sick" leave its inhabitants more stressed and less likely to feel satisfied and optimistic. Cob Building has the potential to help create the space to heal the cultural and societal wounds that has distanced us from the most important of our human needs, shelter building, and to re-build our relationship with the spaces we occupy.

My experience as a mental health therapist helped me recognize how interwoven our well being is with the shelter we spend our whole lives living in. I have noticed how important it is for my clients to "Build," to feel connected to space.  Cob Therapy helps connect people with their nature, building community with muddy hands, understanding the story of each of the building materials used, and unleashing our inner child to tap into the wisdom of our wild human ancestry.

Let it be known that we are "Born to Build"