Straw

Oh what joy to be seeing the doors in place and the walls rising, to be stopped swiftly by rain and high winds. But never mind, we need the rain and there's sure to be plenty of sun to follow, here down in southern Spain.

Plastering

Afterwards, the new wall was covered with sand and lime plaster. We went on to build the timber parts, the structural windows and doors, and part of the roof plate. We are so well prepared now for the arrival of the straw bales and roof timbers. The straw part is a fast construction stage and we should soon be enjoying the new rooms.

Sacks and Earth

Mathilde here, from France, has worked hard with other wwoofers and myself to collect and sieve the clay rich earth/launa from the farm, mix it with sand, then fill and compact in the sacks, whilst maintaining a perfect horizontal level along the wall (not easy!). This was a long and labour intensive part of the build and has been accomplished beautifully.

Tyres and Earth

Since early December 2007, we have been working on the East side of the house, creatively recyling materials and using the natural resources directly around us. The tyres I have picked up locally (from a tyre replacement garage) and (joyfully!) from the roadsides around the farm.

Our free draining tyre foundations are placed directly on the levelled site and filled with earth around the sides and gravel in the centre.