Finally in the last days of June we buy straw. Wwoofer, Leigh, and I took about 3 weeks to get the walls up to full height.
We (wwoofer Vera and I) have recently created a link from the old ruin wall to the new part of the house out of car tyres rammed with gravel. This means that the whole structure is now well bonded together and more stable. When we eventually get straw (it is not on the market around here at present as last years staw is sold out and it hasn't yet been baled this year) we will be able to build the whole east wing of the house at once rather than in two phases. Waiting for materials has served us well.
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.
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.
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.
