Wrapping our heads around the task

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Today is March 6th…this is my first blog post….EVER!  I have been in Rainier Washington for exactly 22 days for the purpose of building my first ever Cal-Earth Superadobe mud hut for my friend Meggan’s 5 (soon to be more) goats.  Here is the site of the future goat dome and the lucky future residents in their current abode which will remain and act as a secondary shelter.

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This whole crazy notion came about after taking a one week course this past September to learn how to build with Superadobe at The Cal-Earth Institute in Hesperia, CA.  I was thrilled that my dear friend, who, incidentally had had Cal-Earth mud huts on her radar as well, was willing to work with me and allow me to practice my new-found skills on her property in Washington State so soon after taking the course…brave woman!  Cal-Earth was founded by the late, great Nader Khalili, architect and humanitarian.  This style of building utilizes Earth-filled sandbags coiled up into a dome-shaped structure, then covered over with Earth plaster.  Check out their Website for more info:  www.calearth.org

If I had to guess, the prep and planning phase that we are in currently is going to end up being the most humbling phase of all…I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous or intimidated to make the first dig.  As someone who has never built anything in her life quite like this, I feel like I haven’t a hot clue what I’m doing or who I think I am to come out here with this lofty intention in the first place.  I know that’s just my fragile little ego talking, but as we inch along in this ever daunting planning process, speaking with building experts of varying kinds, including instructors and past-graduates of The Cal-Earth Institute, I am aware of the fact that I have already learned a whole lot and, dare I say, gaining confidence by the day that we can do this!

The first official task we did about 2 weeks ago was to dig up a small soil sample….at night, in the rain…to test the composition of the soil.

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This is supposed to tell you the ratio of different components to help determine which stabilizer would be best used for the project.  As you can see, my sample seemed a bit bunk until I learned that in WA, the soil is very rocky and has a top layer, 1 to 2 feet deep, of very rich, black topsoil type of Earth, great for gardening but not so much for my purposes, that has to be cleared off first before you dig down for the foundation.

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Onwards….we sourced out a place locally where we will likely order a truckload of Earth from…unfortunately this means it is not free but we didn’t know of any other way to get the proper building material.  We got 3 different samples of Earth that we are testing to find out the best one according to our stabilizer tests.  Will find out in a few days.

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Yesterday we scored some PVC piping scraps for FREE which we plan on using for ventilation windows in the goat hut.  Hooray for generous and kind Samaritans out there who like to support unconventional creative endeavors!  🙂

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The excavator is booked for this Monday….that’s right…the digging begins and we’ll be off and running!  We’ve decided on a french drain for water run-off as it rains a WHOLE lot here in Rainier…aptly named town!  We are still tossing around final weather-proofing membrane finishes but we have time for that.  There is a woman here in town who has apparently built one of these structures that we are meeting with tomorrow so we’ll see what insights and wisdom she has to share with us.

That is where we are to date…will update once the actual building has begun…hopefully without a hitch!  Any/all good building vibes sent our way are welcome!  🙂

41 thoughts on “Wrapping our heads around the task”

  1. Candace smith's avatar Candace smith

    EEEEE! this is so exciting, Tannis! I can’t wait to read about your progress. Keep digging and blogging, Girl.

  3. Kalyn's avatar Kalyn

    Thanks for sending and how exciting, you go TZ! What an inspiration you are, sending you lots of good building vibes. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Keep up the good work 😄 🐐🐐 KB

  5. Cheryl Kletke's avatar Cheryl Kletke

    OMG Tannis!!! I am sooooo excited for you! And don’t you dare feel doubtful at all. You are a brilliant woman and you’ve got this my friend!! I can’t wait to see the progress. Miss you!

  7. Lisa's avatar Lisa

    Blogger extraordinnaire!!! Way to go Tannis! Just jump right in and get your feet wet and under your nails dirty! You got this, no problem! Enjoy the experience!
    Love, Lisa

  13. Chris Scholl's avatar Chris Scholl

    This is awesome. I was trying to come up with a clever mix of blogging and digging but didn’t feel that bligging would suffice.

  14. Tara King's avatar Tara King

    Ok, whew. You have an excavator. For some reason I thought you’d be in there on your own with a shovel! (Wouldn’t put it past you…) Have fun Tannis,
    You are a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Tara 🙂

    • Haha, yeah, that was the original and preferred plan…however, once we learned how bloody rocky the soil is I just imagined our poor joints taking the brunt of it all….no thanks. Excavator it is…we’ll save our sweat for filling and laying bags. Thanks Tara! 😉

  16. Candace smith's avatar Candace smith

    Hey Tannis, How are things going? I heard and saw the mud slide in WA…nowhere near you, right? Everything ok where you are? XO

  17. Hmmm, I must be out of the news loop, never heard of it. Well, we’re still here on the river bank so it must have been somewhere else. Will check it out, thanks for checking in Ms. C!! xo

    • Candace smith's avatar Candace smith

      Oh good. I’m glad to hear that and Mom will be quite relieved. She woke me up saying “Are Tannis and her mud hut anywhere near that mudslide in Washington? Call her!” LOL. Looking forward to reading about the ground breaking.

  18. Bobbi White's avatar Bobbi White

    Absolutely LOVE IT!!! You are a true pioneer my dear and When Meggan believes in someone there’s no stoppers in the way!!!! Keep me posted you great women!!!!!!!! Xoxo

  19. Ryan's avatar Ryan

    Wow great progress, not only with the project but within yourself. Reading your latest post I can relate. Working in construction, I have been there, I have hit that wall and somehow made it through to the other side. Its in you, dig deep (no pun intended). When the job is complete and you know you did your best, you will quickly realize that all the walls that you ran into that seemed so big at the time were just little miniscule bumps on your path to completion. See the end product in your mind and strive to achieve, it is within your reach. Thumbs up from one builder to another!

  20. David Curts's avatar David Curts

    IT Was S Total Delight MeetIng You And Drumming With You Tonight. I Lost Your Number So HopeYou will Email It To Me Or Call So I Can Send You Crow Drummer And Hoodsport Drum Circle Updates.

    • Hey David….agreed…so nice to meet you and drum with you all yesterday…felt good to get a ‘groove’ on again, it’s been a while! You guys have a nice vibe going on! 🙂 I don’t have a personal phone right now while I’m here so for me, email is best but I can send you my friend’s number if anything needs to be communicated in the immediate. Talk soon!

      • davidcurts@yahoo.com's avatar davidcurts@yahoo.com

        FYI:

        One of the Crow Drummers Sharon Brown,  is a fire keeper in the shamanic tradition of the Weichsel people of Mexico. 

        She is doing an informal time around the fire tonite 8-11 at her home, and a teaching about the weather people Sunday 4 to six p.m.

        I will tell her about you tonite as she has a contractor that has built different kinds of dwellings.

        – David Curts

        Go

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