I am a designer and builder. My blog is telling the story of my work and my current interest. So if ever you're wondering: what is she up to these days- this is a good place to look. Write your comments and talk back!
Daylight comes slowly, and when it rains even more so it seems. The alcove we sleep in is on the east side of the building and has two windows allowing the first morning light to enter my sleep. In the summertime the morning sun tickles our faces, the winter sun never comes over the trees to touch the morningside of the studio.
kitchen in garden house on Mayne Island
I get up and move into the kitchen where the skylights light up the living space. I hear the rain drumming on the glass. If all windows were gone here the place would be perfectly lit up- if the skylights disappeared it would be dark in here. Daylight (and moonlight!) comes from the sky and if we can’t see the sky through the windows because of vegetation of other structures we don’t have natural light coming in.
window in my sleeping alcove
If not for light, what are windows for? They are the eyes to the world around us: we like to see if there are clouds rolling in, like to know when visitors approach. Working near a window allows us to watch over the children playing outside. I like to be connected to others in the neighborhood just by seeing them out and about. Windows also become the beacon to go to: think of a dark night when you see the lit up windows of a house. They allow a sneak preview of the space you enter: especially in stores. A town is more interesting to walk through when stores show window displays and people sit in window niches of cafes and restaurants.
skylights light up the core at the Healing Sanctuary of O.U.R. Ecovillage
When trying to plan an energy conservative house we want to be careful with window placement and sizing. Here are a few tips:
Know the site: understand and observe the sunpath and design the building accordingly for optimum daylighting
Be selective and intentional about size: a window doesn’t need to be large to give view. A window that is close to the eye is like a lense. Try holding a small frame in front of you and notice the difference of area you can see by changing the distance to your eye.
Learn about the different types of glazing
Use Solar tubes for daylight in deeper spaces
There’s not much to see low to the floor: unless you specifically receive solar gain on your floor (thermal mass floor) lift the glass area up!
Light colors on the walls that are facing windows and on window reveals reflect light into your space.
Light from two sides: better two small windows on different walls than one large one; this avoids glare and brings life
If you’re down because the winter days are too short….go outside everyday during daylight hours. Even a few minutes make a difference.
Holidays create a little space in my days to finally put the photos from Tanzania into a google album. here's the slideshow- for your viewing pleasure.
Earthrising Foundation Volunteer Camp for Baobab Home 2009
End September 2009 until Nov. 17, 2009, Bagamoyo Tanzania
by Elke Cole
4 volunteers from North America joined project leader Elke Cole for 6 weeks (1 person only 2 weeks) to participate in the construction of the home. After a short orientation period in Bagamoyo town (with 2 of the vol. only) we settled into our camp at the farm site. Here we were supported by the caretaker’s wife for food needs and the Baobab Team for all other needs.
The group set the following Intentions and goals:
-To help construct Ubuyu 1, the first home, at the farm site
-To conduct necessary repairs/ refinishing on natural building built early 2009 by Earthrising
-To explore and try permaculture practices at the farm site that will serve the homes in the future
As is typical in the country things don’t move as fast as we would like them to. While decisions were being made about the new building we set about re-finishing the cob building: the plasterers returned to apply a lime finish on the exterior and a clay plaster on the interior. Volunteers helped with interior plaster as well as setting decorative mosaics in all windowsills.
The interior was then finished with a natural paint made on location – mixed and applied by the volunteers.
finished interior
As a group we also developed the bug-screen system that we installed.
Abdul was hired to make the dutch-style door and weather shutters on the south-east windows. The building is now ready for occupation.
Ubuyu 1, the first home for Baobab children was designed earlier this year by Elke and drawings produced by volunteers in Canada. Some small adjustments and materials choices were made with Caito and Terri from Baobab in consultation with Elke and local builders.
The key elements are:
-Earthbag foundation with stabilized local soil using recycled cement bags.
-Stabilized compressed earth blocks for exterior walls
-Fired clay bricks made on site for interior walls
-Metal roofing
-Insulated ceiling with rice husks bagged in recycled cement bags.
-Interior clay plaster lime stabilized
-Rainwater collection system, with tanks set into holes that were dug to extract sand for the building
-Greywater system
-Composting toilet
-Natural Ventilation by orientation to the breeze and shaded porches
-Shower outside of living space giving less opportunity for mold growth.
Elke and volunteers began the process by laying out the site and leading the excavation work. Our Earthbag work was supported by the “Baobab guys” and took 7 days to complete.
makeshift leveling
laying earthbags
Earthrising Foundation purchased a brick press to be used for the future buildings. We tested different mixes and settled for a ratio of 6-6-1 claysoil/sand/cement, which represents significant reduction in cement use compared to conventional blocks, but delivers a material that is stable to wind-driven rain. We expect to not need to apply any further finishing to the exterior of the building
A local brick-making team was hired and volunteers and Baobab guys helped by screening clay and sand, and stacking blocks.
During our final week we decided to build a cook stove for our cook who complained about suffering from the smoke from her small cooking fire. Using her experience with rocket stoves, cob ovens and masonry heaters, Elke created a design and we used a combination of rice husk/mud bricks, fired bricks, and cob to build the stove. It allows the cook to use wood in one part and charcoal in another, and includes an insulated compartment for keeping things hot.
Elke building the stove
Mos uses her new stove
Besides our involvement in the construction effort we made yogurt from the fresh milk of the farm cow, successfully produced sprouts, fermented fruit peels, built an outdoor shower and women’s urinal. Our volunteers helped with other farm activities like milking, harvesting, and even firefighting. The neighborhood children came for English lessons and games.
The Earthrising team took a short trip to Lushoto in the Usambara mountains, a days trip north. There, with the help of a local guide, we hiked through rainforest, farmland, and out to viewpoints with stunning vistas of the surrounding mountains and plains. We enjoyed the change in climate- Lushoto is much cooler than the coast- and seeing another part of Tanzania gave new perspective to our location.
Another fieldtrip took us to Makombusho- the village museum in Dar Es Salaam that gives insight into the many building techniques used by the different tribes in Tanzania.
On an as need basis we spent time in Bagamoyo town: to access the internet, buy supplies, have time off with the comfort of a hotel room and to connect with friends. All of us were always glad to return to the farm, which clearly was home away from home.
We are all grateful for the hospitality and the opportunities we experienced.
Morning starts before daybreak at the farm: our watchman also tends to a couple of beds of mchicha (greens) and he is out there watering at 4 am. The roosters follow and then daylight comes over the eastern horizon . It’s a comfortable time of day and the best time for working outdoors. We have excavated the building and begun laying the earthbag foundation. A group of young men ( referred to as ‘the boys’ because they’ve been supported by Baobab for a few years now) come and work- they’re good energy and get a lot done. School is out until early next year for them. I’ve known them for almost three years now and can see their growth. Gabriel, who helped on the last building as well, is becoming a strong leader. He finds ways to be more efficient and pays attention to the work. Sheila, Bill, and Kyle, the Earthrising volunteers participate in different ways. Kyle is very engaged with the neighborhood children- teaching them bits of language, playing soccer and other games. He has also worked with Samson, the brick maker and is learning the process for making fired bricks. People here call him “Kyo” “Kaya” and they all enjoy his attempts at speaking Kiswahili. Sheila, who is a teacher at home, also enjoys the children. Having a handful of ‘wazungu’ -white people- camped on the farm attracts them and they come to watch us. Some of them actively seek the opportunity to learn and show up with notebooks. Sheila keeps our space organized- thank you! We all take care of stuff but it always takes that last touch to make the difference. We jokingly refer to our space and our camp as “the resort”: we have hammocks, coffee in the morning, great food, sometimes wine at night. Some of us do yoga, spend time reading, and play bao. Bill- self-proclaimed doing full time karma yoga- arrived just a week ago. His luggage took a couple of days longer to get here but he cheerfully settled into Terri’s tent, borrowed some clothing and went to work. Parallel to the start-up of the new house we did some re-finishing of the baobab centre building that we built last winter. Bakari and Abdul were hired back to do plaster, and we put together tile mosaics on the windowsills. The workday ends in the hammock- where else? We take turns taking showers (the bucket kind) and prepare for darkness to fall at about 6:30. Dinner is by the light of a battery-powered lantern, and the watchman shows up. He puts on a jacket that resembles a uniform and settles in for the night- we believe that he spends most of his time in the hammock too, after we all move to our tents.
A time of celebration: students graduate at school, an achievement that is even more significant when you consider the struggle involved to stay in school. Many families here barely afford the school fees, clothing and necessary books for secondary school, and those who have lost their families have to find themselves sponsors, who will commit to sending money when it’s needed. Baobab took on a group of such teenagers and we witnessed one of their graduation ceremonies last week. This is the end of ‘form 4’, a stepping stone- exams follow, which determine if the individual can continue into the final years form 5-7. The town of Bagamoyo is celebrating too: the 28th annual Festival of Arts and Culture took place last week. The large modern performance centre filled every night with a lively crowd for performances of dance, theatre and music. From traditional Arabic music from Zanzibar to Hip Hop a wide variety of cultures was presented. What a great beginning to our time in Tanzania!
Coming back to Bagamoyo has me looking for the familiar and the new: What happened in six months? The beautiful big Mango trees that lined road to the shamba have been cut down to make room for the road. No more shade and rest places for the walking and bicycling folks. Little stands have been pushed back, and the road is even dustier than before. In town new construction in several places- a big hotel is being built in the old town: several stories high, towering over the small huts of the old fishmarket. Restoration work is also being done on the German Fort.
towering over the old fishmarket: a hotel under construction in the historical part of Bagamoyo
change: picture taken February 2009
once a beautiful tree-shaded road...picture taken October 2009
The Baobab shamba is also moving forward: running water is now available. Builders and volunteers built an eating place with bricks and a thatch roof and a beautiful mosaic floor. And food is being grown again: tomatoes are in season, eggplants, mchicha (spinach-like greens) and bananas. We are setting up camp and starting the next building this week. Initial talks have taken place with builders and final decisions are being made about design choices. The house will have two bedrooms that can sleep five people each (4 children one adult) . There is a sitting room and two covered porches, one of which will have a shower, a composting toilet and a place for laundry.
We are inviting volunteers and contributions to this project! Donations can be mad through the Earthrising Foundation website. If you are traveling in Tanzania and would like to join us for a short time please contact me.
Middle of summer and I look back at 6 weeks of Natural Building with a group of people who came together from very different walks and formed a tight team: the Natural Building Skillbuilders of 2009. As every year we started with a few days of orientation, or what we call “permaculturalization”: it’s about landing here, getting familiar with place and people and laying out the group intention. In a setting like ours you don’t just come in and learn building- if you’re going to make it through a few weeks of close-up camp life you need some good survival tools. We make agreements, create a vision, play games and get to know each other. The skillbuilder program is laid out to be largely practical, hands-on learning, and most of us were eager to get on with it. We had two projects waiting: first up Natural Plaster work with Cindy Walker in the lead. In 6 days we worked through multiple recipes, layers and tools and transformed the top floor of the Art Studio. The “Wishing Wall” at the Chillage also received a browncoat of earthplaster defining its shape and sculpting its edges. This was followed by a few days of theory: natural building systems, project management, alternative systems and a site visit at Elkington forest. To top it off a small rammed- earth wall was built to create a colorful thermal mass backdrop in the lower Art Studio space. Week four was set up for cob. The earthbag foundation at Freya’s house was ready to go and we built the curved east wall containing entrance, kitchen and eating space. The rhythm of mixing and building fell into place after a couple of days and many decisions had to be made regarding window placement and cabinetry. I was grateful to have Melisande from the Mudgirls collective as co-facilitator. And finally arches! Both hand formed and built over formwork were done. By the end of this 6- day period our wall was to the level of top of windows and our bodies were tired. A short week of some more theory, and some site organizing and preparation for the strawbale workshop that our French second year intern Nydia brought as her teaching part. Nydia completed her apprenticeship with Botmobil in France before she came to us this year. She introduced a bale building system developed by Tom Rijven in Europe (see: http://www.habitatvegetal.com/theorie). In short the bales are sized, dipped in clay-slip (the “French dip”) and tightly squeezed between two studs in the wall. After completing the stacking, things got really muddy: for the “bodycoat” we mixed clay, sand, chopped hay,horse-manure,wood shavings and chopped straw and covered the pile with black plastic to ferment. Soon the mix warms up and you can smell the action! In the meantime the wall got prepared to receive the mud: nails on wood, some trimming and then clayslip to provide good adhesion of the bodycoat.
And then the last days were suddenly there- design projectsgot completed and presented and we’re having our graduation day. Celebration began with an appreciation walk from Freya’s house to the kitchen where we had a great meal- one of so many prepared by the kitchen goddesses Jan, Marisa and Laura. A ceremony at the yurt was followed by drinks from the Strawbale Bar and dancing into the night. That’s going out in style! Highlights? The people, the languages, the fun, sunshine most of the time and the food! …Hands in the mud and swimming in the lake. Visit our web album with images from this year and send us an email if you want to be considered for next year’s program: naturalbuilding@ourecovillage.org .
In life we make many choices and agreements that create our lifestyle. What do I mean by that? Let me take you back to my youth when I grew up dreaming of being an architect perhaps- or a translator (which had the added benefit of travel), or a flight attendant (also for the travel). My interests were clearly reflected in those ideas: the interest in creating place/ space, the joy of learning and speaking different languages and the desire to travel. I don’t recall any particular coaching around how to choose what to do but I am very clear that I had an understanding that my work needed to be in line with my passion and my values in life. Having the work be a reward in itself- before any paycheck plays a role- is and always has been important to me. Choosing the kind of work that has me get up in the morning and looking forward to my workday leads into a sense of fulfillment and integrity. It saddens me to see so many people in jobs that they see only as a means to make enough money to then in their free time enjoy life- where what they consider ‘life’ happens outside of their work-world. There is another piece that I recently became aware of: the effect of making a contract/ agreement. Notice for a moment how energy shifts when we do something because we have contracted with someone (maybe a person in a power-position), when there is an agreement and expectation around time spent, patterns (working hours), and outcome. Compare that to taking on a project by yourself (the garden, home repair, childcare, volunteering), where you answer to yourself and make a commitment from your own desire. It is curious to me why we have so much more energy when it comes to these kinds of activities. What are your core values in life? What is your passion? How much of this is reflected in your work situation? People who work in line with their passion will go beyond the limitations of a contract or expectations of others. If there is a sense of empowerment, a degree of autonomy and responsibility, the performance goes up, and so does the level of joy and satisfaction. Its not only about what we do but also how we do it. There are ways to enhance work: connecting with others around us, helping each other, adding playful elements. Pay attention to the language we use with each other and how much we share of ourselves. Are we competing or working together for a goal? Taking responsibility for how we are in our work situation can shift the level of joy we experience. Volunteer work can be a great way to initiate change in life. Learning new skills, trying different work, doing good, giving back, connecting with others, bringing new meaning to our life – all those are part of the reason to find places to engage on a voluntary basis. A lot of work gets done: around the world organizations rely on their volunteer participation to do the jobs at hand. Its up to all of us to live and create the world we want – what’s your next step? volunteers from the community help out and learn at the Baobab project in Tanzania
I absolutely love your ethos about life and how we spend our time.... we all realise instinctively when we have got it right... life seems to flow somehow. I am building an earth oven in my garden this summer and next year aim to help build a house, maybe with you as a volunteer? That would be great and very inspirational...i keep coming back to your website and the development of your project in Tanzania... very best wishes, Bridget(in sunny England)
Last night I noticed myself gazing at a wall. The soft surface with slight dimples and streaks were enhanced by the evening sunlight. The deep window reveal was illuminated and the color gently changed from a warm yellow to a cooler tone as the sun set. The reveal bends around to the plane of the wall- not a hard corner but a soft hand shaped edge: it shows that someone moved a particular way applying the mud and then brushed the clay paint with generous strokes. Now it is morning and the sun fills the sleeping alcove: vivid color here and more sculpted shapes that change continuously as the light moves. This plaster displays bits of straw and shimmering mica. It’s really quite sensuous to look around in this space and it never gets boring. Curved walls meet hand cut wood with waney edges. Varying heights break up the space overhead. Natural light enters from all directions. The quality I experience here is similar to that of old European country homes- with stone walls and lime plaster- simple, solid, timeless and beautiful. PS. We just listed a workshop on Natural Plasters
beautiful pictures Elke! What a pleasure it is to see the plasters come alive. the straw plaster on the north wall is one of my favorites....
joan said...
Thursday, May 14, 2009 @ 8:00 am
I have just discovered your site and I am blown away - the houses of my dreams,in my dreams, ever since I came back from Barcelona and was mesmerized by Gaudi's work. I absolutely love the curves and the poetry in every detail as well as the sustainable materials. thank you for so generously sharing your vision. can't wait to learn more
namaste
What do you feel when you enter a space? What is it about the space that gives you that feeling? Is it the décor? Is it the arrangement of spaces to each other? Does it have something to do with beauty or lack of? When I remember experiences of space that have been powerful in my life I see one common thread: intention. We infuse our environment energetically by very simple and often unconscious actions: The conversation in the planning stage, the care being given during the construction phase and so on. As a building gets used this intention can be strengthened or injured. In my experience of cob houses I see so much love and joy, laughter and ceremony, singing and stillness. It’s no surprise that visitors want to linger. At the Buddha Smiles’ Garden of Peace school in Tamil Nadu you experience acceptance and peace- a quality inviting us into service. These intentions are supported by the leadership there, and have strengthened over the years. For Baobab Home in Tanzania intention for the land is just being set and will have to be put into practice and reality as we move ahead. O.U.R. Ecovillage is an intentional community: we are moving forward all the time holding an intention of sustainable living. As visitors come and hear about our work they see the progress we’ve made as well as the direction we’re taking. Repeating the story reinforces the intention. Next time you go out pay attention to the places you spend time in- our intention may change them.
above: setting intention before a ceremony at Garden of Peace below: a farewell blessing for leaving participants
above: entering a courtyard in an African village house (Village Museum Dar s Salaam) below: relationship of village houses around a square in Tanzania
Hello Elke,
Just a quick note to say hello. I am Michael Place, Terri Place's brother, and have been aware of your work for quite some time now. I find it, and you incredibly inspiring. In fact, I am trying to motivate some volunteers here to commit more money, time and effort to the Baobab property to help make the plans you've made continue to become reality. I hope to meet you in person someday..hopefully in Bagamoyo!
All the best,
Michael
Two weeks have gone by and we are finally seeing the progress we’ve been working on. Restoring a building is quite different from building. First you uncover what is/was there. Then a plan is being made for repair actions: how will things get done, what changes will be made, where is upgrading required. We have made 300 mud bricks to fill openings and to replace areas of wall. Our choice for bricks has to do with the attraction moisture offers to termites. With bricks we minimize the introduction of moisture into the building. We are also avoiding any new wood elements: the new window frames are made of angle iron and anchors of the same material. Screened opening wings will be metal also. This is a big step for this building- initially it had no screens on its windows.
The electrical works are also in the process of upgrading: better placement of light fixtures, installation of fans and receptacles.
There are arches to be repaired, holes to be filled, doors to be re-framed, windows to be installed. Then the wall surfaces will receive a lime-stabilized plaster. The overall scope of work is larger than this group of participants can finish in the limited timeframe we have, so we have requested to bring in a local masons crew to work with us. This will also ensure that someone locally can do any further repair work, or maintenance work.
Questions that come up are about the benefit of camps like this: are we really helping? What is the real purpose of our being here? Is it the project work? Is it about connecting people from around the world who have common ideals? Who really wants to have an earthen house here? Can we actually build an earthen house here and expect it to last?
Many questions…some answers I hope are not too far off.
