We are a not-for-profit community interest company of natural builders who create community structures in London using local hands and local materials – primarily cob. Since 2008 we have been building cob ovens, storytelling benches and other cob structures with and for schools, city farms, community growing spaces and other special-interest groups. We also run team-building days and provide ways
for organisations to fulfil corporate social responsibility objectives. We are the only organisation of our kind dedicated to using cob building as a way to engage and regenerate communities in London. We operate via a network of volunteers and are governed by a board of eight trustees. WHAT WE DO / HOW WE DO IT
We are passionate about working with communities and with clay – in particular London clay because it’s readily available and too often destined for landfill. We use cob because it’s enjoyable and easy to work with – and egalitarian: Anyone can get involved, from a 4-year-old to a granny. We work with our hands – and feet, and tarps, often assisted by the occasional robin. And we use no machines or specialist tools. This makes our projects very safe and accessible to all ages and abilities. Our ethos is to engage local communities in a creative building process using as many recycled materials as possible. Bringing community together in this way is not only fun and educational for the participants, but it makes our projects sustainable and low-impact, with an emphasis on creating and not consuming. It’s all about getting back to nature and close to the earth – literally. Participants on our projects, events and training days usually leave feeling grounded and inspired, having made new connections with others and learned something about alternative building. All our trained mud masons live in London, and that’s where most of our community projects take place. If we think you are too far away, we will try to find you a local cob builder because we think that’s a more sustainable approach.
