I want to build a cob house. Cob is a building material made of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe and people have been using it since at least the 11th century to build warm, durable homes that still stand in Wales and around the world. There are cob projects here in Portland where I live - a wall and bench of a food co-op I go to and benches at schools and on corners around town.Cob buildings can be very interesting and have a lot of character, from this traditional house in New Zealand which has survived two earthquakes:

to more artistic and experimental forms:

Here in Oregon, we're lucky to have Ianto Evans and the Cob Cottage Company . They offer apprenticeships and workshops on cob building and Mr. Evans, an Oregonian of Welsh birth, has written books on cob building and efficient woodburning stoves, including his own invention, the rocket stove .He's also written a book on building with cob, The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage: The Real Goods Solar Living Book , with co-authors from the Cob Cottage Company. This is a great book and I'm buying a copy, there are five copies at my library and they're always out. So if you're interested in a fascinating project - from a real house to a bench for your home, have a look at cob.