About Earthen Hand

"Building the earth movement"

Artist's Statement

Vision

Earthen Hand Natural Building was founded in 2002 with the goals to create amazing earthen structures and empower people by training them in natural building practices. We offer educational courses in earthen architecture as well as services in sustainable building design, consultation, and construction. Because of our work, and many others doing similar work, more and more people are grasping the incredible importance of resource-conscious construction practices.

We provide local and international natural building workshops in Oregon, Thailand, Mali and Puerto Rico. Each day of a workshop includes hands-on training, discussion, and lecture. Hundreds of people have learned how to build more ecologically at one of our workshops. Our students are of all ages, and everyone learns a lot. Kids love playing with mud. Adults see the socio-political empowerment and utility of our techniques. Our international workshops assist indigenous communities by creating a useful structure. Participants of these workshops get a wonderful visit to a new country that allows them to interact with and give something significant to local peoples.

Clients can commission anything from sculptural architecture, to earthen paints or plasters, to earth ovens or artworks. People who commission works from us understand that they are contributing to a larger ecological movement. Many clients choose to participate and learn in the building process. Every earthen building completed contributes to the greater body of knowledge about these techniques. Natural Building gains presence every time someone completes a stunning example. We encourage experimentation because it brings even more effective designs. It is our goal to create solid, artful structures that will inspire people to want to learn about them.

In recent years, earthen building has become increasingly well-known and commonplace in Portland, Oregon. Earthen Hand Natural Building is proud to be on the forefront of this movement. Many others work tirelessly along side us toward the same goals. A great example of Portland's community in action is the Village Building Convergence event, where we teach free Natural Building workshops to the public each year in May.

    (For more information about the Village Building Convergence, go to: www.citryrepair.org/vbc)

Artist's Statement

I offer natural building workshops locally and abroad. See the latest workshop schedule here.

I am an artist/builder/designer who creates architectural sculptures, ceramic art, and stained glass windows. This diverse skill set allows me to adapt readily available materials such as earth, reclaimed glass and wood to create beautiful and practical solutions. By using earthen and reclaimed materials, I create pieces with very low embodied energy. My knowledge of conventional construction allows me to integrate these low embodied-energy techniques and materials into most structures.

I learned a great deal from the example set forth by people like Laurie Baker (earth architect in India), Mark Lakeman (The City Repair Project), Ianto Evans (Cob Cottage Co.); the works of Sun Ray Kelley, the late Nader Khalili (Cal-earth), and Antonio Gaudi. Some of my favorite authors include Hassan Fathy (architecture for the poor), Christopher Alexander (a pattern language), and Johan Van Lengen (manual del architecto descalzo).

It takes subtle sensitivity to build poetic human spaces that embody that "quality without a name", as described by author Christopher Alexander. I seek to create sacred spaces that inspire reverence for nature. The curvilinear, and soft feeling of earthen materials encourages health and well-being. Nature itself shows us all the patterns that we might ever need to make harmonious dwellings in any climate. Natural Building is the realignment of our spaces and consciousness with mother nature. Our ancestors refined constructed human landscapes that never depart from the surrounding earth. Could the ancient builder have been more advanced than the contemporary?

Vision

Just Us

Governments and big businesses have systematically limited so many owner-builders from creating their own dwellings. Who do you think stands to profit? Who stands to lose? Let's reclaim our right to build our own houses. Free us from the 30-year mortgage trap, toxic building materials and methods, and the vanity of over-sized houses. Also, let's all reduce wasteful resource flow in the US, Canada, and Europe, because so much work needs to be done to help the needy all over the world. Everyone can take responsibility for the earth by making the most ecological choices possible in each situation. The earth today is obviously facing some level of ecological crisis, but the choices we make now may have a huge impact on our own futures - in our own lifetimes. It is up to us.

The Youth

Just imagine all the kids that are learning to Cob these days starting at three and four years old. What gems will these students bring forward as they come into adulthood? There is no doubt that the strong presence of earthen building education in Portland, Oregon schools will spark further development of the earthen building movement in the near future.

And we must do more than tell the youth about the future, we have to attempt to bring examples to life. Educating young people by building eco-schools is a great approach. As the youth see this new kind of participatory community architecture rise from the ground itself, this positive example will have a great impression.

Futures

Who can say what the future of human dwellings will hold? Nader Khalili called for thoughtful use of fired earthen architecture. Ceramic structures could last thousands of years, and so are worth the cost of firing them. In old world Southern Italy, dome-shaped houses called trulli were built using only stones, earth, and lime. These are great examples that we should strive to follow. These structures withstand the centuries because of the pure harmony and skill employed by their builders, not because the materials are high-tech. At the same time, innovative new building materials made from things we "throw away" are being invented that may hold great significance for the future.

Through our projects we will continually work to advance the technology of ecologically viable house design with innovation and testing on the buildings we construct. We offer the results of our research freely to all interested parties. Sharing information is the way we all win.

Organizations that can profit from work that helps people and the earth will clearly outlive all others. Many potentially profitable opportunities exist all over the world for successful eco-projects. Let's all cooperate on these; almost everyone and everything is begging us to! Earthen Hand believes that real partnerships are what open doors. We seek partnerships to create earth buildings that push the envelope technically and stylistically.

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