Kevin Rowell (back) and Mark Mazziotti (fore) building a clever bamboo chicken coop at Emerald Earth, June 2005.

I’ve written a few times in the past year about natural building. I’ve been lucky to learn about it through the work of friends, and workshops at Emerald Earth and the Solar Living Institute [nice website design] in Hopland.

The natural building community is often portrayed as a fringe movement. In terms of sheer numbers you could call it a fringe aspect of the green building community. But the term fringe carries connotations that in this case don’t apply. The natural building movement is perhaps better described as the leading edge of the green building industry. These are people who really put their whole selves into solving large, complex problems.

Was thrilled to hear about this David Gelles earthen floor article in the New York Times (thanks for the link Michele). Congratulations to Marisha Farnsworth and Kevin Rowell in El Cerrito, to Michael Smith in Boonville, and especially to my buddy Mark Mazziotti, one of the builders at Marisha and Kevin’s place.

It’s great exposure for people who deserve the recognition. Good work for everyone involved.
[tags]natural building[/tags]