Mud, the ultimate building material - Becky Little - BS018
This week we have a conversation with mud mason, Becky Little from Rebearth.
"Rebearth is a Scottish company founded by mud mason Becky Little. We specialise in building, art and education using raw earth and natural materials.
We have 25 years of experience in earth building techniques including mudwall (cob), wattle and daub, light clay and hemp, turf building, soft capping, clay plasters, earth sculpture and decoration.
By learning from the past and working with nature, we celebrate and develop the skills and traditions of earth building."
Building with mud has got to be the most sustainable way to create a home. In terms of embodied carbon, it's got to be one of the lowest materials available. In terms of performance it's actually one of the best performing materials with regards to moisture buffering, heat buffering and removal of VOCs from the air.
I think the biggest issue, is that mud has an image problem! People see it as medieval, and peasant technology that we (with all our technological advances) have moved on from and bettered. But the truth is we haven't... we have created materials that are faster or cheaper to build with, but not that are good for human health or that of the planet.
Massive thanks to Becky for the conversation - Enjoy the episode!
Support this podcast:
https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability
Becky Little Podcast Links
- Rebearth
- Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB)
- Historic Scotland
- Kevin McCabe (Cob Builder)
- Kevin McCabe - Grand designs house
- Article on CO2 emissions of cement production
- Cobbauge (cob research project)
- Earth Building UK and Ireland
- Ianto Evans Book - Hand Sculpted House - https://tinyurl.com/2b7yc3bp
- Cob Cottage Company
- Thomas Hoblyn (Chelsea flower show garden designer)
- The Dubai Majlis Garden (Chelsea flower show garden)
- Guy Valentine (Clay plasterer)
- Natural Homes (Website and facebook group)
- Simple Shelters Fife
Becky Little
Mud Mason
Rebearth was set up by myself, Becky Little in 2015, following a long career as a traditional builder with stone, earth and lime. While I still love learning from the past I wanted a more holistic approach to work (and life) and to share and develop my expertise with natural building materials. This ongoing journey has enabled me to work with a wide range of craftspeople, professionals and learners throughout Europe and beyond. These collaborations are wide ranging but in essence they are about being intimate with a place and it’s people; creating buildings and art in tune with nature and the seasons, while nurturing relationships, team building and personal growth. As a builder I have a pragmatic approach to making things work on time and budget. As an artist and teacher I can expand this view and help others find new skills and creativity.
So while Rebearth begins with me it also embraces a much wider network of learning and expertise which I tap into for every project and idea, big or small. I can only offer a glimpse of what we do in these pages but you can find more about our work via the social media links or by contacting me directly. I look forward to hearing from you.
Follow:
New to the podcast? Start here:
How to design the natural home of your dreams - Sigi Koko - BS070
Sigi Koko is the principal designer of Down to Earth Design, which she founded in 1998 to help her clients manifest their dreams of living in a natural, healthy home. She works exclusively on projects that are natural, ener...
How Buildings can Save the World - Chris Magwood - BS044
Chris Magwood not only has a huge wealth of experience building straw bale homes, but has the building science Masters degree to back up his experience. We discuss how the built environment can go from being the worst offend...
Solving damp problems with lime - Ben Kerslake - BS042
This week I am joined by Ben Kerslake from Carrington Lime . As well as a general geek out about lime, we mostly talk about how to solve damp problems in homes with some simple observation and materials choices. We …
Sand Stories - The sustainability of sand - Kiran Pereira - BS035
Kiran Pereira is the author of the forthcoming book Sand Stories: Surprising truths about the global sand crisis and the quest for sustainable solutions . Kiran was raised in India where she witnessed the impacts of indiscrim...
Mud, the ultimate building material - Becky Little - BS018
This week we have a conversation with mud mason, Becky Little from Rebearth . "Rebearth is a Scottish company founded by mud mason Becky Little. We specialise in building, art and education using raw earth and natural materia...
Prefabricated straw panels & magic mud - Bee Rowan - BS007
Natural builder, Bee Rowan talks to us about Ecococoon straw bale panels. These prefabricated panels are load bearing and highly insulating - the result is being able to build the entirety of your eco home in 2 days! We also …