The Women's Natural Building Collective
The Women's Natural Building Collective (WNBC) is a group of experienced women natural builders based in the Odemira district of Southern Po…
Superadobe / Cob / Earthbag
Cob, superadobe and earthbag structures use earth as a main building material. Portuguese projects teach these durable techniques in hands-on workshops.
Focus —
All focusesEco-building TechniquesNatural MaterialsPassive Solar DesignTiny HomesEarthshipsRenovation & RetrofittingCircular Building PracticesSuperadobe / Cob / EarthbagHemp Construction
Where —Projects in this focus
Superadobe, cob and earthbag building
These three techniques all build with the soil already on site. Cob is earth, sand and straw shaped by hand into monolithic walls. Superadobe and earthbag fill long tubes or sacks with earth and stack them, often in domes or curves. Little of the material travels, which is most of the point.
They are legal to build with in Portugal, and durable (cob houses here have stood for centuries) but they need an engineer's involvement and a builder who has done it before.
Hands-on workshops are a standard way to learn: participants build part of a real structure. The eco-building techniques and natural materials focuses sit next to this one. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.