View from the field

Things are moving right along! The photo shows how the project looks as of the first week in December. These days a hearty crew of interns, residents and the occasional building partner are part of a marathon effort to shingle buildings.

Inside, Juan is doing sheet rock and mudding, and Karen, Saba, Mik, Faith and others are srubbing floors and painting.

This photo was taken on a brilliant sunny day. We've been blessed with pretty nice weather, but there have been some miserable rainy and windy days as well!

Cider pressing! Harvest time

Common Ground residents and interns went to Orcas Island at the invitation of Maile and Ed to pick apples and press cider. Maile and Ed also gave us some beautiful baby trees to start our Common Ground orchard. Someday we'll have apples, currents, figs, jostaberry, and plums all growing at new home!

Potluck dinner collage...

This past Thursday LCLT interns and residents and friends enjoyed a potluck dinner out at the Davis Point. Here's some video and photos together as a little collage. Please pardon the transitions -- i have extremely limited video-making skills, obviously. If y'all have more photos to add, let me know!

Way to go Chom And Chris!

Thanks goes to Chom and Chris for starting up the blog! I can't wait to see other interns and residents join in! When I get back to home base I'll upload some pics for all to enjoy. Peace to you all.

House people

The origin of the Guardian Spirits and the Smoke house.
a Skokomish story told By Uncle... whos true name cannot be said now that he has died.

Smoke House was a chief long long ago; but he was not called smoke house back then. He was just called chief. He Decided to create all the animals and all the birds. So he created them and named them all. Then he told each one, " In times to come, when people have been created, they will send their children out, during the night or during the day , and you will talk to them and tell them what they are able to do. You will tell the boys they will be able to get things easily, are to be good hunters, good fishermen and so on. You will tell the girls that they will be able to get things easily. At that time I will be smoke house myself."

Then he spoke again; " I'll have no body, no head, nor will I be able to see. Who ever desires to construct me will have the right to do so. The one that made me, I will take pity on him, and I'll give him what he requests. People may approach me thus; if anyone is injured, or if he is sick or if he is poisoned, he may come to me for help and I will give it to him. Also when any one is dying he may come to me and I'll help him also. I'll help him to the next world.
So in this world I am smoke house, for the help of human beings."

So in building these straw bale homes, I cant help but remember this story and think about all of the other than human persons that give their lives and bodies so we can fashion them into a home, I think of how the creator become these other than human persons so that they could take the form of these houses, I think of the tree people and the stone people, I think of the straw people, all the people, and I remember that its them and the creator that I am shaping into a home, I pray that others might be able to see this as they build these homes too.

http://bioregionalanimism.blogspot.com/

thanks for the blog!

Hi guys! Thanks for setting this up. This is Nathan Y, by the way. My user name is weird because of other blogs I belong to.

I'm excited to see all that'll come up here, both while I'm here and once I've gone.

Wahoo!

Y'all clap and cheer now, here comes the LCLT interns float!

In the 4th of July Parade the interns put together a strawbale house on wheels. It was too cool...

electrical and strawbale walls...

I was surprised that putting electrical outlets in strawbales requires armored cable -- electrical wires in a metal sheath. I guess the inspectors think that we'll be stabbing our strawbale walls with pitchforks or something.

Where we're at now!

It's an exciting phase of the project. Strawbale walls are going in. On some houses there's plaster going up. On some, we've even got metal roofing going up! On others the framing is being done.

On the left is a shot of the site from the rooftop of building A. On the right we can see some of the roofers in action -- Brian, Levi and Jessica. Levi and Jessica are interns. We're so grateful for the contributions of these folks!

Below the roofers, the plaster on the strawbale walls is drying. The darker corner section on the side is cob.

Thanks!

Thank you to Chris and Chom for setting up our Common Ground blog!

Vicki

Welcome!

This blog is a channel for all of us who has had a hand in building and helping with the "Common Ground" Sustainable Homes Project to share, reflect, exchange, chat, communicate or just stay in touch . The project not only provides sustainable housing for the future residents, but also brings together a community of wonderful people from all walks of life, all over the world to work and learn together as a team, learn and grow, laugh and share. It is our hope that this wonderful process will carry on well beyond the completion of the project.