Crown Lane Children’s Centre – Cob Oven
WHO
Crown Lane Children’s Centre at The Lodge
THE BRIEF
To build a community oven, including, foundations and plinth over a period of three days. To engage local residents, centre users and their children, staff and volunteers in the process.
The project was initiated by The Point in partnership with Crown Lane Children's Centre. (The Point is a newly-formed residents’ organisation for Crown Point, seeking to engage adults, children and young people in positive activities and skills-sharing). 50% of costs were covered by a small grant from Lambeth Living, with the Children's Centre contributing the remainder.
OUTPUT
A community oven built by all! A full weekend of community engagement- 30-40 adults and a similar number of children attended each day.
In addition to learning about cob, children and adults had 2 days of unlimited and undirected access to the outdoor play space, which provided very stimulating and free play and creative opportunities with trees and ropes, logs and other loose-part play and gardening as well as the abundance of clay available.
Participants learned:
The wide-ranging uses of clay and properties of London clay (that lies in great abundance under their feet and which their homes are built upon.)
• How to make clay mortars – instead of using cement
• How to make natural renders – instead of using harmful gypsum
• Best practice on making cob for different construction purposes
• How to harness and maximise the heat storing properties of clay by using natural and recycled insulants such as recycled bottles, straw and sawdust
• Many areas of adult and children's curriculum– see ‘outcomes’ below
Adults and children alike thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, made new friends and connections and went away happy and inspired wanting to work and create more with London’s clay, asking when the next activity would be and wishing to engage further with community projects in the area.
THE OUTCOMES
Many new visitors to The Lodge were given tours and introduced to family support services and community learning opportunities, increasing membership and volunteer registration and resulting in an increased awareness of and local support for the work of each organisation involved. A safer and tidier site - we did a thorough garden clear up to collect all broken bricks, pavers and stones and used these to infill the plinth.
New skills and increased self esteem for parents and children - the foundations and plinth were made entirely by children aged 2-13 years. On Saturday morning, the Lodge father's group took part enabling dads to learn and teach building skills with their children (18 months to 14 years) They appreciated the opportunity to share their own skills and knowledge and have these recognised and supported by the staff who facilitated or stepped back as needed
The experience was greatly rewarding for all. Many participants across both days had started with no building skills. Working in this way created a safe, playful learning experience for all ages and instigated new community partnerships.
Participants were representative of many different countries in the African and South American Diaspora, Europe and Asia. One said: “I haven’t done earth building since I left my village over 30 years ago. This is the first time I have felt connected to London.”
Another said: “I was so excited to know that there would be an earth oven here and we could help build it. My grandmother used to cook in one of these in Ecuador. It’s wonderful to come cook in our community oven and it’s on my doorstep!”
Project co-ordinators at Crown Lane and The Point were delighted with the weekend: "It couldn't have been better, so much shared learning, so many new people, and all excited to be involved and eager for the next project. This is community engagement at its most creative and energetic! Thank you Linda and Louis - you have helped us on our path towards a greater sense of community and inspired everyone involved to seek and create more opportunities like this. We can't wait to get together again to break freshly-baked bread together..." (Centre Manager)
Aspects of the course were conducted in both English and Spanish and the weekend enabled us to further develop our teaching and facilitation skills by making links with National Curriculum and Adult Functional Skills. We embedded these and incorporated key learning points into each stage of the build. Science and technology skills gained by participants included measuring and using spirit levels, understanding thermal mass and insulation, engineering and utilising the molecular and physical properties of different materials.
Through discussion and practical demonstration, we shared information, answered questions and encouraged experimentation. IT facilities on-site also meant that further self-directed learning was possible for participants, and many had their own skills and knowledge to contribute, so between us we covered topics such as the geological formation of land masses in the earth's pre-history, properties of different substrates, the history and culture of human habitation, technical construction and engineering, the science and natural properties of clay, wood, stone, brick, glass etc, environmental concerns, nature conservation and creative ideas for recycling.
We also created an art-space for sculpting and encouraged observation of, and experimentation with clay in different states of liquidity. In this way, between the CIC team, Centre staff and all the volunteers and participants, we shared skills and knowledge covering just about every area of the curriculum Language and Literacy, Numeracy, Science and Technology, History, Geography.
The activities and social aspect of the weekend also provided significant gains for participants in their physical development, health and wellbeing, personal, social and emotional skills and development, self esteem, and sense of community and belonging.
TECHNICAL
The build and site clear-up took place over three days. We used recycled bottles and sawdust for insulation, glacial clay from the Cross Rail extension, one tonne of sand and straw, recycled bricks and unwanted school urbanite.
Crown Lane Children’s Centre at The Lodge
THE BRIEF
To build a community oven, including, foundations and plinth over a period of three days. To engage local residents, centre users and their children, staff and volunteers in the process.
The project was initiated by The Point in partnership with Crown Lane Children's Centre. (The Point is a newly-formed residents’ organisation for Crown Point, seeking to engage adults, children and young people in positive activities and skills-sharing). 50% of costs were covered by a small grant from Lambeth Living, with the Children's Centre contributing the remainder.
OUTPUT
A community oven built by all! A full weekend of community engagement- 30-40 adults and a similar number of children attended each day.
In addition to learning about cob, children and adults had 2 days of unlimited and undirected access to the outdoor play space, which provided very stimulating and free play and creative opportunities with trees and ropes, logs and other loose-part play and gardening as well as the abundance of clay available.
Participants learned:
The wide-ranging uses of clay and properties of London clay (that lies in great abundance under their feet and which their homes are built upon.)
• How to make clay mortars – instead of using cement
• How to make natural renders – instead of using harmful gypsum
• Best practice on making cob for different construction purposes
• How to harness and maximise the heat storing properties of clay by using natural and recycled insulants such as recycled bottles, straw and sawdust
• Many areas of adult and children's curriculum– see ‘outcomes’ below
Adults and children alike thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, made new friends and connections and went away happy and inspired wanting to work and create more with London’s clay, asking when the next activity would be and wishing to engage further with community projects in the area.
THE OUTCOMES
Many new visitors to The Lodge were given tours and introduced to family support services and community learning opportunities, increasing membership and volunteer registration and resulting in an increased awareness of and local support for the work of each organisation involved. A safer and tidier site - we did a thorough garden clear up to collect all broken bricks, pavers and stones and used these to infill the plinth.
New skills and increased self esteem for parents and children - the foundations and plinth were made entirely by children aged 2-13 years. On Saturday morning, the Lodge father's group took part enabling dads to learn and teach building skills with their children (18 months to 14 years) They appreciated the opportunity to share their own skills and knowledge and have these recognised and supported by the staff who facilitated or stepped back as needed
The experience was greatly rewarding for all. Many participants across both days had started with no building skills. Working in this way created a safe, playful learning experience for all ages and instigated new community partnerships.
Participants were representative of many different countries in the African and South American Diaspora, Europe and Asia. One said: “I haven’t done earth building since I left my village over 30 years ago. This is the first time I have felt connected to London.”
Another said: “I was so excited to know that there would be an earth oven here and we could help build it. My grandmother used to cook in one of these in Ecuador. It’s wonderful to come cook in our community oven and it’s on my doorstep!”
Project co-ordinators at Crown Lane and The Point were delighted with the weekend: "It couldn't have been better, so much shared learning, so many new people, and all excited to be involved and eager for the next project. This is community engagement at its most creative and energetic! Thank you Linda and Louis - you have helped us on our path towards a greater sense of community and inspired everyone involved to seek and create more opportunities like this. We can't wait to get together again to break freshly-baked bread together..." (Centre Manager)
Aspects of the course were conducted in both English and Spanish and the weekend enabled us to further develop our teaching and facilitation skills by making links with National Curriculum and Adult Functional Skills. We embedded these and incorporated key learning points into each stage of the build. Science and technology skills gained by participants included measuring and using spirit levels, understanding thermal mass and insulation, engineering and utilising the molecular and physical properties of different materials.
Through discussion and practical demonstration, we shared information, answered questions and encouraged experimentation. IT facilities on-site also meant that further self-directed learning was possible for participants, and many had their own skills and knowledge to contribute, so between us we covered topics such as the geological formation of land masses in the earth's pre-history, properties of different substrates, the history and culture of human habitation, technical construction and engineering, the science and natural properties of clay, wood, stone, brick, glass etc, environmental concerns, nature conservation and creative ideas for recycling.
We also created an art-space for sculpting and encouraged observation of, and experimentation with clay in different states of liquidity. In this way, between the CIC team, Centre staff and all the volunteers and participants, we shared skills and knowledge covering just about every area of the curriculum Language and Literacy, Numeracy, Science and Technology, History, Geography.
The activities and social aspect of the weekend also provided significant gains for participants in their physical development, health and wellbeing, personal, social and emotional skills and development, self esteem, and sense of community and belonging.
TECHNICAL
The build and site clear-up took place over three days. We used recycled bottles and sawdust for insulation, glacial clay from the Cross Rail extension, one tonne of sand and straw, recycled bricks and unwanted school urbanite.
Castle Climbing Centre – Cob Oven
WHO
Castle Climbing Centre
THE BRIEF
The Castle Climbing Centre has extensive grounds of which much has been converted into food growing areas. The Castle has a great eco philosophy, a strong recycling policy and a desire to positively engage with community.
Garden staff wanted to improve the perception and contribution of the garden by the office staff, climbers and increase visitor numbers.
To achieve this a commercial size oven to be built in an outdoor kitchen / teaching activity area.
To keep costs down, they built their own plinth structure. When the oven was complete, they built the own round pole reciprocal living roof kitchen / activity area.
THE OUTPUT
A commercial cob oven for use on open days, generating revenue from the sale food on open days and feed the volunteers and attendees to courses in the garden.
THE OUTCOMES
• We used recycled materials to fit in with their eco policy, clearing the garden in the process
• We engaged climbing trainers and office staff to build the oven. This was important as some staff never used the garden
• The team felt confident to use its cob skills to build a cob bottle wall and have other cob plans to follow.
• The space is regularly used throughout the year to fundraise on open days, offer teaching programmes
• Cob in the Community was invited back to run a course on how to build a cob oven in a day, permaculture and natural building.
The Garden has supported the Castle Climbing Centre achieve numerous awards including the Sustainable City awards for Sustainable Building, Sustainable Procurement as well as the Green Thinking Award.
Castle Climbing Centre
THE BRIEF
The Castle Climbing Centre has extensive grounds of which much has been converted into food growing areas. The Castle has a great eco philosophy, a strong recycling policy and a desire to positively engage with community.
Garden staff wanted to improve the perception and contribution of the garden by the office staff, climbers and increase visitor numbers.
To achieve this a commercial size oven to be built in an outdoor kitchen / teaching activity area.
To keep costs down, they built their own plinth structure. When the oven was complete, they built the own round pole reciprocal living roof kitchen / activity area.
THE OUTPUT
A commercial cob oven for use on open days, generating revenue from the sale food on open days and feed the volunteers and attendees to courses in the garden.
THE OUTCOMES
• We used recycled materials to fit in with their eco policy, clearing the garden in the process
• We engaged climbing trainers and office staff to build the oven. This was important as some staff never used the garden
• The team felt confident to use its cob skills to build a cob bottle wall and have other cob plans to follow.
• The space is regularly used throughout the year to fundraise on open days, offer teaching programmes
• Cob in the Community was invited back to run a course on how to build a cob oven in a day, permaculture and natural building.
The Garden has supported the Castle Climbing Centre achieve numerous awards including the Sustainable City awards for Sustainable Building, Sustainable Procurement as well as the Green Thinking Award.
Oasis Oven
WHO
Oasis Nature Garden
THE BRIEF
• To build a cob oven with members of the community for use in their outdoor kitchen.
• To feed the gardening volunteers in the community growing space.
• To get the indoor staff more engaged in the growing space project.
THE OUTCOME
• Over 16 participants came over two days; 70 % of respondents came because they build their own cob oven in their community garden or school. 15% wanted first hand experience making and working with cob because they wanted to test cob for self build.
• The oven build was constrained by the size of the plinth – and this resulted in our smallest oven build. The client was happy because the oven would mostly be cooked in by the children. This required us to balance the thickness of the walls with the size of the internal cooking space.
• Participants left with practice skills on how to source and test clay, how to make and build with cob how to use natural and recycled materials for insulants and how to use the oven to burn minimum wood.
TECHNICAL
• External diameter was 1400x1000.
TESTIMONIAL
"Cob in the Community and Linda were an absolute pleasure to work with. A real "can do" attitude, lots of fun and a wonderful cob oven, thank you" – Oasis Nature Reserve Education Leader.
Oasis Nature Garden
THE BRIEF
• To build a cob oven with members of the community for use in their outdoor kitchen.
• To feed the gardening volunteers in the community growing space.
• To get the indoor staff more engaged in the growing space project.
THE OUTCOME
• Over 16 participants came over two days; 70 % of respondents came because they build their own cob oven in their community garden or school. 15% wanted first hand experience making and working with cob because they wanted to test cob for self build.
• The oven build was constrained by the size of the plinth – and this resulted in our smallest oven build. The client was happy because the oven would mostly be cooked in by the children. This required us to balance the thickness of the walls with the size of the internal cooking space.
• Participants left with practice skills on how to source and test clay, how to make and build with cob how to use natural and recycled materials for insulants and how to use the oven to burn minimum wood.
TECHNICAL
• External diameter was 1400x1000.
TESTIMONIAL
"Cob in the Community and Linda were an absolute pleasure to work with. A real "can do" attitude, lots of fun and a wonderful cob oven, thank you" – Oasis Nature Reserve Education Leader.
Vauxhall City Farm – Story Telling Benches
WHO
Vauxhall City Farm
THE BRIEF
The Ecology garden at VCF faced stiff competition for land and VCF resources from areas where animals were more popular and therefore more important to visitors and staff.
To change the role of the Ecology Garden in relation to the farm by:
• Repairing to existing Rain Temple
• Clearing the site of rubbish
• Engaging community
THE OUTPUTS
We designed the repair and rebuild programmed to allow maximum engagement and participation and use of unwanted materials / rubbish on the farm.
Removal of cement from benches.
Repair to foundation, reinstatement of rammed earth tires as stem wall.
Cob made and used to create benches
Tree cuts embedded in cob as seating
Sculpted figures made Earthern floor laid
Site cleared and ‘rubbish’ used to help build the structure
The project was successful in its use of community whose work to create a beautiful space helped re- balance the role ecology at the farm. The area now serves to celebrate the unsung heroes of ecology; the worms and insects and beetles that this area of the farm wanted to include in its educational activities.
THE OUTCOMES:
• We engaged Young Farmers to design and produce 3D models for the new area, to be inspired by the ecology garden
• We worked with first time young offences to remove the concrete from structure. This group gained news skills and a heightened self-esteem, learning new skills and leaving a positive impact on the Farm. The team leader said, “what ever you are doing, keep doing it. I’ve never seen them so happy”.
• We engaged with HSBC, RICS and John Lewis corporate teams to make cob and clear the site. Their involvement helped fund the project and progress work. For many, this was the first time they had each worked as a team with different departments of and hierarchies within an organisation. 75% of respondents to our survey said the project exceeded their expectations. One said, “It felt like we were really making a difference” (HSBC); another said “Best day in ages – it was very inspiring to learn how to make building materials from very simple materials” (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors).
• Local Muslim groups worked with representatives from the local church and the project even had a visit from the then Archbishop of Canterbury. The day left a lasting impression. TECHNICAL
The bench was in a bad state of repair because cement had been used to cover the rammed earth tires foundation. The cement trapped moisture and water into the structure, causing the surfaces to crack. By replacing concrete with cob, moisture from ground and the rammed tires was able to evaporate into the atmosphere.
Approx. two tonnes of sharp sand, ¾-1 tonne of London clay and a lot of recycled straw were used We conducted numerous tests to determine materials found on the farm for use as renders - hair from llama, horse, alpaca, and manure from horse, cow and chicken.
Use of these materials on the bench was scrapped because of fears that some city farms were being closed due to outbreaks of e-Coli.
We opted linseed thinned with turpentine to cover the cob benches. Our initial choice of citronella as a thinner, was also scrapped because this this acts as an insect / bugs deterrent The linseed took a long time to dry.
The structure was part funded by SITA and completed over four months.
Vauxhall City Farm
THE BRIEF
The Ecology garden at VCF faced stiff competition for land and VCF resources from areas where animals were more popular and therefore more important to visitors and staff.
To change the role of the Ecology Garden in relation to the farm by:
• Repairing to existing Rain Temple
• Clearing the site of rubbish
• Engaging community
THE OUTPUTS
We designed the repair and rebuild programmed to allow maximum engagement and participation and use of unwanted materials / rubbish on the farm.
Removal of cement from benches.
Repair to foundation, reinstatement of rammed earth tires as stem wall.
Cob made and used to create benches
Tree cuts embedded in cob as seating
Sculpted figures made Earthern floor laid
Site cleared and ‘rubbish’ used to help build the structure
The project was successful in its use of community whose work to create a beautiful space helped re- balance the role ecology at the farm. The area now serves to celebrate the unsung heroes of ecology; the worms and insects and beetles that this area of the farm wanted to include in its educational activities.
THE OUTCOMES:
• We engaged Young Farmers to design and produce 3D models for the new area, to be inspired by the ecology garden
• We worked with first time young offences to remove the concrete from structure. This group gained news skills and a heightened self-esteem, learning new skills and leaving a positive impact on the Farm. The team leader said, “what ever you are doing, keep doing it. I’ve never seen them so happy”.
• We engaged with HSBC, RICS and John Lewis corporate teams to make cob and clear the site. Their involvement helped fund the project and progress work. For many, this was the first time they had each worked as a team with different departments of and hierarchies within an organisation. 75% of respondents to our survey said the project exceeded their expectations. One said, “It felt like we were really making a difference” (HSBC); another said “Best day in ages – it was very inspiring to learn how to make building materials from very simple materials” (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors).
• Local Muslim groups worked with representatives from the local church and the project even had a visit from the then Archbishop of Canterbury. The day left a lasting impression. TECHNICAL
The bench was in a bad state of repair because cement had been used to cover the rammed earth tires foundation. The cement trapped moisture and water into the structure, causing the surfaces to crack. By replacing concrete with cob, moisture from ground and the rammed tires was able to evaporate into the atmosphere.
Approx. two tonnes of sharp sand, ¾-1 tonne of London clay and a lot of recycled straw were used We conducted numerous tests to determine materials found on the farm for use as renders - hair from llama, horse, alpaca, and manure from horse, cow and chicken.
Use of these materials on the bench was scrapped because of fears that some city farms were being closed due to outbreaks of e-Coli.
We opted linseed thinned with turpentine to cover the cob benches. Our initial choice of citronella as a thinner, was also scrapped because this this acts as an insect / bugs deterrent The linseed took a long time to dry.
The structure was part funded by SITA and completed over four months.
Pooles Park – Earth Kitchen & Oven
WHO
Pooles Park primary school – nationally renowned for their environmental work
THE BRIEF
Cob oven with lockable door
THE OUTCOME
Cob became a very popular activity with the after-school club. The children engagement with the project gave them a profound sense of ownership and achievement. “This is the best thing the school has ever done”, said one child. The children gained new levels of learning and self-esteem though practical skills including building foundations, bricklaying, rammed earth tires, sculpting and making cob.
They engaged in team building and leadership activities as children were encouraged to teach each cob building. We worked with the school and teaching staff to:
• Engage pupils across the school, relating our teaching where possible to curriculum
• To enhance understanding of working with waste as a resource
• To learn about use and recycling of car tires
• To make their own building materials and learn skills to build with them
• To have a new sense of ownership of their outdoor space
We engaged with local Finsbury Park community, including the Transition Town network. The school has received numerous awards including the Growing Schools Award, The WWF Green Ambassadors Awards and Lottery Funding.
Cob in the Community developed several policies specific to working with schools and children such as health and safety, model release forms and fact sheets on how to use the oven safely. We were invited back by the Eco Coordinator to build structures in another school.
TECHNICAL
• We used 2 tonnes of clay sourced from a local landscape project in N5. We used circa 3 tonnes of sand, 12 recycled tires, recycled wood, 25 engineering bricks for the oven arch and hearth.
Pooles Park primary school – nationally renowned for their environmental work
THE BRIEF
Cob oven with lockable door
THE OUTCOME
Cob became a very popular activity with the after-school club. The children engagement with the project gave them a profound sense of ownership and achievement. “This is the best thing the school has ever done”, said one child. The children gained new levels of learning and self-esteem though practical skills including building foundations, bricklaying, rammed earth tires, sculpting and making cob.
They engaged in team building and leadership activities as children were encouraged to teach each cob building. We worked with the school and teaching staff to:
• Engage pupils across the school, relating our teaching where possible to curriculum
• To enhance understanding of working with waste as a resource
• To learn about use and recycling of car tires
• To make their own building materials and learn skills to build with them
• To have a new sense of ownership of their outdoor space
We engaged with local Finsbury Park community, including the Transition Town network. The school has received numerous awards including the Growing Schools Award, The WWF Green Ambassadors Awards and Lottery Funding.
Cob in the Community developed several policies specific to working with schools and children such as health and safety, model release forms and fact sheets on how to use the oven safely. We were invited back by the Eco Coordinator to build structures in another school.
TECHNICAL
• We used 2 tonnes of clay sourced from a local landscape project in N5. We used circa 3 tonnes of sand, 12 recycled tires, recycled wood, 25 engineering bricks for the oven arch and hearth.
The Gaia Gallery – Permaculture & Arts Narrowboat
WHO
The Gaia Gallery
THE BRIEF
To assist build the first off-grid, touring permaculture workshop and event space in the world, including a heated cob bench, fired by a rocket stove aboard a London barge, earthern walls and treatment to cob in high water areas.
THE OUTPUTS
To oversee and project manage cob making and cob renovation of the interior of the space.
To conduct the build in a way that involved community groups through a series of public courses.
To organize training on rocket stove heaters and together with the cob work, and help the project develop its network of people with skills in cob making and rocket stove builds to assist in the completion of the project.
To offer courses in natural material building and permaculture and bring their marriage to the attention of many Londoners for the first time.
THE OUTCOME
Cob in the Community organised multiple cob building weekends that attracted and engaged a number of diverse groups including SOAS Radical Architects, Bow River Farm, The London Permaculture Network, Meadow Forge, Public Works, Community ReLeaf and many more over multiple weekends.
The courses helped raise awareness of rocket stoves as an alternative high efficient heating systems that burns very little wood at high temperature and produces little - no smoke. Participants came away with skills to build their one systems; one in a green house, a second in a training workshop, and others were considering this for their home.
We enlisted the help of an off grid blacksmith with expertise in brick and iron rocket stove construction to teach best standard practice and assist pioneer it's application aboard a canal boat.
The rocket stove build has been focused in two locations - a canal-side woodland, off Old Oak Common Lane in West London and a the Bow River Farm canal-side permaculture garden in Hackney Wick, East London where we used the opportunity to work with community and the Permablitz London team to clear and rejuvenate these spaces.
The project gave CIC the opportunity to engage and raise awareness to our work with large engineering projects – such as Cross Rail and Thames Tideway Tunnel to encourage their donation of excess clay extracted from their excavations. As a result of our meetings,Thames Water agreed to be CIC sponsor.
CIC now have a partnership agreement that allows us to use The Gaia Gallery to transport clay between sites that were located nearby to the London canal system in exchange for our running cob building events on board the boat and support its completion.
TECHNICAL
The 'Gaia Gallery' project is a to refit of a 43 foot steel barge in such a way that it exists totally 'off-grid.' 'Off-grid' means that the boat will require no mains electrical, water or fuel input and no sewage output and will run solely off firewood and solar power generation.
Traditional building methods such as cob construction, carpentry and joinery will be married with cutting-edge technologies such as the latest in permaculture design processes such as rocket stove mass heating and rainwater harvesting. Through combining these different methods we are able to use predominately natural or recycled materials in the build making this a pioneering structure.
The Gaia Gallery
THE BRIEF
To assist build the first off-grid, touring permaculture workshop and event space in the world, including a heated cob bench, fired by a rocket stove aboard a London barge, earthern walls and treatment to cob in high water areas.
THE OUTPUTS
To oversee and project manage cob making and cob renovation of the interior of the space.
To conduct the build in a way that involved community groups through a series of public courses.
To organize training on rocket stove heaters and together with the cob work, and help the project develop its network of people with skills in cob making and rocket stove builds to assist in the completion of the project.
To offer courses in natural material building and permaculture and bring their marriage to the attention of many Londoners for the first time.
THE OUTCOME
Cob in the Community organised multiple cob building weekends that attracted and engaged a number of diverse groups including SOAS Radical Architects, Bow River Farm, The London Permaculture Network, Meadow Forge, Public Works, Community ReLeaf and many more over multiple weekends.
The courses helped raise awareness of rocket stoves as an alternative high efficient heating systems that burns very little wood at high temperature and produces little - no smoke. Participants came away with skills to build their one systems; one in a green house, a second in a training workshop, and others were considering this for their home.
We enlisted the help of an off grid blacksmith with expertise in brick and iron rocket stove construction to teach best standard practice and assist pioneer it's application aboard a canal boat.
The rocket stove build has been focused in two locations - a canal-side woodland, off Old Oak Common Lane in West London and a the Bow River Farm canal-side permaculture garden in Hackney Wick, East London where we used the opportunity to work with community and the Permablitz London team to clear and rejuvenate these spaces.
The project gave CIC the opportunity to engage and raise awareness to our work with large engineering projects – such as Cross Rail and Thames Tideway Tunnel to encourage their donation of excess clay extracted from their excavations. As a result of our meetings,Thames Water agreed to be CIC sponsor.
CIC now have a partnership agreement that allows us to use The Gaia Gallery to transport clay between sites that were located nearby to the London canal system in exchange for our running cob building events on board the boat and support its completion.
TECHNICAL
The 'Gaia Gallery' project is a to refit of a 43 foot steel barge in such a way that it exists totally 'off-grid.' 'Off-grid' means that the boat will require no mains electrical, water or fuel input and no sewage output and will run solely off firewood and solar power generation.
Traditional building methods such as cob construction, carpentry and joinery will be married with cutting-edge technologies such as the latest in permaculture design processes such as rocket stove mass heating and rainwater harvesting. Through combining these different methods we are able to use predominately natural or recycled materials in the build making this a pioneering structure.
