To: "'permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu'" <permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: RE: Stucco w/manure?
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 12:25:00 -0800
Aloha,
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Akiva Werbalowsky [SMTP:akivaw@hotmail.com]
>
>We have planned a big stucco party (community
"barn-raising"-style) for
>November 20,21 here at the Cal Poly Permaculture Center in San
Luis
>Obispo, California.
Darn! I'll just miss it - I'll be in SLO area the next
weekend...
>I am looking for any solid info regarding use of manure as a
stucco, and
>other strategies which minimize inputs such as cement. How
about lime as
>a coating to shed water?
Assorted natural builders I know or know of in the US (see
contact list below) have been experimenting with manures (horse, cow,
etc.) in earthen plaster mixes with some successes - the "pre-chopped,
pre-mixed" fibers in these materials seem to make for strong plasters
(as thousands of years of humanity already knew... :-). They have also
learned some things to avoid...! I've done a bit of plastering of a cob
oven using an earthen plaster mix with some (horse, I think) manure in
it. There have been significant discussions of both manures and
waterproofing agents, as well as lime, on the Coblist listserv (see
below), and undoubtedly on the straw bale list(s).
There is a woman named Carol Cruz (or possibly Crews) who does a
lot of earthern plastering work, especially in the SW US, and is
regarded as somewhat of a master in the field - I don't have contact
info at present but perhaps someone else does...? She and others have
apparently used "water glass" (viscous solution of sodium silicate in
water) as a sealant for earthen plasters.