Divinity Close to Earth

After winding down from the full-house weekend … we got back to our “regular schedule”. Marta stayed with us a while longer and helped us get almost to the finish line.

We were excited to finally get to level 21. Here we are passing over the front arch for the first time:

When we finished that wall segment we finally got to pull out the forms … and … it was exhilarating to unveil the self-supporting arches … so simple, powerful (the more we weight we put on it – and we will be putting on quite a bit – the stronger it gets!)and beautiful (I’m really glad we decided to give arches a try!):

Yesterday we finished, with Marta’s, help going all the way around the structure and were left with only with two small segments of the outside wings.

Today Iulia and I went out and completed those two small segments – counting down the last of 6 sacks … and suddenly the the last can is tossed up, the last sack is placed down … the last tamping … earthbag walls were complete!

Fascinating journey from a crater to a structure… made of the same earth we dug out!

We are now waiting to see if we can get the acacia logs we want to make into a roof (our preferred option). If we do, they will be freshly cut and will need some time to cure … meaning that we won’t be able to place them on the structure before winter. If we don’t get the logs we will rever to plan B: regular 2×8 to build a flat roof. That may still happen in the coming weeks.

Depending on the weather we may be able to get some more primary rendering work done … but that is optional … maybe continue with the electrical wiring …  I am relieved and satisfied we got this part done … much to share … too tired to do so now.

Iulia was a way for a few days and I took the opportunity to do some initial finishing tests.

Then Iulia came back and brought with her a wave of people. We’ve just been through a full weekend here at Bhudeva. Christina and Marta came out to help in the final levels and they were joined for one day by Luci and Stefan. We’ve completed 19 and are two-thirds into 20.

It was moving to see 5 people on and around the walls working in two teams … until this weekend I could only imagine what this might look like.

AND the day felt way more productive then the already productive work we did get done … because soon after as we started level 20 … Iulia and Chritina got to work on this sack:

… and when they laid it down and, after tamping, it met the top of the arch, it became clear to us that 21 would be the last level … and the idea of level 22 disintegrated and we were suddenly another level closer to finishing the walls:

If all goes well we should be finished in a few days. Our fingers are still crossed that the acacia logs for the roof will be cut down soon and that we can get them to Bhudeva and get them on before winter.

The day before yesterday we finished level 18. Yesterday we started level 19 by putting in the ventillation pipes (for air flowing out of the two rooms). We cobbed them in place and then continued to work aroud them.

Today we focused on the arch above the entry door … and we started by adding two more arch pieces on each side until we were ready for the last 3 sacks that cap the arch.

… and cap it we did

I am soooo looking forward to taking out the forms … but holding off until we add the final layer on top of the arches 🙂

I thought we would be able to finish with 21 levels … but now that the first arch is complete and the highest point is set it looks like we will need to go up to 22.

Iulia is going away for a few days … after which we hope we will be able to finish before deep frosts settle upon us (temperatures are dropping rapidly).

If all goes well (we will in the coming days) we wil have acacia (strong and rot resistant) logs to cover the entire roof … keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to close the cellar before winter!

Originally we intended to backfill only once, about half way through and then at the end when we bury the structure. But, the structure is going to be a bit higher then expected and working higher up becomes trickier, especially for two people … so … after finishing level 16 we decided to backfill again.

Work started yesterday when we pulled up the plastic cover and scanned it for tears and wholes. Most of it was in good shape (it got buried in some soil which protected it from the sun). We replaces one section that was torn and brittle.

Florin arrived at 10am and started by clearing a path (we cleared most of it by peeling away soil as we filled the tubes):

He brought soil into the tight corner with the front loader then used the spoon to move / push it into a place:

Then he came around the top of the site and started filling behind the structure

And with a bit of manual labor we the first corner was full

And moving gradually along the wall … until is was all full

… bringing us to the other side which had better access so that the front loader could be used to bring soil in

then we went back around to the first corner (which we left slightly exposed in case we needed to bring in more soil) … and buried it:

… it was done in 3 hours … and now again we get to work at “ground level” … this time all the way to the top:

It is amazing to see how quickly wild grasses and weeds went to work healing the soil around the site … and now, after the excavator, how bare everything looks again … we are already looking forward to bringing in plants to heal the site and help nature take over once again.

We tend give much attention to the growing walls, but we would like to acknowledge the unsung heroes of this project … the cans we toss up the walls to move soil from wheelbarrows into the sacks and tubes. We recently retired the first pair of cans … and here you can see side be side a new can next to a can that has moved ~25 cubic meters of soil (one can at a time!).

My sister, Orit came to visit for a few days and joined us for a few sessions … we now regularly sit on the walls to take in the sunset (horizon rising):

Istvan also visited with us briefly, showed us saturn in his telescope and joined us for a work session:

Liviu and Ana also visited with us and Liviu also joined us for a morning session (we forgot to take a picture … so you’ll have to take my word for it) … and we have finished levels 14 and 15, we are now working on 16 and the arches have started to form:

The arches have started to draw a finish line … the walls will be finished when the arches are complete and one additional level has been layed on top. Right now, my estimate is that 21 levels should get us there … but that will become more clear as we start to move up through the next layers.

We are currently inquiring about two options for a roof … more on that in an upcoming post.

We had one weekend of construction at the beginning of June with the help of Adi and Dan … we got 10 and half of 11 done.

We then paused because of my allergy-period and because we were busy finishing and launching the new Cutia Taranului website. In recent weeks we got back in the saddle, we finished 11 and 12 … and its feeling more and more like a place.

We’ve also put in velcros to which we plan to attach a grain storage and dispenser (planned to hold ~100kg of grains):

Sia, a new puppy who has been with us for a few weeks is getting acquainted with the site … and also has manifested a destructive quality … it seems she enjoyes tearing into earthbags and digging soil out 🙁

Today we started 13 which brought us to the levels of the rectangular door frames …. which means that soon we begin to form the arches on top of the doors.

And finally we have out overall progress indicator. This pile of soil is like an hour-glass … if my calculations were correct it should have enough soil to bring us to completion. When we started construction this year the pile reached out to where the mixer is currently standing so we’ve taken quite a bite out of it. It is nice to feel the space starting to open up and reconnect with the world beyond it.

I estimate we are going to end up with 19 or 20 levels.

And lastly some number I’ve collected:

• We are currently mixing batches with a ration of 4 shovels of sand + 12 shovels of clay soil. This fills an 80 liter wheelbarrow.
• A wheelbarrow is roughly the amount of soil that goes into a sack (1 meter long when flat, 80cm when filled to the max) … though we are using mostly tubes (not sacks).
• Each batch includes 2 wheelbarrows.
• Each wheelbarrow contains ~25 cans (3 liters in a can) … so it takes ~25 tosses to “move” a wheelbarrow of soil up the wall.
• Each batch (of 2 wheelbarrows) translates into ~1.5 linear meters of wall (we are using 50cm wide – when flat – tubes and bags).
• Which means that each can holds about 3 linear centimeters of wall.
• At the current rate Iulia and I (neither of us particularly strong) are doing ~2 linear meters of wall an hour (though we will slow down as we move higher up the wall).
• At this rate we can do a level in 3 or 4 days (we work at most 6 hours a day in two sessions … morning and evening).

Today I made a bit of apricot compote.

Bought some 5 kg of fruits from the market,  not so ripen.

Ronen opened the fruits, took the seeds out. I sterilized the jars (only shortly boiling them under water), stuffed them with halves of fruit, almost to the top, poured hot water over, to cover.

I made 7 big jars with NO sugar, nothing added for sweetening and 6 big jars with two pills of stevia for each.

I closed the jars then I boiled them into a pot, not covering them entirely with water. Water was only coming to the half of the jars, I covered them all with a wet towel, boiling them for about 40 minutes (two batches: 7 and 6).

Them I took them out fast and put them under thick blankets to cool down slowly.

Curious how the no-sugar fruits will stay… how the ones with stevia will taste :).

I also cut some of the ripen apricots and put them into the dryers, repeating last year experiment (tasty!).

We don’t have access to a variety of digging machines here (only to a stadard tractor with a front loader + diggins spoon) so these pictures caught my attention – digging swales and berms using a tractor with a combination of plows:

… and water it holds:

Three terms I found mentioned in the forum thread where I found this

1. The moldboard plow sounds like something that is typically used by farmers in our area to break-up soil.
2. I have not been able to find much formal informatn about a “drag blade plow” but as I understand it is used to move the soil after it is broken up by the moldboard plow.

So it is about repeting numerous cycles of loosening and shifting … how many cycles depends on the depth and width of the swale and the number of blades on the plow.

Lars and Robin are a beautiful couple I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few times who live in Alunisu (on the other side of Cluj). In this interview Lars does what he does so well … gently and compassionately painting a comprehensive picture of where we are and where we can choose to go from here.

“Imagine if the financial sector would expand the definition of returns … and beside the financial return would also look at return of happiness and well-being of man and nature, then you can make money and capital into an instrument that serves the society.”

We use shells of soap-nuts, which I believe come from Africa, to make home-made soap used for dishes, laundry and general cleaning. We have been wondering about an alternative that can be grown locally. Turns out there is a variety of chestnuts called Horse chestnut which does the trick.