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A new staff building was being constructed out of hay
bales, and across the road from the staff building they made the trusses
out of salvage pallets.
The entrance to the campground was being spiffied up with a cob, earthbag,
and adobe-combo sign-holding hut, with hand peeled cedar posts.
Recycle bin shelters were being made in the meadow out of bamboo.
And then, Alec saw the adobe.
That’s pretty much the last we saw of him all
weekend. Really. After the Colloquium it took some careful
chiseling and several showers to get beneath the adobe and back down to
the "boy layer.' Pat Taylor, overseeing that section, works with
groups of school-aged youngsters in his renovation projects in the
Southwest and Mexico, and adopted Alec as his right-hand man.
It seems that straw bale building is the "new thing", and most of the
people there were geared towards that form of housing. We attended
the areas we are personally interested in: building with earth, and
collecting/storing/treating water. I don’t know why I just can’t get
into the whole straw bale thing - I think it’s a tiny vestige of the
“Three Little Pigs” story juxtaposed next to the fact that we live in
Tornado Alley that causes some sort of disharmonious clash in my brain.
I admit, I have a weird brain, but it’s the only one I was dealt, so there
ya go.
The talks we attended were extremely well done and it’s refreshingly
obvious that the speakers are not "professional lecturers." They
speak zealously, passionately, their words flowing through the air not
only to convey learned knowledge, but straight from their own hearts into
yours.
We were encouraged by the quiet earnestness of Pat Taylor discussing the
renovation/salvation of adobes that are simultaneously as strong as the
ages are long and appallingly fragile in the face of human stupidity.
Art Ludwig shared with us his ideas about water - not as a preacher, not
as a profiteer, but sharing what works for HIS family and HIS little
corner of Mother Earth, and what may work for our families in our corners
as well.
We were intrigued and challenged to think outside of the box by the
"...and now for something completely different..." ideas of Tom Watson,
who pioneered the "Watson Wick" and other novel ways to deal with gray and
black water.
We were brought to tears by Carole Menkes, surrounded by her husband’s
achingly beautiful pieces of bamboo art, sharing his work with us a mere
four days after his unexpected death. She told us that even though
his memorial service would be on the Monday following, she considered THIS
moment her memorial to him - in the midst of people who care about and
appreciate beautiful natural things, with the gentle breeze carrying the
songs of the earth through the pavilion. She never did refer to Mark
in the past tense, and that was fitting, for I’m certain that he WAS
there.
And we were completely taken with and entertained by the lively stylings
of Brad Lancaster, who taught us about rainwater catchment using jokes,
songs, and complete groaners of puns - all the while leaping from one end
of the stage to the other.
We were most looking forward to meeting The Earthbag People - Doni and
Kaki, since we are planning on using earthbags extensively on our new
place. Unfortunately, they were stranded in Utah with car trouble
and didn’t make it to Kerrville before we had to leave, which was
disappointing, but out of anyone’s control.
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