Moving Forward

Despite the abrupt end to my capstone (and final semester at college), I am still very proud of the work my group achieved. We went from a mismatched group of inexperienced builders to a competent cob building team. Though I think we are far from experts, both LAMS and CSUMB students left this project with an advanced knowledge of sustainable cob construction. I wholeheartedly believe that this was the best project for my capstone because I got to be so involved in my community and do real, hands-on work. If I could do this project again all I would ask for is more time. Even as our group finally started making progress and getting on track with the project, I would have been shocked to have finished the whole bench in the two weeks remaining. Cob is a long, labor-intensive project that requires a lot of prep and drying time. I think this project could be broken into two semesters, a spring first to get the basic cob base set up and then a fall semester to put on protective coating and design after it has had a summer to dry. In the end, I hope Los Arboles is able to pick this project back up when the pandemic is over and continue with cob projects in the future. I am leaving you with a picture taken on the first day of foundation construction. This is my favorite picture taken of our group because every single student is present and actively working on the project as a group. I am so proud of these kids and I wish them the best. I know they will ALL do great things, and I can't wait to see it happen.