Memories of our mud brick house before it was wrecked by the 2019 Bush fire. Paul is excitedly constructing the mud brick wall to create our bedroom. Before building, first he had to make the bricks and let them dry for three to five weeks. Mud is used for the brick mortar and as the render. Its an inexpensive building that also provides great insulation. The Bay window was collected from a demolition dump.
Mud brick making
Paul is teaching our self-sufficiency students (USA. DENMARK. INDIA) how to mix, form and sun-bake mud bricks in readiness for building construction. Dirt is mixed with water until a a soft muddy ball can be formed in the hand. The mud is then packed into homemade frames to form the bricks. The bricks are left to sun bake for three to five weeks. They must be protected from rain. Mortar is made by mixing dirt with water to make a thick paste. A medium slurry of dirt and water provides wall render. The thickness of the bricks provides insulation. The mud bricks are also fire resistant.
MUD BRICK BUILDING IS A VERY AFFORDABLE FORM OF HOUSING – Around the world, in ancient cities, mud brick buildings still stand tall that are thousands of years old. When the 2019 Black Summer Bush Fire destroyed our property, the mud brick walls of our house were proudly standing erect. However the three weeks of rain which followed the fire, cause the mud brick walls to weaken. Paul carefully demolished each wall, one brick at a time. Saving them for future projects.
SANDY AND CHRIS FROM SINGAPORE
We met in 2013. Since then Chris and Sandy, have been frequent visitors. Mastering their own journey of sustainable living. This fun loving pair, adopted both Paul and I as their ‘aussie” mum and dad. The the bond we share is reflected in this photo.
We four, had been busy collecting eggs, mucking out chicken pens, harvesting herbs for our lunch and enjoying the crisp spring morning. Chris, Sandy, myself and Paul can be seen here in the tropical zone of our food forest, which was destroyed by Bush fire in 2019. Chris, initiated a successful crowd funding to help us recover from the total destruction of the property. Next, he brought a Singaporean Television film crew to camp on our property for five days in order to capture our beliefs and attitudes, our acquired knowledge, skill and lifestyle.
