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My mud sister Aviva in Atlanta seems to be everywhere doing everything. When she isn't cooking amazing vegan food or leading movement classes or belly dancing or writing songs or performing with her band The Flying Penguins she is playing in the mud. Yesterday she sent me this video of her long running community project, a cob playhouse affectionately known as"The Ox". It has outlasted numerous threats to its existence including vandalism, storms, neighbor hostility and periods of neglect, but the community always seems to rally to care for it and connect with each other. An important element of the Natural Building Tribe is the stories of how communities are held together by the seasonal joyful communal work inherent in taking care of natural materials structures. Whole villages getting together for a party to renew the plaster on everyone's houses, or raise a barn in a weekend with potluck and dancing. Unfortunately far to many of our stories are of almost mythologically distant communities, distant from us in time or space or culture. I've been to Atlanta. Aviva has taken me to see The Ox. This exists in my world. That makes me hopeful and energized. This is the Mud Family's work. Not just the few little things we can cobble together, but the joyful community we build together. Thankyou for supporting Uncle Mud and more importantly thank you for supporting this work.
