All materials are completely non-toxic, sound for the environment, and harmless to cob builders and cob dwellers.  

The first permanent human settlements were constructed of unbaked earth, some 10,000 years ago. Earth construction is ubiquitous around the globe. At some point during the Middle Ages, the first cob houses began to be built in Britain.  In the county of Devon, many hundreds of cob houses, are still standing and inhabited.

When Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley began researching the possibility of building with earth in the mid-1980s, they made a trip to Ianto’s native Wales. Although they had been thoroughly discouraged from trying to build with earth in the damp and rainy climate of the Pacific Northwest, Ianto and Linda saw ample evidence that cob houses, properly constructed, could weather the wet climate beautifully. They decided to go home to Oregon and try using cob for themselves. One problem they had, however, was the fact that English cob had literally become a dead art. No new cob construction had taken place in England after World War I, and cob crafters with firsthand experience had not passed that knowledge on before they died. 

Undaunted, Ianto and Linda pressed on with their vision. Over the latter part of the twentieth century, cob building took on a whole new life, drawing many hundreds of people. Cob building has seen a resurgence around the world. In this way, cob building has not so much evolved as it has revived. The evolution of cob has happened almost entirely during the past 20 years. 

With concerns about climate change and the stresses put on natural resources due to overpopulation and misuse, cob’s most significant evolution is that it joins a growing number of progressive alternative housing design concepts that champion sustainability and eschew over-consumption. 
People are drawn to design with cob for a variety of reasons, but a few of those reasons seem predominant: 

It can be done relatively cheaply (Ianto and Linda built Heart House for $500 in materials.) 

It is a non-toxic construction method. 

People who are typically excluded from the realm of home construction (i.e., women, children, the elderly, the disabled). 

Cob design and building fits well the desire to downscale, simplify, and find sustainable ways of living on the planet. 

Cob building is by no means the only way to go for sustainability or downsizing, but it may be the most practical way for the greatest number of people of varying construction abilities and economic means. Next, we briefly explore two other alternative housing design options.

Especially designed for simplicity and downsized consumption is the “Tumbleweed Tiny House.” The brainchild of architect and designer Jay Shafer, each exquisite little dwelling is like a playhouse for grownups. They have eco-groovy names like the “Concord” and the “Sebastarosa,” and can be trailered from place to place. Shafer lives full-time in his own 100-square foot Tumbleweed House.
