Rammed-Earth Rogues

Rammed-Earth Rogues – Who are these reprobates?

Another Reel for the wheel-tappers ‘n shunters out there. I wouldn’t worry too greatly about the quaint English low (working-class) brow phrase there, after all, if you have to work to live, that’s yer class - right?

And on that note, ‘tis true that these guys work very hard for their money as Rammed-Earth and the associated travail, is deeply labour intensive – although the pay-off, which is not really seen in their ‘week-end wad’, or at the end of the project, is somewhat spectacular in a minimalist way, and exceedingly high value for whoever commissions the work.

I’m afraid, well, not literally as all this rammed-eathery is a thing of jubilation, that working with Rammed-Earth and any high level design-build, I suppose, is not about the dosh...ya have ta be a special kinda autistic ta get inna this kinda work!

Labour of love? I never made such a claim – but many Rammed-Earth home owners would, did and still do. They love their homes. It’s an easy way (but not the cheapest) to shake your fist at the world of pap that surrounds us – with built in obsolescence as their deity.

Fortunately, I was never the kind to think I am a rebellious spirit by virtue of smoking in the halo-ed corridors of academia – preferred, and still do, to take on slightly more challenging obstacles...but we are in polite company here, so not a word about those antics will pass my lips.

I spoke to a couple o’ these Rammed-Earther’s, I met a few, and even worked for a wee mo’ on a grand affair on Salt Spring Island in days of yore. The construction techniques are both basic and precise, the work loads are heavy, and accuracy in carpentry is invaluable.

There are interesting engineering aspects too. Like load bearing equations, insulation factors but by far and away the feel of these ‘organic’ spaces must be experienced to be comprehended - they simply ooze a Peace of Mind state of thought that changes one’s perception and raises the tone of domestic reality.

There will be a series of this video with varying compositions as ‘we’ want more people to know about our motley crew and what we do and why.

The music chosen to embellish this one is ‘Dissident’ by Thomas Dolby, of Dolby Laboratories fame. Yeah, the same guy that moved a New York telephone exchange into his London apartment for amusement. This was a ground breaking track as were all the pieces on the Flat Earth album, in the cultural innocence of 1984 UK. Using heavy funk guitar riffs as in the other ground breaking album of the time, Future Shock, by Herbie Hancock, the killer harmonies and genius synths combined with Dolby’s ‘oh-so reasonable’ English ululations as well as the taboo prophetic subject matter (dissidents agreed that it was better ‘to be red than dead’ in those halcyon days of Lek Walenca and CND/Green Peace anti war acolytes) are more salient now than ever. More grist to the mill say I!

And ironically, it is so strange to find ourselves in Back to the Future episode ‘n’!

This time around though, the Strangelove Metatron terra-forming lovers have reached their Malthusiatic peak. Methinks they wants us all dead.

Methinks these idiot malcontents who never did a days real work if it wasn’t to take someone elses heard-earned, or blunt, bribe or otherwise harm another, in fact whole nations and peoples... actually think they might survive nuclear apocalypse (yes, I know that’s not the right word, but most think it to be, and its better than using ‘burglasrise’, ‘misunderestimate’, ‘orienate’ and so on), in their underground bunkers. Well, you read my mind, bonkers to that and of course, may they never get their war and may we stop them dead in their tracks at every turn. Guess what, ‘s...pigs’, we got better things ta do than fight yer Mephistophelean, eugenicist wars. We like life, we like families, and generally, we like people of all hues and kinds.

Rammed-Earthers are very much like that – to hell with the bs, I want peace in the valley, an as the label says, it all starts at home... well, we can get onta the resta that another time cuz that’s just scratching the surface o’ the surface – but ta be sure, it’s still a great start.

Stay on the path till next we meet – I’ll be looking out for ya!

Meta-4