Working Hand-in-Hand with Nature

An interview with Assaf about building houses from mud

Say hello to Assaf, a young man who gets paid for playing with mud all day long. Yes, this is the same mud you step in on a rainy day, which sticks to your shoes and dirties your house. Instead of dirtying houses with mud, Assaf builds houses from mud!

But how do you turn that mud to a house? Assaf explains that you only need four ingredients: earth, sand, straw and water. Mix those 4 components together until you have a sticky goo.  Once you have this ‘mud cement’, you can start building. You don’t need to start straight from a house; you can also build outdoor ovens, seating areas and artistic status. These mud contraptions can last for hundreds of years!

Assaf explains why he loves his job so much: “When I build with mud, everything feels natural and easy. Sometimes it feels like I’m playing with Lego or plasticine. My favorite thing about building with mud is making the mud and throwing it at people. You can get into really good mud fights while you work! Also, we have to be careful while building ceilings. If the mud is too wet, it’ll just fall back down on you.”

Everyone can build with mud in any place. This is a cheap way of building and you don’t need to order anything from China for the process. This is good for nature, because there are no poisonous materials involved and the house can be fully recycled – when you demolish the house, it just turns back to earth.

Assaf says he learned all of this in a center for environmental and ecological education. Now, he can help people all around the world: “I can work or volunteer in places where they don’t have enough money and teach them how to build with mud. After they learn that, they don’t even need me, they have the knowledge inside them and the natural materials around them to build houses and whatever else they want”.

When Assaf is asked about the future, he says: “My dream is to build my own home with my family and for my family. Oh, and I also want to build a skateboard park made all out of mud.”

TeenBuzz blogger Hanny loves traveling, hiking, gardening, reading, spending time with friends and doing all kinds of crafts, preferably from natural elements ?☀

Would you like to write for TeenBuzz? Let us know at: [email protected]