[GSBN] Suitablity of fresh cowdung supplies from feedlots for natural plasters

[John Swearingen]

Andy,

I'd love to receive your .pdf.  Thanks for offering.

I never would have thought of adding antibiotics to manure, but it sounds
like a great idea.  Would steroids make a stronger plaster?

John "Better Shit, Through Chemistry" Swearingen

On Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 6:12 AM, Andy Horn
<andy at ecodesignarchitects.co.za>wrote:

>  Hi all
>
> I am busy with 3 large straw bale public building, coating in a thick
> dipping of earth plaster and well worked in to the bales, which we are
> protecting with 2 top coats of lime, sand, cow dung and clay water plaster
> using a recipe I learnt from an old builder Herbert whom was taught it by
> his grandfather for the plastering of the adobe buildings of his old
> Moravian mission town.
>
>
>
> We are having a bit of difficulty getting sufficient supplies of fresh cow
> dung near our site in Johannesburg, however we have located a nearby
> feedlot, where the stuff is readily available only thing is that I are
> wondering if this kind of cow dung would still be suitable ….as I imagine it
> would have less fibre than cow dung sourced from free ranging cattle.
> Apparently the cows at the feeding station are fed on about 10% hay/grass
> and 90% grain.
>
>
>
> What Herbert our old heritage builder tells us is that it should be fine so
> long as they are fed some fibre and that indeed he has made use of such cow
> dung before and one cannot even tell the difference. For him the more
> important thing is that the cow dung is fresh …i.e. no more than 3 days old.
>
>
>
>
> So anyhow I was wondering if any of you lot out there have any with
> experience in using feed-lot cow dung for their plasters and if you have
> come up against similar issues in terms of what the cows get to eat
> affecting the quality of the cow dung before and if you have any
> opinions/experience with this.
>
>
>
>
>
> Incidentally the plaster mix that we get with this receipt is particularly
> good. It is both very strong and extremely durable as well as being
> particularly forgiving and really easy to work with as lime plasters
> typically go.
>
>
>
> So if any of you are interested I could email you a pdf document directly (
> please respond to me separately on andy at ecodesignarchitects.co.za ….do not
> reply to the whole mailing group) that I have written up on the process…as I
> am not sure I can mail it to this address direct….unless you want me upload
> it somewhere. Joyce I would be more than  happy for you to print it up in a
> forthcoming “Last Straw” magazine too.
>
>
>
> cheers
>
> Andy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>


-- 
John Swearingen
Skillful Means Design & Construction
2550 9th Street   Suite 209A
Berkeley, CA   94710
510.849.1800 phone
510.849.1900 fax

Web Site:  http://www.skillful-means.com
Blog:         https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com
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