r/cobhouses

My partner and I are hoping to buy some land this year to live gently on the land. We'd like to build naturally (cob or adobe) so we're focused on Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. We'd mostly be using rainwater catchment. How much rainfall would we need to sustainably grow food with Indigenous/Hopi methods? We'd appreciate suggestions on where these places are, and if any overlap with communities of people with similar projects/goals. We have our eye on Greenlee and Cochise counties in AZ, and Socorro in New Mexico due to lax building regulations (we don't have a ton of money for permits and red tape.)

We're looking for an optimal place to self-build a home with cob or adobe. We've narrowed our options down to a few places in the US, including Southern Alabama, and we're wondering how much regulation and red tape we'll run into down there.

We understand there are a few counties down there with no building department, which supposedly only answer to the fire marshalls. Does this mean we could pretty much build whatever we want and nobody will bother us? Is there any oversight at all? And who would we even call to ask questions or confirm the legality of our plans?

Does anyone know of people who have done something similar in this area? Thanks.

Does anyone here know of any cob pros in and around western Arkansas? I'm planning a MASSIVE (2,600 sq ft) cob house project for myself and my 4 kids. I am a single mom who works full time and want to have my house done in about 3 years, if possible. I'm strong and willing to work hard for my dream. The dream is an off grid solar run, totally modern home with well water to eliminate bills and make it possible for me to begin a small business from home with the security of not worrying about bills, other than land taxes, internet, and car insurance. I own both the land and my vehicle. I'm just concerned about my ability to complete this project on my own. I am only 1 person, and although I have a 14 year old who lives with me about half the year, he's not a huge help, and I don't have a lot of friends or anything really to call for help. I have a few technical questions, but am mostly looking for anyone who might be as excited as I am about the prospect of living in a fairytale cottage (castle, in the case of my massive vision) who may want some hands-on experience and is interested in maybe setting up a few work parties. I've read as many books and watched as many youtube videos as I could. I also purchased Alex from This Cob House's online workshop material, which was invaluable for my questions about electrical and tadelakt, which I plan to use in my bathroom. Anyway, long story short, anyone nearby with any leads, advice? All input is appreciated.

Hi all, my dream is to build a cob cottage for myself and my family and I’ve enjoyed cobbing work parties in the past. Any suggestions or news of work parties going on near the west coast? We are located in central CA.