Before gas-fed machines, humans of the past had to make do with natural technologies and the techniques passed down to them from their elders. Now we have access to informational videos and all sorts of machines for rent. Even still, sometimes newer technology isn't practical, or economically feasible and we return to the ancestral ways of doing. I have written a couple of these "Natural Building Diaries" and hope to continue to contribute weekly as we build our cob house. At the moment we find ourselves at the very beginning, building the infrastructure that will be the container of all that is to come.
In the last diary entry I discussed the fence we are working on. As a plant lover I was eager to get to planting but may have jumped the gun a bit as there are still a few challenges to overcome before the fence is truly complete. By far the most difficult part has been the two giant rocks that lay right on the property line. We have had to adjust the fence for two old trees that we aren't willing to cut down, and thus have lost a bit of land already to give those trees their space. These rocks, we decided, needed to be broken down and will be made into something else someday.
But how to remove such rocks?
My partner was born and raised in Argentina and knows a thing or two about how things were done in the past. So, one day after a night of rain we started a fire over and around one of the huge boulders.
Actually, we had two days of fire but I forgot to take a before picture so these are images taken on the second day. Just out of view is a kiddy pool full of water to put out the water later on. We don't have running water yet so the pool was filled from water from the creek which I carried bucket by bucket.
Following how rocks were broken up in the past, we created a bon fire all around the big boulder, feeding it constantly for about 6 hours.
It is summer here in Argentina so this was no easy task. Even though it had rained the night before, the fire combined with heat of the day meant we were sweating bullets throughout the whole process. During the six hour one of us kept an eye on the fire while the other collected wood, or took a break in the shade during. Throughout the day we both drank many liters of water and refreshed ourselves in the nearby creek as often as needed.
Then, as night was falling we threw buckets and buckets & buckets of water on the fire. The rock was so hot that the first round of water turned to steam immediately. Even the next round of water boiled on the rocks and evaporated. After dozens of buckets of water we could see the rocks starting to cool and cracks forming with the abrupt change from super hot to cool.
Making sure the fire was totally out and the surrounding area was humid with all the splashing of water, we went home for the day.
The next morning we walked to the land with our chiseling tools, hammers, and crowbar. The shock of temperature change had left the rock with many cracks. The fire and water had done their job and now it was our turn. I started hammering and Jona got out the sledge hammer.
Bit by bit we broke the rock down and moved the pieces off to the side with the help of a metal bars. Most of the pieces broke off angular or flat and will be used to create a flat base on which we will put our water tank -- which is our next project after the fence is done.
With this big rock out of the way we have just one more section of chain link to install and then must secure the base of the entire fence with a rock and cob mixture. That will most likely be the subject of my next installment in this Diary Series, so, see you all in about a week!
Best of luck in all your Eco Endeavors!