SB: Re: manure plaster

["Robert W. Tom" <ArchiLogic@yahoo.ca>]

4/29/02 5:37:02 PM, rob crowley <rtc@overland.net> wrote:

>Katey,
>could you share some details on the maure plaster recipe?

>Katey wrote:
>> Manure also makes a nice plaster. <sneep>

RT(Crowley);

I'm not Katey but some might say that I've been shovelling /heaping it on for 
years.

If you've had a good look at bovine or equine dung, in addition to its obvious 
adhesive qualities, you will notice that it's comprised largely of nicely-
chopped, cellulosic fibres surrounded by a gooey "paste".

In so-called "less developed" cultures where people (often the women) still 
build their own homes using readilly-available earthen materials and no tools 
other than their bare hands, (see "Spectacular Vernacular" by the dearly-
departed Carollee Pelos and husband Jean-Louis Bourgeois for some spectacular 
examples) the dung of ruminants has long been recognised as an admixture which 
enhances workability, adhesion and durability.

Modern Industry has emulated these plaster admixtures by manufacturing various 
chemical stews to enhance workability and adhesion (selling for $80+ / pail) and 
various plastic fibres to enhance cohesion and crack resistance (selling for $4-
5 sandwich-sized package).

Obviously, being non-standard, non-manufactured materials, earthen plaster mixes 
will vary with the locale (and soil types or animal diets even within the same 
locale) so the "recipes" will of course, also vary widely and the actual 
proportions of the ingredients will have to be determined by hands-on/hands-in 
experimentation.

So what's the point of all this yammering ? I suppose that it's primarily just 
some weenie-like nit-picking about terminology. 

It's not really "manure plaster" ... it's earthen plaster with a manure 
admixture, and as is always the case with admixtures, it doesn't take much to 
achieve the desired enhancements while the addition of too much will likely 
result in a weakening of the finished plaster.

So how's that for a heap ?

--- * ---
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
(remove the "chaff" from my edress if you hit "reply")

Please visit http://www.theHungerSite.com daily



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