artistic medium, able to be shaped in any number of ways, typically expressed in organic styles. The mouldability of cob also facilitates built-in seats and shelving within the building (Chiras, 2000). Cob can be used in a wide variety of climates, but like other forms of earthen construction, it must be insulated in cold climates. Environmentally, it is an excellent material, with a very low embodied energy quotient. Its raw materials are available almost everywhere, and they are literally dirt-cheap. It is also an ideal building process for owner-builders and do-it-yourselfers. It is very labour-intensive, and while amenable to high levels of craft, quality cob construction demands only very simple skill-sets (Berlant, 1999). Even children can participate in cob-building. It doesnt require either the forms and hardware of rammed earth, nor is the soil mix as critical and unforgiving as either adobe or rammed earth. Cob is very durable, fireproof and relatively adaptable. It appears to be a building technology with vast potential for both community development and environmental regeneration.