Brainstorming for natural building badges

Paul and I are trying to work on the natural building badge and are looking for some extra ideas.

Note that this stuff does NOT include the stuff in other "badges": wood working and woodland care.  Or tool care.   This badge is just about natural building. And the badges are focused on final products.  Not "learn cob" or "read this book" or "demonstrate you know cob stuff"

I think the iron badge will be a wofati.

Here's what we have come up with for the sand badge so far:

do 3 of the following:
   - create 6 adobe bricks 12x12x3
   - make a natural paint and paint a 4x8 area
   - use low grade cob to fill between logs in a wofati - 20 feet
   - create a rock foundation under a skiddable structure
        - to level the structure
   - add 25 square feet of roof (cedar shakes or similar style of wood roof) to a skiddable structure

Thoughts? It feels like it's so hard to come up with things that can be done in a short amount of time and yet build skill and leave artifacts.

Here is a random list of brainstorming we've done that has not yet been placed into badge categories:

cob wall
cob floor
cob bench
outdoor cob structure that can handle rain
plaster
tipi poles?
thatch roof
wattle and daub
hang a door
home made cement
adobe bricks
compressed earth block
rammed earth
lath and plaster
natural paint
green roof stuff
reciprocating roof on a dog house or small shed
cedar shake roof on round wood
straw bale wall
dry stack foundation
rubble foundation
passive solar
glass bottles with cob
tree stand
treehouse
building a shower
creating clay tiles
log building
tiny house on a trailer
natural insulation material

building with pegs
building with lashing

build a tiny shed on skids
   - 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep
   - hold one garbage can
   - hold one sand barrel (for winter traction)
   - hold one recycling can
   - maybe a shovel or two
   - maybe offer power and/or water
   - has a bench built in to the back side so people can sit under the roof


Please offer your ideas for what could be included! Thanks!

I don't know if you're willing to bend as the the structure of the badge gradations, but it seems to me that someone who is going to build a natural building will not use all different types of construction in their building - Wattle and daub + rammed earth + Palm Thatch + felted Yurt don't necessarily go together, so, depending on the person's climate/needs/available materials, the building style cannot be done.

What if, rather, that a badge is earned for each universal portion of a building, regardless of natural method used? like this(these are in no particular order):

1 - Foundation
2 - structure
3 - walls/insulation
4 - Roof
5 - flooring
6 - doors/windows/airflow
7 - Heating/cooling
8 - rain/water/waste management

That way, someone building a bamboo hut, stone cottage, cob wofati, or wicker yurt can all accomplish the program without having to build multiple edifices, some unsuited to their climate/laws/available materials?

I think that for natural building, I want people to learn the natural building stuff that I like.   And the grand finale will be a wofati.  

Of course, this is for PEP badges.   So maybe your approach would be the approach for PED badges?

Here's what we have come up with for the sand badge so far:

do 3 of the following:
  - create 6 adobe bricks 12x12x3
  - make a natural paint and paint a 4x8 area
  - use low grade cob to fill between logs in a wofati - 20 feet
  - create a rock foundation under a skiddable structure
       - to level the structure
  - add 25 square feet of roof (cedar shakes or similar style of wood roof) to a skiddable structure

These are assuming someone already has access to a skiddable structure or wofati, Since they won't be making those until later, maybe make the applications more general. Like "add 25 swft of roof to a structure." and "dry stack 25sqft of wall, must be at least 2 feet high." and "make cob and form it into cob fairy hut--at least 2 feet high"


EDIT: Hmmmm, in the community badge, there's the suggestion of making a fairy hut. Perhaps one could make a fairy hut out of cob, with a shake roof. That would require a rock foundation, 25 sqft of roofing, and making and using cob. And, there'd be a cool artifact made from it. It could even double as shelter for  a cat or other small animals.

Nicole Alderman wrote:

Here's what we have come up with for the sand badge so far:

do 3 of the following:
  - create 6 adobe bricks 12x12x3
  - make a natural paint and paint a 4x8 area
  - use low grade cob to fill between logs in a wofati - 20 feet
  - create a rock foundation under a skiddable structure
       - to level the structure
  - add 25 square feet of roof (cedar shakes or similar style of wood roof) to a skiddable structure

These are assuming someone already has access to a skiddable structure or wofati, Since they won't be making those until later, maybe make the applications more general. Like "add 25 swft of roof to a structure." and "dry stack 25sqft of wall, must be at least 2 feet high." and "make cob and form it into cob fairy hut--at least 2 feet high"

A skiddable structure tends to have a pretty low requirement for roofing.  

Dry stack is in earthworks.