Kate Ellen

I’m Kate Ellen,

Kate Ellen

I’m Kate Ellen, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved mud. I used to squish red clay in my hands fascinated as it oozed out in ribbons between my fingers. I would paint my face with it and pretend I was a warrior. I made dribble castles. Ultimately, I built my own home out of it. Building with the earth is deep in our genes passed down from our ancestors through epigenetics. There is something healing, grounding, and meditative about playing, oh, I mean working with mud. (Hint: it’s something anyone can do, whether you’re a toddler or a senior, fit or disabled, there is a place for you, and it will bring out your inner child, if you let it!) My thoughts are, if earth is good enough to build a planet out of, then it’s good enough to build a home out of it, too. In fact, some of the oldest homes on Earth are made of– you guessed it! Earth! So how is it that I’m qualified to instruct in this amazing medium? Well, years ago, I got my hands on several types of earth building books. The books ranged from earthships using tires, earthbag structures, hay bale homes, compressed earth buildings, and then I found my favourite… The Hand Sculpted House book. It teaches just that… how to hand sculpt your home and why it’s amazing. The book sparked something in me that changed my view of the world. I built my first structure in 2013 with the help of my family and friends. It was a 12ft diameter, round, cob hut with glass bottles in the wall, recycled windscreen windows, and a reciprocal roof. Next, I built my 2,400 sq ft home out of Earth, too. I added hay bale benches and hid some of our trash in there, too! I built two pizza ovens, a fire place, then moved on to build an earthbag house just to give it a try. I needed a bathtub so I built one… out of mud! Over the years, I’ve learned that building with earth is very forgiving, and it is just plain fun when it’s done with friends. Come join us this January for a life-changing, earth shaping experience! Literally!