Papercrete And Me

Eve’s Garden is what many consider to be the best example of the possibilities of papercrete.  Clyde Curry and Kate Thayer have done wonders with this humble, easy to make, easy to work with, environmentally friendly, highly insulating product. Who would ever suspect these gorgeous building are made out of a simple mixture of paper and cement?

I’ve been invited to Eve’s Garden but haven’t been able to get down there yet. Every time I see an article it makes me more determined to make the trip. This is a writeup that appeared recently in the West Texas Weekly.

surf the local web! recommend this site to yr friends this is yr thoughts, yr comments, yr voice westtexasweekly.com west texas weekly [dot] com

[Contributor Darci Pauser writes extensively on renewable energy at her blog The Field Trip ]

Eve’s Garden has been meticulously designed, built, and landscaped for the past eight years by owners Clyde Curry and Kate Thayer. Their vision, which Eve’s Garden embodies, is increased “localized self-reliance.” Hence, the Garden is not only a wonderous place to stay, but is also built to inspire the creative spirit. Clyde describes the B&B as a “Hope Center,” a place where folks can experience an example of more responsible living.

Entering through the large front door, you step inside the main house to a welcoming foyer, painted brightly and with findings from the natural world dispersed throughout. Going forward, you walk between two dining rooms, where Garden guests enjoy an organic meal each morning. Next, the kitchen where the magic happens is chock-full of every implement you could possibly imagine for creating delicious and nourishing food. Down a few steps, and you come to the main lounge area, where a coffee table is host to a number of inspiring books and rags— ACRES USA and The Transition Handbook, to name a couple. The house is 100 years old, standing within a few blocks of Marathon’s main drag and small shops, and local art decks the walls.

Exiting the house through the back french doors, you reach the lap pool, oxygenated by a tranquil waterfall. From there, you walk into the outdoor courtyard, with many colorful places to sit and relax or chat. This is where the bulk of the original construction begins. The walls of these buildings consist of a material called papercrete– an adobe-like material made up of paper and mortar that can be molded into all manner of shapes. Each building of papercrete at Eve’s Garden exhibits smooth angles and lines, as well as intensely bright colors– for color-therapy, said Clyde. Papercrete is relatively easy to use, and is also super-insulating. This building method provides an example of how people can create their own dwellings, taking responsibility for the origins of their property into their own hands.

Clyde and Kate keep on going with the construction, building more rooms, and planning for another garden, dedicated to edible produce. They hope that their methods provide inspiration to people, as well as the fact that they refuse to stop and ‘retire’ like so many others in our society do, to the detriment of their bodies and minds.

The guest rooms surround a 7500-square-foot greenhouse where flowers and butterflies abound. It’s a welcome humid respite from the dry desert air, and two fountains elicit a feeling of peace and well-being. Each room has its own flavor, and are given names like Lotus and Boquillas. The name of Eve’s Garden itself is a “socio-political-religious joke,” Clyde explained. With this project, he and Kate are attempting to give the garden back to Eve.

You can email evesgarden.org@gmail.com or give them call at (432) 386-4165.

Visit the Eve’s Garden website.

Check out these articles on the Big Bend:

• Eve’s Garden in Marathon

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This entry was posted by Judith on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 8:38 pm and is filed under What Was I Thinking???. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.