On Earth Day 2025, Greenbriar community school came together to build a cob oven as a hands on learning project. Cob is a natural building method made from clay, sand, straw, and water. These simple, low impact materials have been used for centuries across cultures. 

Greenbriar is an intentional community where families live and learn together on shared land. Greenbriar Community School grows naturally out of this way of living. Learning here is experiential, grounded in practical skills & cooperation. 

Natural Building: A Practice of Presence

The cob oven build reflected values in action. The process began with mixing cob by foot. Barefoot children and adults worked alongside one another, discovering how the materials respond and how shared effort shapes the outcome. This project invited patience, communication and collaboration at every step.

Community residents Camilo and Lauren of @themudbunch guided the process, sharing their passion and experience in natural building and supporting the group through each phase. The oven took shape gradually, over many weeks, formed by many hands. Students participated in ways that felt natural to them: mixing, shaping, observing, asking questions. 

Cob ovens work by absorbing and retaining heat in their thick earthen walls. After firing, the stored heat can be used for cooking, making them both efficient and sustainable. Building the oven and later using it allowed students to experience a complete learning cycle, from raw materials to functional use.

The build also became a shared effort between students and adults, turning the project into a true community experience. Adults helped guide the process, model patience and craftsmanship, and step in for the heavy lifting, while still leaving space for students to lead, experiment, and make decisions. Working side by side made the oven feel like something everyone belonged to, a beautiful reminder that meaningful work connects generations.

Several months later, during our end of school year campout, the oven was fired up for a community pizza party. It worked just as intended! Becoming a place to cook food and gather together.

At Greenbriar Community School, projects like this are central to how we learn. Students engage with real materials, real work, and real responsibility. The cob oven now stands as a shared resource on the land; as a quiet reminder of what can be created through cooperation and care.

This is the kind of learning we believe in at Greenbriar Community School. It’s embodied. Intergenerational. Rooted in place. We believe in the power of hands on experiences. During this project we built an oven, a stronger sense of community, a shared responsibility for the earth, and the knowledge that when we come together to create, we’re part of something much bigger than ourselves.

Huge thanks to @themudbunch for guiding us through every step with skill, patience, and so much heart. If you’re interested in natural building or cob ovens, go check them out and support their work!