Introduction and Inspiration

Hello and welcome to my adventure. Since this is my first attempt at writing a blog I thought I would begin with a short introduction about myself and the inspiration behind this project.

So to begin the introduction my name is Robert Dameron and I live in the Sonoran desert in Arizona. I've worked in the computer industry for over twenty years as well both residential and commercial construction. Usually I worked two to three jobs at a time. I guess you could call me a classic overachiever. After moving to Arizona I gave up construction then during the economic down turn in 2005 I left the computer industry and became a firefighter and EMT. I spent several years as a firefighter but, was injured during a house fire, permanently disabling me, which ended my career as a firefighter and EMT. I then spent the next two and a half years learning how to walk and move while coping with the constant pain. To that end I will admit that I am much slower than I used to be and am very limited in how much I can do in a day. This includes typing so my posts won't usually be too long.

Now the good news is that I do have some help with this project. I am blessed with eight children. Yes I know the question and yes I said eight. I have four and my wife has four. No unfortunately they are not all with us all the time. Two of our children are eighteen or over, one is almost eighteen and the youngest is now thirteen. I don't get to spend much time with my children from my previous marriages, but they do come and visit over the summer and some holidays. We have three of our boys with us all of the time. So no matter what we have some of our children here. Our children have almost all had a helping hand in this project and this project would not be at the point it is without them.

So on to the inspiration of this project. My wife and I chose to live outside of the city on purpose. We wanted some land to be able grow a garden, some fruit trees and maybe some chickens. We wanted to be able to see the stars at night and to have space to entertain our family and friends. For me that means a great passion of mine, cooking. Especially cooking with a wood or charcoal fire. I love fresh food cooked over open flames. I also love to bake and roast in brick ovens. So we planned to build a brick oven. When I was injured I suddenly lost both the money required to buy the materials and the physical ability to build the oven. So in an attempt to fight the depression I faced I began searching for an alternative and I found one, earth. Clay to be more exact.

Before I was injured we had begun digging a hole in the ground to use as a cistern to collect and store rain water for irrigation. I can tell you without a doubt after digging in this soil that it has a lot of clay in it. The more I read the more I wanted to read and learn about clay ovens. So an idea that was born of brick had suddenly transformed to clay. So I read and studied everything I could find about these types of ovens. The idea became simple, to build a clay oven from the clay earth we had dug. I also had learned ideas new to me for fuel efficient stoves and open pit cooking. So now my idea began to morph from a single oven to an entire kitchen. An outdoor kitchen, one that would be fuel efficient and by burning wood from dead trees or trimmings making it carbon neutral. Also a kitchen that won't heat up the house on hot summers day but, also an outdoor dining area to be able to enjoy the mild spring and fall days and evenings and a fireplace to take off the chill of those winter nights when then is no substitute for good barbecue.

So now my project has evolved into an entire outdoor kitchen and dining area to be made primarily out of the clay earth that has been and will be dug from here on the same site. This clay will be turned into cob, adobe brick, mud mortar and earthen plaster. My intent for this blog is to chronicle this project so that I may give back to those who have provided me with information as well to help others realize that we can live well and be happy and healthy without having to spend thousands of dollars to do it.

So in conclusion of my first post the purpose of this project is to build a functional and aesthetically pleasing outdoor kitchen and dining area primarily made out of adobe and cob. The intent is also to use locally found and or recycled materials in order to complete the project with very little cost. The purpose of this blog is to share our experiences and knowledge gained with those who share our passions for good food, family, friends, living well, reducing our expenses, being ecologically responsible and anyone else who’s interested.