The Mud Wall Revolution

Tiny Insights for building naturally, building beautifully.

April 06, 2025

No.082 — Read old posts on Tinyfarmlab.com
Reading Time 4 minutes

Look around.

We live in a world where
building codes force you to build with cement.
Banks don’t give you loans for building with mud.
Forest laws don’t allow you to source local materials.
Architects and masons are trained to build with concrete.

Today, most buildings go up like fast food.
Pre-cut. Pre-designed. Pre-approved.

You've heard the same things:
"It’s not durable."
"It’s not marketable."
"It’s not practical."

Most people don’t choose concrete.
They choose convenience.

In the name of progress,
we’ve accepted homes that can’t breathe.

We’ve been sold the idea-
That value lies in resale.
That comfort comes in square footage and false ceilings.

Building with mud is not for the weak-hearted.

It’s not just construction.
It’s confrontation.

With your fear of failure.
With the speed of the world.
With every voice that said:
“You will not be able to do this.
Just do what everyone else is doing.”

Building with mud is no less than a war.
Against the myth that faster is better.
Against the idea that homes should be sold, not lived in.

It takes militancy.

The quiet, muddy kind.
That questions the status quo.
That chooses the romance of the curved walls.
That requires training masons who think you’ve lost your mind.

Here, you are sometimes alone.

There are no shortcuts here.
No plug-and-play. No vendor directory.

You’ll be the only one who believes in it at first.
You’ll question your decisions constantly.
The weather will play with your plans.
Finding skilled labour will be hard.
You’ll burn out.


You learn to work with nature, not against it.
You become a better collaborator, listener, observer.
You start seeing mistakes as lessons, not failures.

And when your mud wall finally stands tall, curved, sunlit—
you will cry.

Because you know what it took.

And once you build like this—
you can never go back.

Because you didn’t just build a shelter.
You built resilience.
You built memory.
You built yourself.


This is a mud revolution.
It’s not easy.
But trust us, it’s worth every ball of cob.

Love,
Raghav and Ansh

P.S. - Connect with us on LinkedIn. See what’s up with our latest project.


What you can watch -

What you can listen to - Some Bukowski motivation



What You Can Read -

Mainstreaming the Values of the Natural Building Movement - The Last Straw

As the world comes to understand that bio-based building materials are the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment, Massey Burke argues that going mainstream doesn't have to mean selling out.

www.thelaststraw.org/mainstreaming-the-values-of-the-natural-building-movement

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