No One Builds Walls Like This Anymore! (Straw Cladding)

Before cement. Before insulation. Before contractors. In 1973, this master thatcher was filmed doing something almost no one alive knows how to do anymore—cladding a weather wall using nothing but straw, clay, and bare hands. This Earthwork Echoes episode takes you to the village of Kommern, Germany, where an 18th-century half-timbered farmhouse gets protected the old way. Oak poles. Hazel rods. Clay plaster. And layer after layer of hand-combed rye straw dipped in mud. No power tools. No synthetic materials. Just centuries of knowledge passed down through generations. Watch as each step unfolds: 🌾 Preparing the clay mortar and straw bundles 🌾 Building the foundation with oak and hazel 🌾 Layering straw to create a rain-shedding, insulating wall 🌾 Regional techniques shaped by climate and experience Original source material: Verkleiden der Wetterwand mit Stroh Published by Alltagskulturen im Rheinland © LVR-Institut für Landeskunde und Regionalgeschichte CC BY 4.0 #TraditionalBuilding #LostCrafts #Thatching #NaturalBuilding #OldWays