Rotem

Rotem is a settlement of all young families, about 20, that is only nine years old. There is already one completed earthen home, this one in progress, and who knows: perhaps more to come? Yotam and Tammi thought of nearly everything when designing this home, and because of the size of this house they are building, Yotam is probably one of the leading earthbag specialists in the world. Because he was adamant about building his home the most ecologically possible, he did not build it to Israeli home safety standards, with a concrete floor and bomb shelter. With stones as a foundation houses were built safely for 1000s of years (as concrete is only less than 200 years old) so certainly Yotam can do it safely today. The house has three bedrooms, two baths, a huge living room, a kitchen, and a cut out left in case they choose to add on in the future. There is the possibility for a second story in all three bedrooms. There is a green roof, or a roof planted with a variety of plants to increase green space, act as the family garden, and help to insulate and regulate the temperature of the house. Everything from the wall paint and the floors, to the master bed frame and the bathtubs, to the bench couch in the living room is made out of earth.

On two days I plastered a bathroom wall with lime along with a really groovy woman who grew up on a kibbutz and who is a "specialist" on earthen plastering (a dream specialization of mine: I would LOVE to be able to put that on a business card.) The plastering technique is a very intricate century old Moroccan method. Morocco has a great history of earthen building, and this technique prevents water from entering the surface of the walls in areas vulnerable to water and humidity like bathrooms and kitchens. Apparently other people pay a lot of money to learn this technique...which I learned for free!

My last contribution, before leaving Rotem, was to paint two murals on the walls in the house. This way, there will be a little mark of Alex for as long as they live there!