The C.O.B. Project - The Community Oven Building Project
Empowering Communities with Earth, Fire and Food
Oven Building Workshops are a the perfect way to build an earthen oven for your community, school or organization
Building an earthen oven is a fun, creative and engaging community event. Unlike brick ovens, building an earth oven is quite simple, allowing everyone to be involved. Kids, adults and people of all walks of life can come together to play in the mud; creating a beautiful, as well as, functional work of art that everyone can take ownership of. Most importantly, building a communal earth oven oven brings people together in working towards a common goal. Just like an Amish barn raising, a group oven build relies on good planning, communication and teamwork; all attributes that can be used as a foundation for sustainable community development. Working to gather to build an oven also sets the stage for creating a safe, inclusive space where discussion and community action can take place.
Firing up a community earth oven is an exciting and captivating event that always brings people together. The primal attraction to cooking or baking with fire is undeniable, as the live flame and smell of food activates the senses. This is why millions of people turn to their grills to rejoice in one of life's simple pleasures of food, fire and friends. Ideal for baking artisan breads and pizzas, earth ovens are very versatile and are great for grilling, roasting and slow cooking. This appeal and versatility allows earth ovens to be used for a variety of community events; making it the perfect venue for communal baking, social gatherings, fundraisers and cooking classes. With this said, it is easy to see how building an earth oven could quickly become a valuable asset to any community.
To build an oven for your community, all you need to do is connect with The C.O.B. Project with your request to get the ball rolling. Once an build site has been established, you will be provided with a design consultation to make sure your communities needs are met. Once the designs are finalized, we will begin to organize a series of oven building and firing events. Although The C.O.B. Project is based out of Northern California, we are willing to travel for oven builds to some extent. However, if you are out of the C.O.B. Projects reach, we will work on connecting you with a local builder that can facilitate the build. The C.O.B. Project is also working on developing virtual support by offering online tutorials and live feeds that would guide groups through the process.