Ziggy Liloia bio

Ziggy here. I started The Year of Mud back in 2008 when I began constructing my first cob house with little prior building experience. At the time, I lived at an off-grid community called Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. “The year of mud” marked the beginning of a new era — my full tilt pursuit of building with clay, straw, and wood. Since then, I’ve been involved in a variety of natural building projects, big and small. Many of these projects and mud-slinging adventures are documented on the long-running blog. I love the creativity inherent in the building process and try to incorporate the best possible practices into each and every project, no matter the scale. Things that can really get me fired up include clay plaster, timber framing, woodworking, and studying Japanese architecture, among others. The Year of Mud is dedicated to creating empowering and meaningful learning experiences for everyone taking part in their natural building workshops, creating community as well as teaching how to build with natural building materials. Courses are hosted at South Slope Farm, their homestead located in the Appalachian foothills near Berea, Kentucky, USA. They are family-friendly and all-inclusive, with lodging and food included in the tuition.