Weather

Well there is a very nice thunderstorm going on outside. I just finished watching a segment of "Dirty Jobs" where they built a home out of ... what did they call them? basically it was clay & sand & straw clumps, all worked together. A good way to build a cheap home, I'd like it very much. You could also build curving walls & all sorts of good stuff like that. Plumbing etc all ok. And well insulated! Although windows maybe not so much. Later you plaster over it all and voila! A ready to paint, comfy dwelling. Toad'lly sweet. Cobs! that was it.
OK so I just did a bunch of research and it looks really viable; the drawbacks mainly being 1) getting a building permit 2) massive amounts of physical labor & time.
Really the first would be the most difficult, the second would depend on the size. I also realized a tin roof would be excellent, as opposed to thatched. or you could thatch for insulation with tin on top. Poured concrete base would probably be the best. I wouldn't be shooting for an obsessively green building, just one I could make myself, on the cheap, relatively ecologically friendly. I do have questions about flooring though-- I don't know how that would work. Anyway. 1.5 hours wasted researching that. If you're interested you can go to:
http://www.alternatives.com/cob-building/what.html
or
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/cob.htm

both good sites. The second has some excellent looking books listed.