Restoration of a traditional Rammed Earth wall fence
Brignais, France, 2021
Participatory workshop with the owner of the farm "La Jamayère" in Brignais and 40 volunteers.
Led by: Thierry Baruch and Lydia Hareb from FORMATERRE.
Objectives: The restoration of a 300-meter long rammed earth fence wall.
The owner of a farm called “La Jamayère” and her neighbor decided to restore a common fence wall built with rammed earth, a local traditional technique. The fence wall is 300 meters long, and realizing the impossibility of accomplishing this work by themselves, the two women opted to organize a participatory workshop with the intervention of professionals from Formaterre and a group of friends specialized in earthen construction from CRAterre. In this participatory workshop, the earth used to restore the 300-meter wall was extracted in the week prior to construction and naturally moistened with rainwater (no stabilization).
Additionally, we utilized the same earth mixed with straw to fill the holes in the wall. Some parts that were completely destroyed were rebuilt using the same traditional rammed earth technique that was initially used to construct the wall. Furthermore, we focused on restoring the stone base and tile top protection. While the extensive surface of the wall requires a significant amount of work to be completed, it became evident during these three days of intervention with 40 volunteers that diligent work progressed rapidly in a pleasant atmosphere, demonstrating the power of collective effort.
