Professional snowboarder Marie France Roy could have made things easier for herself and bought a house like most people. Instead, the eco-conscious young woman lives off-the-grid in a 400 square foot house she built with her own hands. The structure is made from sand, clay, straw, and garbage, which she says allowed her to mold it “kind of like Play-Doh.”

Roy built the structure in a rainforest, on the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, using cob made from materials at hand. I wasn’t familiar with cob, so I looked it up, and I learned that cob (also known as cobb or clom) is a natural building material made from soil, water, fibrous organic material, sand or clay, and sometimes lime. It is naturally insulated and weather resistant, so cob structures need little in the way of heating or cooling.

“This planet is so powerful and diverse, but also fragile. I felt that building a smaller home, out of as many local, natural and recycled resources as possible, would be a wonderful way for me to remain more connected and grounded.

“The cob making process doesn’t require any building experience and it was the most fun and creative part,” says Marie. “Cob is so malleable that it allows you to really personalize a space to your own taste, like no other material.”

– Marie France Roy

Roy got the idea for the house after she broke her neck in a snowboarding accident in 2010. While she was recovering, she took a cob house building course with a group of women living on Vancouver Island who call themselves Mudgirls. After taking the course, Roy started dreaming up her house project and eventually made it a reality.

You can follow Marie France Roy on Instagram, and you can check out Mudgirls on their website.

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Here we go Canada, October 21st is election day and a rare opportunity to influence politics in our country. I see voting as a privilege and a tool to create positive change and I am voting for climate because I believe a healthy environment is essential as a foundation for any other opportunity in our lives, whether it is for our health, well being, economy and social justice all around the World. If you need more information on how to vote, the different parties and their climate plans, please check out the @protectourwinterscanada website and their Climate Report Card. Time to show up! 💪🙏🌎❤️ #voteforclimatecanada #votestrategically #justfreakinvote

A post shared by mariefranceroy (@mariefranceroy) on Oct 16, 2019 at 7:43pm PDT

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Solar energy won’t save the planet alone. But it certainly is a big part of the solutions that are available now. Solar systems are more affordable than ever and provide profitable longterm returns as electricity rates will only keep rising. For me, it’s more of an investment toward a better future. I have seen first hand the social and environmental impacts of mismanagement and lack of accountability on large scale hydro power projects. Fossil fuels are still providing a lot of our power all over the World which we need to move away from in order to reach our climate goals before it’s too late. I am super grateful to be able to join the movement toward solutions! Thank you Jeff Chamberland from Bearfoot Renewables and @jessonmt for the install. @bearfootjeff started his own program where he donates recycled solar panels and his time to install off grid systems to communities in need all around Vancouver Island. 🙌 what a legend! And thank you @roysbag for the song and @rustyockenden for the vid📽🙏🌎🌱🌞❤️

A post shared by mariefranceroy (@mariefranceroy) on Aug 21, 2019 at 10:00am PDT

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Can a self-built, natural home get any prettier than this? Take a full tour of this magical cob & reclaimed home built by @mariefranceroy in our latest video! 🌾 Marie learned about cob building from the @mudgirlscollective and is doing incredible work to fight climate change with @protectourwinterscanada so definitely take a look at those accounts if you want to learn more 🌍 Thank you for watching! #cob #earth #adobe #cobhouse #greenbuilding #mudgirlscollective #protectourwinters #exploringalternatives #microcabin #tinyhouse #diy #cabinlife #tinyhouse

A post shared by Exploring Alternatives (@exploringalternatives) on Oct 16, 2019 at 1:04pm PDT