Started in Fall of 2023, the cob oven stands at Manheim Gardens as a gathering space for community and garden members. The oven is used at Harvest Festivals, Solstice and Equinox celebrations, and many other events hosted at the Gardens. Manheim Gardens is a 501(c)(3) community garden in the heart of the Manheim Neighborhood, located in Midtown Kansas City, MO. It serves the Manheim/KC community as space for education, food sovereignty, and gathering.
In the Fall of 2023, community members were invited to the gardens to learn cob building methods. Over the course of 4 days, participants learned how to mix clay, sand, and straw together to build architecturally, and completed the main structural build of the oven.
In the Fall of 2024, participants and new faces were invited back to learn earthen plastering techniques, mixing clay from the pond of the garden, sand, and cattail fibers from the edge of the gardens to make the final coating of the oven, adding their own designs to the oven!
Check out some moments from Manheim Gardens:
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Whalen Builds 