Adobe is the Spanish word for mud brick originates from Arabic, is a building material made from earth and often organic material.
In dry climates, adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for some of the oldest existing buildings in the world.
Natural buildings offer significant advantages due to their greater thermal mass, but they are known to be particularly susceptible to earthquake damage if they are not somehow reinforced.
Image: Other Names – Mud Brick, COB Brick, Adobe Brick, Earth Brick
Image: First mud mix is pushed into a mold, which is really just some wood built to the dimensions of the bricks. Once they have dried for 4 days in the hot sun they can be stacked to save space.
The mix
An adobe brick is a composite material made of earth mixed with water and an organic material such as straw or dung. The soil composition typically contains sand, silt and clay. Straw is useful in binding the brick together and allowing the brick to dry evenly, thereby preventing cracking due to uneven shrinkage rates through the brick. Dung offers the same advantage. The most desirable soil texture for producing the mud of adobe is 15% clay, 10-30% silt and 55-75% fine sand.
The bricks
Bricks are often made in an open frame of 25 by 36 cm. The mixture is molded into a frame, and then the frame is removed after initial setting. After drying a few hours, the bricks are turned on edge to finish drying. Slow drying in shade reduces cracking.
Image: To protect the adobe wall from rain, overlapping roof tiles have been placed on top as mini roof
Image: Papaya tree behind a adobe wall
Image: Very high adobe wall where the different adobe brick layers are very well visible
Image: Traditional houses in Samaipata where previously build in adobe. Sadly now new houses are being build in brick and cement.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe