We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Morey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Starting my own business for me was an expression of being a torch bearer from previous generations that built with earth. The genesis of earthen masonry – using clay and sand to form structural masonry blocks – dates back to the walls of Jericho over 10,000 years ago. Lisa became involved first in adobe brick construction while living in New Zealand in the early 2000’s, and benefited from working with the world’s best earthen masonry codes that have been written in New Zealand. From this experience Lisa developed a patent using the system developed in New Zealand, and published a book on how to build with earthen masonry. Today she is interested to truly expand the use of low-carbon masonry blocks in the USA.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The landscape of our infrastructure is changing, and Colorado Earth is part of this change.

The innovation involved takes a ten-thousand-year-old approach and makes it relevant once again in our modern building world. We do this by using advanced processes to create unique, low-carbon mix designs for each new facility we establish. Our trade secrets and developed IP around construction processes have led Colorado Earth to being a leader in the earthen masonry industry.

Colorado Earth has been featured in Colorado Public Radio, Bloomberg, Grist, MSN, ABC, Colorado Builder magazine, BizWest, Medium, the Build Show, BBC, and Voice of America for a global broadcast – all for the work done to support resilient construction. Due to the fire resistance construction techniques, Colorado Earth has been a voice for how to build with resiliency and durability in mind. We currently have 13 active clients in some phase of design or construction.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
On December 31, 2021, Colorado experienced the Marshall Fire in Superior. Over 1000 people lost their home.
I would like to show a visitor how Colorado has supported the rebuild efforts to address fire resiliency. The tour would begin with a tour of one of our projects in the Sagamore Community and visit with home owners that lost their home in the fire.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The following is a brief history of my early work and the person who mentored me. My journey started as a 20-page paper in architectural design school in Auckland, New Zealand. As a student, I was given the assignment to follow any building project and document the progress over the course of the school year. Once I learned of Vince Ogletree, an adobe brick builder on the nearby island of Waiheke, I was excited to see what work was taking place. I visited the island many times that year, taking pictures and learning from the handful of projects Vince currently had underway. At the end of the school year the paper was complete and I received my diploma; my education, however, had just begun.
The following year, I started working full time with Vince as a draftsperson. We worked closely with our clients, and paid special attention to their ideas for their new homes. We held weekend workshops where interested people could come and learn how to make and lay adobe bricks. Many of these workshop attendees went away to build their own adobe homes or outbuildings. We realized that our Do-it-Yourself clients would benefit from a written guide or manual, so slowly, little by little, Vince and I started to develop my 20-page paper into something more.
Working on our book together became a source of purpose and focus once Vince was diagnosed with cancer. He worked diligently on the document every day, carefully adding the knowledge built of his true skill and passion. When Vince passed away in April 2005, the manuscript was nearly complete and naturally I was compelled to finish it. The book was published in 2010 and was the beginning of my personal commitment to natural building, while holding tears for the loss of a dear soul, and heartfelt love for adobe building.

Website: https://www.coloradoearth.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradoearth/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-morey-colorado/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CEBandADOBE/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coloradoearth7982

Image Credits
Elizabeth Hurtado
Jason Rick

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