Limestone buildings have such a great connection with the earth, and ours do, too. “If I had to choose two words to describe my style of home those are the two! I think our buildings fit the feel of The County and places like Kingston. People are calling The County’s stylistic “brand” rustic contemporary. People are literally building new lives here and I want to be part of that.” Prince Edward County is very central and it’s getting a lot of attention which is good news for a business like mine. “Eastern Ontario is becoming our region, which is just one reason I moved here. “We just finished one in Rice Lake, between Peterborough and Coburgh,” says Graham. They have built another rammed earth home in Castleton, several buildings up north and homes in Ottawa and Kingston. They host regular Open Houses there and the first 2019 date is in April, check their website for details. “People really have to experience rammed earth building to understand it and to see how beautiful it is,” says Graham.

The ground-breaking home is in Castleton, close to the Big Apple turnoff on Highway 401, and after 10 years it remains Aerecura’s show home. But there were no rammed earth builders in the province, so she and Graham built Ontario’s first rammed earth home themselves. Sylvia Cook’s first career was high school physics teacher, and when she researched the best way to build a truly sustainable home she chose rammed earth. “Our first project was intended to be my parent’s retirement home, but instead it kicked off a second career for her.” We named it Aerecura after a Celtic earth goddess, because we actually build walls out of dirt,” says Graham. “My mom and I started the business in 2009.

Rammed earth building is an ancient technique that produces stylish, sustainable and strong structures, like the Great Wall of China – and Graham’s mother’s house. That’s the least romantic way of saying it, but it’s true.

Earth rammed home