our story 

It all starts with family.... 

My name is David Hackenberger aka Shankar
(B Ag Sc. Dip RM. Cert Perm Design. Cert. Ayurvedic Med)

I was fortunate to come to the Central Highlands area as my partner is a 6th generation local. We moved to the Daylesford surrounds and started a family in the early 1990s. We acquired family owned land and owner-built a mudbrick and tin mansion - and I've been doing mud brick render and construction for the 30 years since!

There's a lot to love about mud bricks. They are easy to lay. They are easily cut by a hand masonry saw and can be used as load bearing or as infill. They do not need to be ‘cooked ‘ in a kiln. Rather they are sundried and made from clay, sand, lime and straw.  These are all readily available ingredients - put into a mixer and shovelled into a mould.

Whether it's my own house, or homes of people that I've worked - we all immensely appreciate the literally unique and beautiful feel that the bricks give along with their ability to stabilise the internal climate of a home.

... And mud bricks don’t burn!