Straw Bale Building Hands-On Apprenticeship
| June 23, 2009 | to | August 6, 2009 |
Davidsonville, MD
Instructor: Steve Kemble and Mollie Curry
Tuition: Paid stipend of $200/week
This apprenticeship has already begun, and we have room for more good folks like you! There is plenty of time left for learning all the steps.
WE want people who are serious about learning and practicing strawbale building techniques in the context of a real job setting.
Steve Kemble and Mollie Curry of MudStrawLove LLC out of Asheville, NC will lead the program. They have 35 years of combined experience with straw bale and other natural building techniques (see their website at www.mudstrawlove.com). Steve and Mollie will be teaching all the techniques associated with the bale wall assembly, including stacking, securing, shaping and prepping bales for plaster, cobbing, window and door details, electrical, mixing and applying interior earthen plasters. There may be opportunities for learning lime plastering techniques as well. You will be working with the strawbale team 40 hours/week (Tues-Saturday) on the construction of a straw bale house in Davidsonville, Maryland. In addition to learning and practicing strawbale construction methods, you will apply your newly acquired knowledge by helping train and lead volunteer crews each Saturday.
The project is a two-story house that incorporates other green features such as passive solar design, locally harvested and milled lumber, photovoltaics, and geothermal heating/cooling as well as straw bale and local clay plasters. The foundation and roof will be completed prior to your arrival. Apprentices can live on site, either in their own tent, or in a shared 3 bedroom (partial strawbale) house. The farm on which the house is situated has a pool, a tennis court, miles of trails, and an organic herb-growing operation, and is located near Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore, and DC.
The apprenticeship includes housing (limited) or tent site and a $200/week cash stipend. Full or part-time (paid) employment is possible after the apprenticeship to complete the plastering. Apprentices are expected to be strong workers committed to learning about strawbale construction.
Please contact MudStrawLove to set up a telephone interview at (828)775-4823.
