This workshop will be co-taught by Sasha Rabin and James Thomson (of House Alive! ). This course is designed for both first time builders, as well as professional builders and contractors who want to delve more into building with natural materials. This course focuses on cob while also offering hands on experience with light straw clay (slip straw), adobe block, and wattle and daub. Students will learn how to smoothly integrate various natural building materials to create the best possible building solution for each individual situation. This course will teach you how to prospect and test for appropriate building sediment, how to mix cob, various cob wall building techniques, the installation of windows into cob walls, methods for attachment of wood (e.g. doors, roofs), and how to sculpt niches, shelves and furniture. As a complement to the hands-on building portion of the course we include slide shows and discussion sessions about the philosophical and theoretical aspects of natural building. These discussion sessions cover building design and siting, passive solar design, foundations and drainage, natural plasters and earthen floors, roofs, and electric and plumbing for earthen buildings. There will also be opportunity to gain some skills in simple wood working for those with no or minimal wood working experience. This workshop will include three evening presentations and slide shows. We will take a field trip to see other natural building projects. All Levels. Taught by Seven Generations Natural Builders. The cost is $550. www.sgnb.com. Contact Sasha: sasha@sgnb.com
City Repair in Portland, Oregon is effectively supporting the rebirth of the village, creating opportunities for the city to be a vibrant outgrowth of healthy, active and safe neighborhoods.
As you may know, a dear friend of City Repair, The VBC, and the natural building community was severely injured during the May 2006 Village Building Convergence. Please consider helping Ernie recover
An aerobic pumice wick is used to filter, clean and decontaminate greywater and blackwater. To create a pumice wick, an 18″ bed of pumice is laid with a 6″ covering layer of soil. Grass and other plants are planted and roots grow into the pumice bed.
All household wastes drain into an “infiltrator,” which captures solid waste to form a compost and allows liquid to be absorbed in the pumice wick and plant roots. This liquid is taken up by the plants, which use the nutrients and transpire the water. In the case of too much liquid, the wick acts as a filter and filtered water drains out of the exit pipe. This prevents liquid rising in the infiltrator which would keep oxygen from reaching the compost. Continue Reading…
The Rocket Stove is a simple applied technology that makes a typical box wood stove seem like something from the dark ages. What makes a rocket stove a rocket stove? Continue Reading…
The Natural Building Movement is not new, but it is growing to meet the needs of our planet, nature and society. Become a co-creator of an organization moving the mission of our movement forward in the world. Become a member of NBN.
The Natural Building Network is a not-for-profit membership association promoting natural building principles, materials and practitioners worldwide. We support ecological regeneration, social justice, the building of community and economic opportunity, and the recognition of indigenous wisdom as essential in creating healthy, beautiful, and spiritually-uplifting habitation for everyone. Continue Reading…
For the fourth year, House Alive offers our popular 6 week natural building apprenticeship. This hands-on, intensive course is designed for people who want to use natural building skills in a professional context or who want to take extra time to work on skill development for their personal project. Participants will get first-hand experience with every aspect of building a natural home, from the foundation to the roof. This program will be almost exclusively “hands-on” learning. The best way to learn how to build is simply to build, and the more you do it the more you learn. Participants will be able to take the time to develop and practice new skills under the guidance of experienced natural builders. On occasion guest builders will visit the site to teach specific techniques. http://www.housealive.org/workshops/2008-apprenticeship.html
