Archive for December, 2009

Concord, MA

Instructor: Tim White

http://www.traditionalbuildingmodelsandsystems.com

White Oak Farm – Williams, OR

Instructor: Taylor Starr & James Haim

http://www.whiteoakfarmcsa.org

Tuition: $320

Join us this Summer as we sculpt a small cottage in the woods. In this weekend workshop you will have the opportunity to get your hands (and feet) dirty mixing and building with cob, stacking straw bales, and making and applying earthen plasters. Lectures and discussions will also cover: light-straw-clay building, design basics, foundations, roofs, and more. We will have the opportunity to tour a hybrid pole frame-straw bale-cob home, a straw bale-cob sauna, and a cob oven. Participants will walk away from this weekend with the techniques and principles needed to begin building with natural materials.

Working with natural materials for four days allows learning to take hold in your body. During this workshop you will learn how to test soil for building, mix cob, build cob walls, and learn the basics of earthen plastering, light-straw-clay, and straw bale building.

White Oak Farm – Williams, OR

Instructor: Taylor Starr & James Haim

http://www.whiteoakfarmcsa.org

Tuition: $640

Join us this Summer as we build a small cottage in the woods designed to demonstrate a wide range of natural building techniques. Over eight days you will learn how to build with cob, straw bales, lights-straw-clay, adobe, and poles. You will also have the opportunity to use earthen plasters. Lectures, discussions and demonstrations will focus on passive solar design, alternative energy, foundations, living roofs, load-bearing and non-load-bearing construction, cob ovens, and much more. We will also tour several finished natural homes.

Participants will Receive detailed instruction and hands-on experience in small cottage construction from laying the foundation to application of a living roof. This extended workshop allows for a deeper sense of community, and the opportunity to sink into the beautiful Williams Valley (an afternoon off is scheduled mid week).

Brasstown North Carolina

Instructor: Ford & Ira

http://www.heirloomtimberframing.com/42101/15301.html?entryId=85842f4eebbdb62938936f38c0fa18a8

Tuition: $495

This Timber Frame Workshop will focus on layout and fashioning joinery in timbers using traditional hand techniques. A rope and hand raising will complete the workshop. Timber will be harvested from local downed trees of multiple species. The frame will showcase wood fired pottery for a local potter. The one week workshop will be located in Brasstown North Carolina and begins 10/20/2010.

Bay Area, CA

Instructor: Sasha Rabin

http://sgnb.com

Tuition: 150

This two day workshop offers a hands-on introduction to working with clay, sand, and fibers to make beautiful, non-toxic plasters and finishes. These methods and materials can be used over conventional sheetrock as well as earthen and straw bale walls. We will process both unrefined and store-bought materials into plaster and paint, and we will apply these finishes over both earthen walls and sheetrock.

Participants will leave the workshop with enough understanding of the materials and process to mix and apply their own paints and plasters on a variety of substrates.

Lunch is included both days.

Online

Instructor: Rachel Connor

http://www.solarenergy.org

Tuition: $750

Building for the Future: Sustainable Home Design ONLINE

February 1 – March 14, 2010
Price: $750/
In the United States building operations account for over 43% of total US C02 emissions and two- thirds of total US electrical consumption. A transformation of the built environment is underway and Solar Energy International offers a comprehensive sustainable building program designed to inspire homeowners and building practitioners to engage in the principles of designing and building residential structures that achieve optimal year-round comfort, reduce energy consumption, improve indoor air quality and limit environmental impact. Spend 6-weeks emerging in the design principles and building techniques for a brighter future. The emphasis is on integrated design using a whole- building approach, applying building science and integrating green design strategies into the built environment. Also covered will be the synergistic relationship between climate-sensitive design and natural building materials.

REGISTER ONLINE WWW.SOLARENERGY.ORG OR CALL 970-963-8855.

Patillas, Puerto Rico

Instructor: Scott Howard

http://earthenhand.com

Tuition: $1400 (10% off if you bring a friend)

Puerto Rico Earthbag Dome Intensive
In cooperation with:

Las Casas de la Selva www.eyeontherainforest.org

April 10th-20th, 2010

Patillas, Puerto Rico

Your Instructor: Scott Howard

Learn about earthbag dome design and construction, earthen plasters, and methods of roofing using locally available plants. Complete a 13 x 13 foot earthbag dome that will be a bedroom. While you are there, learn about the local rainforest ecology and demonstrations of sustainable agriculture and forestry.

Gain the skills you need to build your own Earthbag dome: Dome design, Permaculture Design (as it applies to buildings), Earthbag and Gravel Foundations, Earthbag and Cob Wall systems, Passive Solar, Window placement, Earthen floors, Earthen plasters.

Preregistration is required.

Taught in English and Spanish by the instructor.

Tuition = $1400

10% discount for bringing a friend!

Full Description & Signup at website

Clay Culture: Plasters, Paints and Preservation
By Carole Crews

Now in print, this self-published book begins with a condensed history of the Southwestern US with details about how the old adobe houses were built and how to repair their walls. The chapter, “Learning by Doing” is a brief memoir of the author’s own building experiences, and includes details about the construction of her adobe dome. It also includes a beautiful photographic essay by John Collier Jr. of Malcolm and Rachel Brown erecting their family home made of mud in the 1950’s.
A survey of natural building wall systems and how to plaster them will help owner-builders plan the simplest ways of manifesting their dream home. The author also shares the building of an adobe fireplace and methods of making adobe floors. The Elemental Awareness chapter goes into scientific detail about the materials themselves to facilitate the formulation of recipes for specific tasks using your local materials.
Well known for her micaceous clay finishes, the reader will learn all about alis, casein, color and how to make your own walls beautiful in the simplest dust-free ways, using either found materials or those from pottery suppliers. Binders can be made from a variety of ingredients found in your own kitchen. Many tips about making art from the same materials are also shared.
As those interested in natural building well know, social justice issues can be addressed through this body of knowledge as we all find our places in the evolution of a more earth-friendly world.
Order books through the author’s website: carolecrews.com