Warren, Vermont

Instructor Jacob Deva Racusin, Ace McArleton

http://www.yestermorrow.org/courses/detail/natural-plasters-and-finishes?StartDate=&SortColumn=&SortDir=&Search=plaster

Henry Beston noted how the hand-made thing has the mark of the living soul. This course will teach you how to create and apply beautiful hand finished plasters and paints on many wall surfaces. People around the world have been using clay, gypsum, and lime as plasters and paints for millenia, and these materials have shown a timeless aesthetic and utility. The course will cover at a basic level three principle plaster and paint mediums: clay, lime, and gypsum, and finish with plaster coats, paints, and washes of clay, lime, casein, wheat paste, mica, pigments, and other natural ingredients. Students will leave this course with practical experience mixing and applying a wide variety of finishes on various wall systems, from rough straw bale to finished gypsum wall board. Emphasis will be given on learning the working properties of the materials and developing critical thinking skills to apply the knowledge in real-world situations, rather than on specific recipes for specific conditions.

Durham, NC

Instructor Greg Allen

http://www.carolinacob.com

Tuition: work trade

I am relatively new in the field of natural building (a 2008 apprenticeship graduate from Cob Cottage Company). I spent last year designing/building a gardener’s cottage at a farm in Carrboro, NC. This spring I will be starting a new project in Durham at a co-housing community, building a sacred space in which two community shamans can perform their work.

I will be running weekend workshops almost every weekend, teaching students about each step of the process from excavation to finish details (check out www.carolinacob.com). Between weekends, I will be working on the project alone. I’m looking for a builder (or non-builder) who is passionate about natural materials, who would be interested in building alongside me, and assisting me in teaching the workshops.

I will be living in a tent near the building site, and cooking my own meals outdoors. I don’t have any means to pay you with anything but knowledge and experience, but you would be able to set up a tent and cook with me (meaning that you needn’t pay rent anywhere). The project will start in April and run roughly through mid-June. You could apprentice for part or all of this time (at least 6 weeks, please).

E-mail me at gjallen2@gmail.com or call 315-657-3980 and leave a message if I’m not there. Thanks for your interest!

Aprovecho Research Center

Instructor Erica Ann Bush

http://www.aprovecho.net

Tuition: $300

Come learn about natural building and earthen wall finishes in this 3-day hands-on workshop. We will turn the earth beneath our feet into healthy, beautiful, loveable surfaces. The course will cover harvesting local materials, processing raw materials for various types of plasters, and applying a three-part system including scratch coat, finish coat and pigmented clay paints or aliz. Time permitting, we will also cover basic artistic finishing techniques including burnishing, texture/relief and carving. Please bring good work clothes and boots and rain gear and prepare for all to get muddy. Let’s get plastered!

Custer, Wisconsin

Instructor Mark Morgan and Vincent Miresse

http://www.the-mrea.org

Tuition $110.00

Natural Building? Think three little pigs. Straw, Wood, Stone. Building with natural materials has been happening since the dawn of humankind. Come to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) to learn about different types and styles of alternative construction and to learn about sustainable building and decision making. The purpose of this class is for people to reconnect with the materials that surround them and regain the knowledge about local, healthy, natural material use and selection and appropriate regional wall systems. Topics to be discussed: site and design considerations; foundations; local material – wood, clay, sand, stone, straw, etc.; wall systems – straw bale, light straw-clay, monolithic adobe (cob), cordwood, earth bag, rammed earth and rammed tire; earthen floors and plasters; stick framing, post and beam, and timber frame; and steel and living roofs.

Please register in advance.

Warren, Vermont

Instructor: Yestermorrow Design/Build School, multiple instructors

http://www.yestermorrow.org

Tuition:$6200

The Natural Building Intensive is a unique course of study that brings together a collaborative group of experienced and enthusiastic instructors with students in an in-depth, hands-on experience in natural building, from the design and planning stages through the finishing touches.

Students enrolled in the Summer 2010 program will help design and build a complete structure from start to finish – a building handcrafted from natural stone, straw, timber, and clay just down the road from Yestermorrow in Warren, Vermont. This program provides the opportunity to develop a range of natural building skills for owner-builders and aspiring professional natural builders alike. Additionally, the Natural Building Intensive will incorporate natural building methods with more commonly utilized building techniques, emphasizing an inte-grated approach to natural building systems for a northern climate.

There are no prerequisites for entering the program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through May 3, 2010.

Program Dates: May 30-August 20, 2010

The Natural Building Intensive includes all of the courses listed here (some adjustments may occur depending on the final project design), plus an additional 4 weeks of tutorials in between the classes covering all aspects of the building process. Tuition is $6,200 plus food and lodging.

Pine Ridge South Dakota/Jacksonville Oregon

Instructor: Coenraad Rogmans, James Thomson

http://www.housealive.org/

House Alive! is again offering an opportunity for people to get beyond the basics and experience an extended Natural Building apprenticeship. This immensely popular 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. Learning how to build a natural home is one of the best investments you can make: once you know how to design, build and shape your own living space, you can save many thousands of dollars in living costs.

In many ways learning to build is like learning to play a musical instrument: It is hard to learn without another experienced person guiding you and, the more you do it the better you get. The apprenticeship program for 2010 offers 8 weeks of “hands-on” building, problem solving, designing and discussing all aspects of natural building, allowing you to take the time to develop new skills under the guidance of experienced natural builders.

This year’s apprenticeship takes place in two locations. We will start off in South Dakota by starting a 2 bedroom cob house on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (first 3 weeks). The reservation is incredibly beautiful, historically rich as well as tragic and is known as one of the poorest places in North America. After completing the site preparations for the building, apprentices will participate in an 8 day “complete Shelter” workshop along with other students.

please email welcome@housealive.org for more info.