Tag Archive: Stone Masonry

Costa Rica

Instructor Skip Dewhirst, Lizabeth Moniz

http://www.yestermorrow.org/courses/detail/natural-building-in-costa-rica?StartDate=2010-08-27&SortColumn=StartDate&SortDir=ASC&CategorySlug=natural-building

This innovative course in the rainforest of Costa Rica provides students with a unique opportunity to explore the design/build process using earth, straw, cob, stone, site-milled wood, bamboo, and recycled/reused materials. The class will work on a group project at the Rancho Mastatal environmental learning center or a small community project in the village of Mastatal. Students will have the chance to collaborate on a variety of design assignments. The class will survey and discuss different building techniques and work hands-on and in-depth with a featured number of them. A field trip to investigate local vernacular architecture is one highlight of the course. The class is ideal for architecture, environmental studies, and building technology students and professionals as well as those interested in incorporating natural building techniques into their own projects. Food and lodging at Rancho Mastatal is included in the tuition cost. Visit www.ranchomastatal.com for more information on the class location.

Lexington, Kentucky

Instructor Diane Jennings

http://www.disputantacob.com

Tuition

During this workshop we will learn how to build an earth friendly, lime mortared foundation, how to prepare the site, and and ‘learn by doing’ as we build a foundation:

- Gather Stones
- Prep Foundation Stones
- Slake Lime
- Make Lime Mortar
- Build Lime mortar foundation

Plenty of drinking water and a delicious vegan lunch will be provided, and chances are there will be some music in the air.

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.

Tirelli, Dogon Country, Mali, West Africa

Instructor: Scott Howard

http://www.earthenhand.com

Tuition: $1800 USD

Let’s build a schoolroom with the Dogon people of Terelli, Mali.

The Dogon will share with us their languages, music, cuisine, farming, and building techniques. We will build alongside the Dogon villagers to complete a one-room schoolhouse. A 5 x 5 meter earthen dome, its construction will be our main activity. Students will learn dome design methods while gaining skills in stone, rammed earth bags, and cob. We will also learn about traditional Dogon building techniques by assisting several local builders with their work. Tour the country by foot and bus to see Dogon Permaculture in action. Visit spectacular ruins of old Dogon towns comparable to Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. Experience the daily life of the people of Terelli, an off-grid traditional village. Each day will be packed with learning, work, wholesome food, fantastic scenery, and great company. We will be surrounded by learning opportunities throughout our stay. The workshop will be a muti-lingual event with translation between French, English, and Dogon.

Participants will learn everything that they need to build structurally sound domes using little more than earth from the site. The design is a caternary dome with two windows and a door. Lectures and instruction will total in time approximately as follows:

Earthen Dome construction
◦Earth Bag construction
◦Cob construction
◦Stone masonry
◦Rubble trench foundations

Dogon culture and society
Drylands Permaculture
Dogon grainery construction
Dogon Adobe brick construction

Ojai, California

Learn to build and sculpt with stone, sand, straw and clay as we begin an urban cob garden wall and bench over the course of two days. Hands-on portion will cover Foundations and Drainage; Soil Mixes for Walls, Floors, and Plasters; Use of urbanite and stone in cob wall systems; Building and Sculpting with Earth; Lecture and demo will include Windows, Doorways, Arches & Niches; Roof systems, including living roofs; Passive solar design; permaculture principles, and addressing local issues around natural building. $40 per day or $75 for both days. 10% discount for friends/family coming together. Instructors: Jack Stephens, co-founder of Natural Building Network and instructor with Cob Cottage Company, and Carolyn Marie, principal partner at Wild Earth Village Builders. Call 805-312-2002 for details and directions.

Boonvile, CA

Instructor: Michael G. Smith, Darryl Berlin, and friends

http://www.emeraldearth.org/

Tuition: $760

*Cost:* $760 includes camping and 3 delicious organic meals per day. 10%
discount for full payment by June 29 and for Mendocino County residents.

This comprehensive workshop will give you hands-on experience in up
to 10 different natural building techniques including cob, straw bale,
slipstraw or light straw-clay, slip-and-chip, clay wattle, earthen
plasters, hand-made paints, and more. The workshop aims to familiarize
students with the basic family of natural building materials: clay or
earth, straw, wood, and stone, and what can be accomplished with each
alone and in combination with the others. At least half of each day is
spent in hands-on building with a high ratio of experienced instructors.
Lectures and discussions cover passive solar and other design principles
for energy-efficient, compact natural homes. There will also be an
extensive tour of the most complete natural building demonstration site
on the West Coast, with an emphasis on ecological materials harvesting,
off-grid electrical generation, greywater reclamation, composting
toilets, and more. Evening slide presentations and videos, a sauna and a
dip in our pond, and wood-fired pizza from our earthen oven round out
this 8-day intensive experience.

Woodbury, Tennessee

Learn to build a beautiful fireplace outdoors or in any cob building. You can have a gorgeous outdoor fireplace to rival any, and best of all you can build it using almost all free and recycled materials! * This workshop includes lunch and overnight camping if requested. See pictures of the fireplace we built in the last workshop

Cost: $75

(850) 982-2597

http://www.barefootbuilder.com/upcoming.htm