Listed Chronologically

Build the First Cob Cottage on São Miguel
March 22-April 26
Lagoa, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal

Discover the beautiful Azores islands in the Springtime on the largest and most diverse of all the islands where Claudine, director of CruzinCobGlobal, has just bought a few acres of land near the ocean and forest to create the Quinta da Vida Boa Cob Ecovillage Retreat & Educational Center. Come and learn Cob Building while building the island’s and the Quinta’s first official Cob Bungalow with the island’s own materials of course!

The vision and design for the whole Ecovillage is already in the works and this lucky group of students will be the ones to initiate the first liveable cob building on the island. A few years ago another workshop built a sauna which students can visit on the weekend. Claudine will be hosting and teaching the workshop with the support of local assistants who will help wih food preparation and site preparation.

See cruzincobglobal.org for more information.

9th International Hemp Building Symposium
Bolton Percy, York, United Kingdom
31 March- 1 April

The 9th International Hemp Building Symposium is organised by the International Hemp Building Association and hosted by UK Hempcrete and Harrison Spinks. Our symposiums are well known for the ground-breaking technological innovations presented from around the world while at the same time providing an ideal opportunity for networking in this growing sector. This is the largest global gathering of hemp building experts. The two day event will consist of international speakers with the latest research results and material tests. There will also be presentations from people working in the industry about projects they are involved in both planned or completed. This year’s Symposium will also feature an extra day on the 2nd of April, featuring a range of Hempcrete spraying technologies. The Symposium language will be in English.

See internationalhempbuilding.org for more information.

Sustainable New Construction April 6 - August 28
Ontario, Canada

Endeavour’s Sustainable Building & Design certificate is a unique, full time, hands-on program where natural building meets high-performance building.
You will find yourself at the centre of a building project that achieves the highest goals of sustainable green building:
– Zero net energy use
– Zero embodied carbon
– Zero toxins
– Zero construction waste
You will work with teachers and practitioners who are leaders in the field and work with fellow participants who are motivated and enthusiastic.

see endeavourcentre.org for more information.

A Complete Introduction to Earthen Building Techniques
April 15 -22
San Ignacio, Chalatenango, El Salvador

During this workshop, we will be building a small cob cabin for our eco-tourism cooperative. Participants will have the opportunity to experience all aspects of the building process, from rubble trenches and rock foundations, building cob and wattle and daub walls, installing doors and windows, plastering, and roof anchoring.
If time (and energy) allows, we will also be re-plastering a finished cob cabin and installing a rocket mass heater into a finished cob house. This workshop offers you the opportunity to see several different cob and wattle and daub structures in different phases of construction. Besides staying in beautifully furnished cob cabins with fantastic views of the El Pital Mountain, you will also have plenty of hands on experience to learn a wide variety of natural building techniques. You can see pictures and videos of the cabins we have built at our website: http://nubesdelpital.com/our-cabins/

For more information see www.facebook.com

Natural Building Basics
April 16 - 19
Hughes Springs, TX

Join in with Cat Taylor as she finishes work on her massive bale/cob home that was recently featured on the Discovery channel and DIY network. Learn first hand what it takes to build your own cob home, and the mistakes not to make while doing so! Come get your hands dirty and join in on cobbing, natural plasters, light clay straw, and so much more! Tour the build and load up on questions and answers on how the roof is designed, the plumbing and electrical. This is a good time to get the details you miss in a large workshop!
This 4 day workshop is a great opportunity for people that cannot take a lot of time off for a long workshop, to get a quick all around education on natural building techniques!

See www.facebook.com for more information.

Sisterhood Cob Building Workshop
April 22 May 12
Rochechouart, Limoges, France

I'm feeling called to share my knowledge and wisdom more widely with women who have an interest in the transformational healing work that can occur when we work together as a sisterhood. When you build consciously and set an intention for your build, magic happens. It creates the opportunity for deep inner healing and transformational work to take place.

Every stage of the build gives us the opportunity to dive deeper into ourselves, as each stage relates to your body and how you show up in the world.

For more information see www.facebook.com

Carpentry for Women
April 26
Peterborough, ON Canada

Have you ever wanted to tackle a carpentry project but don’t know quite where to start? Are you looking to gain more confidence with power tools and workshop techniques? The Carpentry for Women workshop creates a friendly, inviting space for women who would like to learn the basics of carpentry. In the comfort of a women-only space, experienced carpenters Jen Feigin and Deirdre McGahern will introduce you to the world of measuring, marking and layout, hand and power tools.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Cob Oven & Benches
April 26 - May 1
São Miguel, Azores Islands, Portugal

We will be building a community-size cob oven for baking everything in fueling it with the plentiful wood in the forest behind the Quinta.  Students will build the foundation, insulation, and three oven shells (inner, insulation, outer) and finish with plaster.  The high heat-exposed cob is different than the building cob used for the benches and external sculpted shell and students will learn the difference and how to figure out each mix.  The oven and benches will allow for maximum creativity that will depend on the students’ input and inspiration!  All materials will be as local as possible and students will be building all phases with some lecture time to support the hands-on work.

See cruzincobglobal.org for more information.

SuperAdobe Earth Dome Workshop
April 26 - May 3 2020.
Paterno Calabro, Italy

The Cal-Earth Institute (Californian Institute of Earth Architecture) in collaboration with Vide Terra organize a SuperAdobe workshop in Italy. This 8 days intensive course teaches how to apply the SuperAdobe/earthbag technique for a dome construction.

The workshop attendees will receive an official certificate of completion from the Cal-Earth Institute.

During the workshop we will build a 2,5m (internal diameter) earth dome with a door opening and a window. The purpose of the course is to give the theoretical and practical tools to design and build a small earth structure or a living space.

The dome built during this workshop will be the main element of an archisculpture designed for the permanent collection of Open-Air Museum in Paterno Calabro.

See www.facebook.com for more information.

Natural Building Workshop
April 27 - May 30
Badolato, Italy

In this permaskills Natural Building Workshop we are building a PermaHome classroom for Christoph & Mario’s permaculture project in southern Italy. There are no skill requirements. You will learn everything you need to build a house from foundation to roof.

From April 27th to May 30th we will start another round of permaskills Natural Building Workshops near Badolato in southern Italy. These workshops will provide you plenty of opportunity to get hands-on experience in Natural Building, all the skills and especially the confidence you need to build a little cabin for yourself. The highlights of these workshops are a natural rock stemwall & foundation, a natural round wood timber frame and roof, light-straw-clay, straw bale as well as cob walls, earthen floors, earthen plasters, a rainwater harvesting roof and even cob sculpting, Tadelakt and an integrated greenhouse.

See permaskills.org for more information.

Insulated Rammed Earth Workshop
April 27 - May 2
Barriere, BC  Canada

Learn to build high quality insulated rammed earth walls like a pro. You will learn: Foundation fundamentals, Material Selection, Mix quality control,Forming, Installation of electrical boxes and conduits, Insulated rammed earth methods, Wall and sample testing, Curing & sealing walls, Skid steer operation basics(Bobcat).

Taught by Clifton Schooley and Max Stadnyk.  For those who are interested please look at this: rammed earth workshop

Contact us by email to get on the list. Be sure to leave your phone # and the best time to reach you.

Natural Building Four-Part Series
May 1 - 31
Willits, California

This is a 4-part series that covers practice and theory of structural systems (timber framing), insulation (straw bales) and thermal mass wall systems (cob, adobe, wattle and daub). Each intensive lasts 3 days (Friday-Sunday) in May. For maximum learning, you can stay on site for the entire month and get more practice in between workshops. This is an unusual opportunity to learn nearly all aspects of building a hybrid natural home from experienced instructors in a hands-on setting.

Fee includes all organic meals and on-site camping. Instructors include Michael G. Smith of StrawClayWood.com (co-founder of the Cob Cottage Company and co-author of The Hand-Sculpted House and The Art of Natural Building), Colin Gillespie and Eric Lassotovitch of Polecraft Solutions, and Blair Phillips of Abuela Gardens.

See individual workshop descriptions for more details.

See cobworkshops.org for more information.

Introduction toTraditional Round-Pole Timber Frame Systems and Ecological Forest Management
May 1 - 3
Willits, California

This is part one of a four part series that is further organized into two parts, the weekend Intensive (Friday through Sunday) will include the bulk of theoretical and practical training, followed by a 4-day Practicum (Monday through Thursday) focused on hands-on building experience. This first workshop of the series will have two practicum offerings. This workshop covers ecological forest management and timber selection, pole harvesting and peeling, timber framing fundamentals and design, selecting and caring for tools, timber framing fundamentals including layout, mortise-and-tenon joinery, bent assembly and frame raising.

Participants are encouraged to attend both the workshop and practicum for the full experience. Workshops fees include an all organic, local as possible lunch and dinner as well as camping/housing options. Fee also includes guided early morning yoga class.

See www.abuelagardens.com for more information.

Roundwood Framing and Wattle and Daub Chicken Coop
May 1 - 3
Omaha, Nebraska

Join us for a 2 1/2 day immersive, hands on course that will leave you feeling empowered with baseline knowledge to build structures out of the materials in the found environment.

We will use locally sourced lumber (eastern red cedar) that has been hand peeled, to create a frame for a 150 sq. ft chicken coop/ outbuilding. The joinery will be kept basic but will introduce participants to a thorough understanding of how to peel, process and notch trees for use as lumber. Saturday (5-2) will be devoted to creating the frame of the structure. Sunday (5-3) will be a day of delving into earthen plasters as we use wattle and daub to quickly create walls between the framing members.

Topics of this course will include, but are not limited to:
-Roundwood Peeling and processing
-Principles of Foundation Building for earthen structures
-Site mixed clay concretes (i.e. cob and clay plasters)
-Roundwood framing

For more information see www.facebook.com

Natural Building for Women
May 1 - 20
Okayama, Japan

Permaculture Center Kamimomi presents Natural Building for Women with instructors Liz Johndrow and Ariel Burns. Several hands-on workshops focused on skill building for women. Come learn the fundamentals of everything from earthbag foundations to timber frame design and construction, natural wall systems and natural plasters at one of Japan's premier Permaculture education sites. A once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed. No previous experience required!

Learn a variety of infill wall systems including light straw clay and light rice husk lime insulation. The principles of passive solar design will also be discussed while solar gain, high performance insulation and artistic expression are combined into a natural building. In this three day workshop we will explore, experiment and discover clay and lime plasters with a touch of artistic flair. 

For more information see holzhueter.blogspot.com

Essential Hempcrete Construction
May 2
Peterborough, ON Canada

In the Essential Hempcrete workshop, you will find out how hempcrete is made, see a slideshow of various Canadian and international hempcrete building projects, and gain an understanding of how, why and where hempcrete is an appropriate material choice. In the classroom, we will look at the costs, material sourcing and building science of using hempcrete on new building projects and renovations.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Insulated Rammed Earth Workshop
May 4 - 9, 2020
Barriere, BC  Canada

Learn to build high quality insulated rammed earth walls like a pro. You will learn: Foundation fundamentals, Material Selection, Mix quality control,Forming, Installation of electrical boxes and conduits, Insulated rammed earth methods, Wall and sample testing, Curing & sealing walls, Skid steer operation basics(Bobcat).

Taught by Clifton Schooley and Max Stadnyk.  For those who are interested please look at this: rammed earth workshop

Contact us by email to get on the list. Be sure to leave your phone # and the best time to reach you.

Rammed Earth (hands-on with formwork)
May 9 - 10
Machynlleth, Wales

Flexible in design and application, rammed earth has excellent thermal mass, load bearing, fireproof and acoustic properties as well as embodying low-tech construction methods. This two day hands-on course gives a good grounding in this building method and its application around the world. This course is for anyone with an interest in natural building materials and methods. This includes architects, engineers, surveyors, contractors, students, owner builders, local authority regulators, farmers, developing economy workers and DIYers.

The course is very hands-on and participants can expect to get muddy. There are evening lectures and discussions on rammed earth theory. Rammed earth can be used for a simple hut or a castle, a Passivhaus classroom or bespoke home.

For more information see www.cat.org.uk

Natural Builidng Part 2:
Building with Straw Bales and Cob
May 15 - 17
Willits, California

Part two in a 4-part series that covers practice and theory of structural systems (timber framing), insulation (straw bales) and thermal mass wall systems (cob, adobe, wattle and daub). This workshop covers manual cob mixing and building,  best practices for building with straw bales, clay soil analysis and harvesting, foundations, sitework and drainage.

Fee includes all organic meals and on-site camping. For maximum learning, you can stay on site for the entire month and get more practice in between workshops.Instructors include Michael G. Smith of StrawClayWood.com (co-founder of the Cob Cottage Company and co-author of The Hand-Sculpted House and The Art of Natural Building), Colin Gillespie and Eric Lassotovitch of Polecraft Solutions, and Blair Phillips of Abuela Gardens.

See cobworkshops.org for more information.

Earthen Floor Workwhop
May 16
Peterborough, ON Canada

During the workshop, participants will learn how to create an earthen floor mix from site soils and natural ingredients. We’ll look at how to test soils for suitability in floors, and how to amend soils to make a good mix for floors. We’ll lay and trowel out floor samples, and learn techniques for getting the desired surface characteristics. Find out about how to prepare a variety of floor substrates for an earthen floor and natural finishing options for earthen floors. Maintenance and repair issues will also be addressed. Mixing and laying an earthen floor is a skill that is quite easy to learn, and you’ll leave this workshop eager to try out an earthen floor of your own!

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

The Basics of Cob
May 16 - 17
Athens, TN

This workshop is for anyone wanting to get down and dirty with a quick course on cob. During these 2 days we will dive head first in to cob basics and fundamentals. This workshop will be a new construction and held on our farm in Athens, TN where we currently have 3 cob buildings.

Get ready to learn about:
-Soil selection and determining ratios of cob ingredients
-The many ways to mix cob as well as the cost and time each method takes
-How to apply cob correctly and efficiently
-Shaping walls doors and windows
-There will be lots of time for questions

For more information see www.facebook.com

Lime Plaster 101
May 16-17
Fawn Grove, PA

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF...you've would like to understand lime plaster, including its chemistry, plus mixing & application techniques. We will apply lime plaster on prepared walls inside a barn on our farm in PA.

WHAT YOU LEARN
□ introduction to lime plaster + how to apply
□ understanding your materials
□ understanding the chemistry (yes, there's chemistry!)
□ mixing techniques
□ how to prepare your wall surface
□ calculating quantities

For more information see www.facebook.com

Design Your Own Sustainable Home Workshop
May 19 - 20
Peterborough, ON Canada

You will be guided through the process of setting the goals that will shape your project and learn how to assess all the available material and system options to meet your goals. Instructor Chris Magwood is an expert guide for this journey, having helped hundreds of owner-builders through the process of designing and building their dream green home. The workshop is designed to be an un-biased look at all the options available to the prospective owner-builder, and to assist you with tools to help you assess and choose your way to the house of your dreams. You will leave this workshop ready to handle all the competing claims and information you will face by focusing on your personal goals and aspirations and creating a road map for how best to meet them.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Natural Builidng Part 3:
Building with Earth: Cob, Clay Plasters & adobe Blocks
May 22 - 24
Willits, California

Part three in a 4-part series that covers practice and theory of structural systems (timber framing), insulation (straw bales) and thermal mass wall systems (cob, adobe, wattle and daub). This workshop covers mechanized cob mixing and building, mixing and applying earthen base coat plasters, cob trimming, sculpting and detail work, preparing clay slip and chopped straw, making adobe blocks, installing doors and windows, plumbing and wiring in natural wall systems, and a tour of nearby natural buildings. 

Fee includes all organic meals and on-site camping. For maximum learning, you can stay on site for the entire month and get more practice in between workshops. Instructors include Michael G. Smith of StrawClayWood.com (co-founder of the Cob Cottage Company and co-author of The Hand-Sculpted House and The Art of Natural Building), Colin Gillespie and Eric Lassotovitch of Polecraft Solutions, and Blair Phillips of Abuela Gardens.

See cobworkshops.org for more information.

Natural Building Essentials
May 22 - 26 2020,
Berea, Kentucky

Join us for our 4 day introductory Natural Building Essentials Workshop. In this course, you’ll get hands-on experience building light clay straw walls, mixing and applying natural plasters, and stomping and sculpting cob. In addition, we’ll tour several beautiful natural homes in the local community. If you’ve been inspired by natural building and need a jump start, this is the course for you. We’ll give you the solid foundation you need to take your dreams further. Families with children are welcome!

For more information see www.theyearofmud.com

Design Your Own Sustainable Home Workshop
May 23 - 24
Peterborough, ON Canada

You will be guided through the process of setting the goals that will shape your project and learn how to assess all the available material and system options to meet your goals. Instructor Chris Magwood is an expert guide for this journey, having helped hundreds of owner-builders through the process of designing and building their dream green home. The workshop is designed to be an un-biased look at all the options available to the prospective owner-builder, and to assist you with tools to help you assess and choose your way to the house of your dreams. You will leave this workshop ready to handle all the competing claims and information you will face by focusing on your personal goals and aspirations and creating a road map for how best to meet them.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Advanced Cob Building Certification
May 24 - June 28, 2020,
Placerville, California

The Advanced Cobber Certification training offers a complete foundation to roof build over a period of 5 weeks.  We will be building Chad’s 15m2/ 165 ft2 music studio/living space. The foundation will be built in Week 1 from the local rock on and near the land using lime and sand mortar.  On Day 5 we will also pour the first layer of cob floor over tamped gravel and insulation.  In weeks 2 & 3 we will build the circular Cob Wall with opening and fixed windows, niches, shelves, bottles, other useful natural elements inserted into the wall. tudents will learn ALOT by building every day with continuous instruction both practical hands-on and theoretical using lecture time, slides and videos.  You will leave fully confident to build your own cob house or someone else’s, which is your next step after graduating from our training!  This will take you to the next level of understanding and experience after which you will be a much more competent workshop assistant and builder.

For more information see cruzincobglobal.org

Natural Builidng Part 4:
Building with Earth: Cob, Clay Plasters & Adobe Blocks
May 29 - 31
Willits, California

Part four in a 4-part series that covers practice and theory of structural systems (timber framing), insulation (straw bales) and thermal mass wall systems (cob, adobe, wattle and daub). This workshop covers cob mixing and building, cob trimming, sculpting and detail work, building an adobe arch, building wattle-and-daub and clay-wattle walls, thermal properties of natural materials, passive solar design, hybrid natural building design, planning and sequencing your natural building, plastering and finishing options. For maximum learning, you can stay on site for the entire month and get more practice in between workshops. Instructors include Michael G. Smith of StrawClayWood.com (co-founder of the Cob Cottage Company and co-author of The Hand-Sculpted House and The Art of Natural Building), Colin Gillespie and Eric Lassotovitch of Polecraft Solutions, and Blair Phillips of Abuela Gardens.

See cobworkshops.org for more information.

Cob Workshop
June 1 - 5
Athens, TN

This workshop is a step by step guide to building with cob. You will learn how to take your raw piece of land and completely construct a cob building correctly and efficiently. The workshop will be help at our farm in Athens, TN where we have 3 cob buildings currently.

The knowledge and experience you will learn with us is:

-Soil selection and determining ratios of cob ingredients
-The many ways to mix cob as well as the cost and time each method takes
-Building site selection and using passive solar
-Building planning and preparations
-Foundations, footings and stem walls
-Doors, windows and roof structure
-How to apply cob correctly and efficiently
-Shaping walls, doors and windows
-Plumbing and electrical
-Other natural building methods
-Lots of hands on experiences and visuals
-There will be lots of time for questions

For more information see www.facebook.com

Introduction to Practical Permaculture
June 5 - 12
Woodbourne, New York

Join us for a week long permaculture design immersion where we will explore foundational concepts, core ethics, techniques and approaches for small to large scale land management, and design strategies for cultivating a meaningful relationship with the natural world. The program will be hosted at the beautiful Sivananda Yoga Ranch located in Woodbourne, New York where we’ll combine guided karma yoga, lecture, discussion, and practical on-the-ground techniques for truly integrated permaculture design. Beginners will benefit from this immersion as it empowers you to develop and refine your approach and interaction with living systems. Let this course be the fertile soil to grow your understanding of permaculture design from the ground up!

See sivanandayogaranch.org for more information.

Welcome to natural building!
June 6 - 14
Hughes Springs, Tx

What does it take to build my own home?
Join us in this 9 day intensive workshop to learn! We will cover choosing your build site, foundations, cob, straw bale light clay straw, and even natural plaster mixes! Be a muddy part of building a stunning cob cottage for our future students to enjoy! Get hands on experience, meet some great members of the natural building community, and leave with the confidence and knowledge to take on your own natural building adventure!

For more information see www.facebook.com

Thatching Basics Workshop
June 6 - 7
Peterborough, ON Canada

Thatch roofing is long-lasting, environmentally-friendly, carbon-storing… and possible to do in Ontario! Although this region has some history of thatching, we don’t have the long-standing tradition of thatching found in many other parts of the world. It’s time to bring back thatching! Thatching Basics workshop will introduce you to the materials and techniques you’ll need to know to thatch a simple gable roof (“Straightwork” in thatching terms) that will keep out the rain, snow and sun for decades. Based on European thatching practices, this workshop focuses on materials available locally to do the job.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Lime Plaster Basics
June 6 - 7
Fawn Grove, PA

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF...you've would like to understand lime plaster, including its chemistry, plus mixing & application techniques.

WHAT WE ARE PLASTERING
We will apply lime plaster on prepared walls inside a barn on our farm in PA.

WHAT YOU LEARN
□ introduction to lime plaster + how to apply
□ understanding your materials
□ understanding the chemistry (yes, there's chemistry!)
□ mixing techniques
□ how to prepare your wall surface
□ calculating quantities

For more information see www.facebook.com

Cob Oven Workshop
June 12 - 14
Wishtree, Devon, UK

You will have a chance to learn the art of using natural materials to construct with whilst enjoying and experiencing Wishtree our permaculture LAND, learner project, where we are demonstrating various techniques such as forest gardening and how we live and work off-grid.

The course is run by the experienced Bear Natual Building. https://www.facebook.com/bearnaturalbuilding/

For more information see www.facebook.com

Cob Workshop
June 13 - 20
Athens, TN

This workshop is a step by step guide to building with cob. You will learn how to take your raw piece of land and completely construct a cob building correctly and efficiently. The workshop will be help at our farm in Athens, TN where we have 3 cob buildings currently. The knowledge and experience you will learn with us is:

-Soil selection and determining ratios of cob ingredients
-The many ways to mix cob as well as the cost and time each method takes
-Building site selection and using passive solar
-Building planning and preparations
-Foundations, footings and stem walls
-Doors, windows and roof structure
-How to apply cob correctly and efficiently
-Shaping walls, doors and windows
-Plumbing and electrical
-Other natural building methods
-Lots of hands on experiences and visuals
-There will be lots of time for questions

Fore more information see www.facebook.com

Construction Skills for Women
June 13 - 14, July 3 - 5, July 17 - 19
Peterborough, ON Canada

This workshop will be held over three non-consecutive weekends for a total of 8 learning days. Interested in learning some bad-ass building skills? Our Construction Skills for Women workshop is your chance! This workshop involves you in all the steps of framing and finishing a small building. You’ll measure, mark, cut and assemble floors, roofs, walls, doors, windows and siding… all in a supportive atmosphere with two experienced women carpenters to lead and direct you.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Earthbag Superadobe Dome Building Workshop
June 24 - 30
East Sussex, UK

The workshop will be lead by Earth Hands and Houses founder Paulina Wojciechowska, a qualified architect who has over 20 years of experience building with earthbags in communities all around the world. Paulina worked alongside Nader Khalili at Cal-Earth in 1996 and is the author of “Building with Earth”, one of the leading earthbag construction books. The workshop is a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience of all stages of constructing a small earthbag dome with an arched entrance, in a beautiful location on a community farm in E.Sussex.

Earthbag Dome Workshop

• Theory of earthbag stucture and foundations.
• Building an earthbag dome.
• Creating earthbag walls using both single bags and earthbag tubes.
• Stabilising the wall using a peging system and some barbed wire where necessary.
• Different techniques using arches and lintels to construct doorways and windows within the earthbag structure.
• Ensuring the structure is stable through the correct use of buttressing and corbelling based upon the nature of the earth used to fill the bags.
• Recognizing the clay found on our land and understanding how to use it for building.
• Preparation and application of the first coat of interior clay plaster onto an earthbag dome.

For more information see earthhandsandhouses.org

Cob Basics Workshop
June 27 - 28
Athens, TN

This workshop is for anyone wanting to get down and dirty with a quick course on cob. During these 2 days we will dive head first in to cob basics and fundamentals. This workshop will be a new construction and held on our farm in Athens, TN where we currently have 3 cob buildings.

Get ready to learn about:
-Soil selection and determining ratios of cob ingredients
-The many ways to mix cob as well as the cost and time each method takes
-How to apply cob correctly and efficiently
-Shaping walls doors and windows
-There will be lots of time for questions

For more information see www.facebook.com

Women's Natural Building Course
June 27 - July 4
Portugal, Fundao, Mount of Oaks Permaculture Community

The Course will include basics of DESIGN and Sustainable building, FOUNDATIONS ( more visual and theoretical, as it’s very hard labour to dig and move gravel, and that can be easily explained), STEM/support wall ( SUPERADOBE), WALLS of different techniques ( WATTLE and DAUB, CORDWOOD/COB, STRAWBALE, LIGHT EARTH as insulation), EARTH PLASTERS, LIME PLASTERS, LIME wash with coloured PIGMENTS, and other natural finishes.

For more information see www.facebook.com

Cob Oven & Benches
June 28 - July 5
Placerville, California

We will be building a community-size cob oven for baking everything in. Students will build the foundation, insulation, and three oven shells (inner, insulation, outer) and finish with plaster.  The high heat-exposed cob is different than the building cob used for the benches and external sculpted shell and students will learn the difference and how to figure out each mix.  The oven and benches will allow for maximum creativity that will depend on the students’ input and inspiration!  All materials will be as local as possible and students will be building all phases with lecture time to support the hands-on work.

For more information see cruzincobglobal.org

Decorative Clay Plastering Workshop for Beginners
July 3 - 8
East Sussex, UK

This workshop is based around the real hands-on experience of using clay plaster on the walls of an earthbag structure, supported by regular lectures to ensure you understand the theory and possibilities. Over the six days you will learn:

• Recognising the clay found on our land and understanding how to use it for creating clay plaster in construction
• Preparation and application of the first 2 coats of clay plaster onto the wall
• Application of a clay and straw “cob” mixture to the walls
• Preparation and application of the final layer of plaster
• Sculpting with clay plaster
• mixing different clay colours applying and carving the smooth plaster layers.
• Methods of protecting clay plaster from the elements.
• Preparation and application of clay paints for a beautiful natural finish.
• The theory of how clay floors are built.

This clay plaster workshop will be mainly hands-on, with theory lessons on each day to back up the practical skills learned and provide the opportunity for more detailed questions to be answered.

For more information see earthhandsandhouses.org

Japanese Carpentry Workshop
July 4 - 10
Berea, Kentucky

his year, you don’t have to travel to Japan to learn bona fide Japanese carpentry skills. That’s because two master carpenters, Kohei Yamamoto and Jon Stollenmeyer of Soma Cousha will be teaching an exclusive Japanese carpentry workshop at our homestead in eastern Kentucky. We’ll go in-depth and hands-on with tool setup and usage, layout, joinery, and timber frame assembly. This is a rare opportunity to work closely with top tier professionals and build a traditional Japanese timber frame structure. You do not want to miss this — seriously.

For more information see www.theyearofmud.com

Cob & Adobe Wall Building
July 10 - 12
Fawn Grove, PA

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF...you want an understanding of clay wall building, including 2 different ways to build strong walls: cob & adobe bricks. We'll be completing the solar heat storage wall of a greenhouse building, using both clay wall techniques: cob & adobe

WHAT YOU LEARN
□ benefits of clay walls
□ understanding ingredients & the function each one serves
□ how to test site soil for clay content
□ establishing your recipe
□ low-tech mixing techniques
□ hands-on experience building
□ passive solar design overview

For more information see www.facebook.com

Cob Workshop
July 11 - 19
Athens, TN

This workshop is a step by step guide to building with cob. You will learn how to take your raw piece of land and completely construct a cob building correctly and efficiently. The workshop will be help at our farm in Athens, TN where we have 3 cob buildings currently. The knowledge and experience you will learn with us is:

-Soil selection and determining ratios of cob ingredients
-The many ways to mix cob as well as the cost and time each method takes
-Building site selection and using passive solar
-Building planning and preparations
-Foundations, footings and stem walls
-Doors, windows and roof structure
-How to apply cob correctly and efficiently
-Shaping walls, doors and windows
-Plumbing and electrical
-Other natural building methods
-Lots of hands on experiences and visuals
-There will be lots of time for questions

For more information see www.facebook.com

Cob Workshop
July 25 - August 2
Athens, TN

This workshop is a step by step guide to building with cob. You will learn how to take your raw piece of land and completely construct a cob building correctly and efficiently. The workshop will be help at our farm in Athens, TN where we have 3 cob buildings currently. The knowledge and experience you will learn with us is:

-Soil selection and determining ratios of cob ingredients
-The many ways to mix cob as well as the cost and time each method takes
-Building site selection and using passive solar
-Building planning and preparations
-Foundations, footings and stem walls
-Doors, windows and roof structure
-How to apply cob correctly and efficiently
-Shaping walls, doors and windows
-Plumbing and electrical
-Other natural building methods
-Lots of hands on experiences and visuals
-There will be lots of time for questions

For more information see www.facebook.com

Strawbale Wall Intensive
(plus some hempcrete & light-clay straw)
July 30 - August 2
Fawn Grove, PA

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF...you want a deep understanding of how to build a super-insulated strawbale home, especially if you live in a wet climate. We'll be building the insulating walls of a greenhouse structure. You'll also see (& we'll discuss) a heat storage wall, built with rammed earth, cob, and adobe.

WHAT YOU LEARN
□ how to install durable strawbale walls & the 1st coating of clay plaster
□ when strawbale walls benefit you most
□ properly detailing for wet climates
□ understanding performance & code-compliance
□ calculating quantities
□ passive solar design overview
□ BONUS: we'll also do a bit of hempcrete and light-clay straw

For more information see www.facebook.com

Natural Building Course
August 1 - 8
Portugal, Fundao, Mount of Oaks Community

My focus is always the teaching and the participants, so we will not attempt to finish a particular building, as I ve learned from other Course's experience that that is not the best approach as 8 days is a very short time.
Yet, every course the participants get amazed with how much they achieve in 8 days as you can see in the videos. The goal is also for each participant to be part and see the progress of at least a wall, if not more, depending on the design and ability of the group.
The Course will include basics of DESIGN and Sustainable building, FOUNDATIONS ( more visual and theoretical, as it’s very hard labour to dig and move gravel, and that can be easily explained), STEM/support wall ( SUPERADOBE), WALLS of different techniques ( WATTLE and DAUB, CORDWOOD/COB, STRAWBALE, LIGHT EARTH as insulation), EARTH PLASTERS, LIME PLASTERS, LIME wash with coloured PIGMENTS, and other natural finishes.
I've also made a MANUAL, which is also in PDF form and it will be sent to each participant at the moment of REGISTRATION. Itaddress each subject in a mind map style, just to help the participants take their notes on my handmade scribbles and drawings :-)

For more information see www.facebook.com

Hybrid Straw Bale/Cob Tiny House
August 2 - September 13
Pietris, Romania

We will be building Sarai, Aurel and Isarin’s 25m2 home.  While this size is about double or a little less than what we normally build in our 5-week workshops, we have decided to adjust some elements to be able to complete the building in 6 weeks.  The workshop will be considered an Intermediate Cob Building Workshop because the foundation will be built ahead of time, which will save us 2 weeks!  When students arrive the foundation will be completed and ready for cob. Many students prefer this as the foundation is alot of heavy work and can be built by professionals as well.  Students, as always, will still learn about Foundation in the lecture but not build it.  Since the foundation of a cob building is not special to cob, you can have anyone build a foundation who knows how, but what IS special is how the connecting surface is finished, which we will explain and you will see before we add the Cob.  The workshop thus will focus on Cob and Straw Bale walls (50/50), and students will get to learn both systems in what we call a Hybrid System and how they connect, plus floor, plaster and Reciprocal Frame Green roof.  We will also build a Sara Adobe Masonry Heater during one of the weeks. 

Students will learn ALOT by building every day with continuous instruction both practical hands-on and theoretical using lecture time, slides and videos.  You will leave fully confident to build your own cob house or someone else’s, which is your next step after graduating from our training!  This will take you to the next level of understanding and experience after which you can be a competent cob workshop assistant and builder.

For more information see cruzincobglobal.org

Timber Frame Workshop
August 8 - 14
Berea, Kentucky

Ever wonder what it’s like to build a timber frame from the ground up? Join The Year of Mud this summer for a 7 day Timber Frame Workshop. In this introductory class, students will use timeless techniques and traditional hand tools to lay out, join, and raise a beautiful timber frame pavilion. Learn valuable new carpentry skills in a gorgeous mountain setting, and discover how to build a long-lived timber structure using mortise & tenon joinery — without depending on nails or screws.

Hands-On Skills Include:

• How to acquire timbers and select material
• Joinery layout using the square rule method
• Safe hand tool use for cutting joinery, including hand saws, chisel and mallet, hand plane, axe, boring machine, etc.
• Fitting and assembling a timber frame
• Finishing timbers with natural oils
• Frame raising methods
• Hand tool restoration & sharpening (including restoring old tools so they work like new again)
• How timber framing relates to other natural materials, including straw bale and clay construction

For more information see www.theyearofmud.com

Cob Cottage
August 9 - September 6
Mesa, Colorado

The workshop students will be building the stone foundation and walls of a personal retreat cob cottage for the Center.  Students will receive the Intermediate Cobber Certification for foundation, walls, floor and plaster.  The size of the cottage will be around 120ft2, depending on size of workshop.  The foundation will be built in Week 1 from the local rock on the land using lime and sand mortar.  On Day 5 we will pour the first layer of cob floor over tamped gravel and insulation.  In weeks 2 & 3 we will build the circular Cob Wall with opening and fixed windows, niches, shelves, bottles, other useful natural elements inserted into the wall for hanging art work and clothing, electrical outlets and housing, and the roof connection.  At the end of week 3 we will sculpt the wall and in week 4, we will plaster the wall and finish the second floor coat. Students will learn ALOT by building every day with continuous instruction, both practical hands-on and theoretical using lecture time, slides and videos.  You will leave fully confident to build your own cob house or someone else’s, which is your next step after graduating from our training!  This will take you to the next level of understanding and experience after which you will be a much more competent workshop assistant and builder.

 For more inflrmation see cruzincobglobal.org

Introduction to Clay Plaster Workshop
August 15 - 16
Fawn Grove, PA

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF...you want to learn the most versatile clay plaster recipe. If you want ONE plaster workshop, THIS IS IT!
We will use this plaster to straighten lumpy strawbale walls and add sculpted features to our cob graffiti wall.

WHAT YOU LEARN
□ understanding ingredients for clay plasters and where to source them
□ how to test soil for clay
□ what makes a clay plaster suitable for sculpting
□ establishing your recipes
□ mixing techniques
□ how to apply & sculpt clay plasters

You do NOT need previous plastering experience!!

For more information see www.facebook.com

Carpentry for Women
Sept. 26 - 27
Peterborough, ON Canada

Have you ever wanted to tackle a carpentry project but don’t know quite where to start? Are you looking to gain more confidence with power tools and workshop techniques? The Carpentry for Women workshop creates a friendly, inviting space for women who would like to learn the basics of carpentry. In the comfort of a women-only space, experienced carpenters Jen Feigin and Deirdre McGahern will introduce you to the world of measuring, marking and layout, hand and power tools.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

COB Building Workshop
August 26 - September 4
Nagydobsza, Hungary

I've invited Maiana Barrass from France to share her knowledge and wisdom with women who have an interest in the transformational healing work that can occur when we work together as a sisterhood. Together we will create a beautiful, peaceful sanctuary in nature, a small meditation room in the Enchanted Garden. When you build consciously and set an intention for your build, magic happens. It creates the opportunity for deep inner healing and transformational work to take place. Maiana will teach you how easy it is to build a cob structure by hand – from start to finish. 

A structure that will give you a sacred space. One that you can build in your own back garden. A space you can use just for you, be it for healing, meditation, an art room or music room. Built the feminine way; the way our ancestors built, without the need for machines or fancy tools. Women are the nest builders after all! Using ancient divining methods, our hands and feet, intuition and body wisdom, we will co-create an approx 8ft-diameter round cob structure that will be used as a personal development, healing and meditation space. This template will allow you to build your own space to a size that suits your own needs, with your own dimensions.

For more information see www.singingvillage.org

Tadelakt Workshop
September 5 - 7
Fawn Grove, PA

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF...you want to learn how to create this gorgeous, versatile, waterproof finish, made with natural ingredients. You will start by making a practice object to take home with you. Then we will apply tadelakt to our cob oven.

WHAT YOU LEARN
□ understanding your materials
□ understanding the chemistry (yes, there's lots of chemistry!)
□ mixing techniques
□ how to prepare your wall surface
□ how to apply & finish tadelakt
□ calculating quantities (including pigments)
□ tips for your own projects

For more information see www.facebook.com

Natural Building Essentials
September 5 - 8
Berea, Kentucky

Want to take your natural building curiosity to the next level? Join us for our 4 day introductory Natural Building Essentials Workshop. In this course, you’ll get hands-on experience building light clay straw walls, mixing and applying natural plasters, and stomping and sculpting cob. In addition, we’ll tour several beautiful natural homes in the local community. If you’ve been inspired by natural building and need a jump start, this is the course for you. We’ll give you the solid foundation you need to take your dreams further. Families with children are welcome! This workshop is an excellent opportunity to build with natural materials and discover the versatility of clay, sand, straw, and wood. We’ll work with cob, light clay straw, clay plaster, clay paint, and earthen floors.

During our tour day, we’ll get to see real life examples of straw bale homes, cob, and timber frames. We’ll touch upon design topics beyond the basics, including permaculture principles, passive solar, tips for home orientation, wood heat, building according to your needs, etc. Additionally, we’ll include tips about incorporating natural building elements into an existing conventional home. Finally, here’s a rundown of hands-on activities you can expect:

• Framing and preparing a stud wall to accept light clay straw insulation
• Mixing light clay straw for insulation
• Making and applying clay plaster made from local materials
• Building with cob (and how to make a great batch every time)
• Cob oven design and construction
• Working with clay and lime plaster finishes and appropriate troweling techniques
• How to install an earthen floor
• Mixing clay paint from simple ingredients for use on a variety of surfaces
• Understanding the differences between thermal mass and insulation

For more infor3mation see www.theyearofmud.com

Cob Oven & Benches
September 13 - 20
Pietris, Romania

We will be building a community-size cob oven for baking everything in fueling it with the plentiful wood in the forest behind the Quinta.  Students will build the foundation, insulation, and three oven shells (inner, insulation, outer) and finish with plaster.  The high heat-exposed cob is different than the building cob used for the benches and external sculpted shell and students will learn the difference and how to figure out each mix.  The oven and benches will allow for maximum creativity that will depend on the students’ input and inspiration!  All materials will be as local as possible and students will be building all phases with some lecture time to support the hands-on work.

For more infor3mation see cruzincobglobal.org

Natural Building Workshop
Sept. 21 - Oct. 11
Badolato, Italy

In this permaskills Natural Building Workshop we are building a PermaHome classroom for Christoph & Mario’s permaculture project in southern Italy. There are no skill requirements. You will learn everything you need to build a house from foundation to roof.

From April 27th to May 30th we will start another round of permaskills Natural Building Workshops near Badolato in southern Italy. These workshops will provide you plenty of opportunity to get hands-on experience in Natural Building, all the skills and especially the confidence you need to build a little cabin for yourself. The highlights of these workshops are a natural rock stemwall & foundation, a natural round wood timber frame and roof, light-straw-clay, straw bale as well as cob walls, earthen floors, earthen plasters, a rainwater harvesting roof and even cob sculpting, Tadelakt and an integrated greenhouse.

See permaskills.org for more information.

Essential Hempcrete Construction
October 3
Peterborough, ON Canada

In the Essential Hempcrete workshop, you will find out how hempcrete is made, see a slideshow of various Canadian and international hempcrete building projects, and gain an understanding of how, why and where hempcrete is an appropriate material choice. In the classroom, we will look at the costs, material sourcing and building science of using hempcrete on new building projects and renovations.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Intensive Building with Cob!
Oct. 3 - 11
Hughes Springs, Tx

Roll up your sleeves and prepare to get muddy for this intensive 9 day workshop. Learn how to build your own cob cottage from the foundation to the roof! Discover all the materials you can use, cob, straw bales, or light clay straw. Learn how to mix and apply natural plasters and leave with a feeling of empowerment and confidence to build your own cob cottage or other natural building project! Tour and explore Cat Taylor's massive bale/cob home build recently featured on the Discovery channel and DIY network!

For more information see www.facebook.com

Design Your Own Sustainable Renovation
October 17 - 18
Peterborough, ON Canada

The workshop is designed to be an un-biased look at all the options available to the prospective renovator, and to share tools to help you assess and choose your way to the renovated home you’ve been dreaming of. You will leave this workshop ready to handle all the competing claims and information you will face by focusing on your personalized goals and aspirations and creating a road map for how best to meet them.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Intro to Lime Plaster & Tadelakt
October 24
Peterborough, ON Canada

Lime has been used in plasters for thousands of years, and it is highly valued by modern plasterers for its balance of weather resistance, permeability, strength and flexibility. It is very versatile and can be used in thick base coats and fine polished finish plasters. It can also be perplexing, with a variety of types of lime available, and chemical reactions occurring between lime and clay or other mix materials. Black soap applied to the surface of a lime plaster can add shine and water resistance –  this is the key to tadelakt, a polished waterproof lime plaster originating in Morocco, but it can be used on other lime finishes. This workshop explores the types of lime and how they can be used in base coat, finish, and fine finish plasters. The morning will mostly be focused on theory and types of mixes; in the afternoon students will have an opportunity to apply some finish plasters on sample boards, and get a taste of tadelakt.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Introduction to Renewable Energy Workshop
November 7
Peterborough, ON Canada

This workshop is the perfect introduction to the world of renewable energy, designed to help you figure out the best path to finding yourself living a renewable energy lifestyle. Instructor Sean Flanagan has been designing and installing renewable energy systems for over a decade, and unlike many renewable energy teachers he lives off-grid himself, giving him an intimate knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Carpentry for Women
November 14 - 15
Peterborough, ON Canada

Have you ever wanted to tackle a carpentry project but don’t know quite where to start? Are you looking to gain more confidence with power tools and workshop techniques? The Carpentry for Women workshop creates a friendly, inviting space for women who would like to learn the basics of carpentry. In the comfort of a women-only space, experienced carpenters Jen Feigin and Deirdre McGahern will introduce you to the world of measuring, marking and layout, hand and power tools.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Design Your Own Sustainable Home Workshop
November 21 - 22
Peterborough, ON Canada

You will be guided through the process of setting the goals that will shape your project and learn how to assess all the available material and system options to meet your goals. Instructor Chris Magwood is an expert guide for this journey, having helped hundreds of owner-builders through the process of designing and building their dream green home. The workshop is designed to be an un-biased look at all the options available to the prospective owner-builder, and to assist you with tools to help you assess and choose your way to the house of your dreams. You will leave this workshop ready to handle all the competing claims and information you will face by focusing on your personal goals and aspirations and creating a road map for how best to meet them.

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

Natural and Non-Toxic Paints
December 5
Peterborough, ON Canada

Natural & non-toxic paints are the easiest, most-affordable and accessible way to make your home healthier and more beautiful. The Natural & Non-Toxic Paints workshop will introduce you to all of the different kinds of healthy paints available on the market, and give you a chance to try them out and learn application techniques for each. In the workshop, we will cover:

See endeavourcentre for more onformation.

See On-Going Workshops for more listings.