Workshops and Events

Listed Chronologically

Co-Create an Earthbag Home
May 30 - Sept. 29
Taos, New Mexico

This is a four month project, building an earth bag home from the earth up.

MONTH 1: Building a mechanical room, bag work, perimeter insulation, and vapor barrier. Innovative trench grade beam footing.

MONTH 2: Concrete footings and concrete bond beam. 2 x 6 south facing framed wall. Roof framed and sheathed

MONTH 3: Installing fixed and operable windows, seal windows, exterior plaster prep and plaster, pouring finish floors, putting up ceiling, building bottle and can walls

MONTH 4: Plastering interior walls, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, building and installing doors. Finish plaster exterior. Landscaping.

See www.earthandsunsustainablebuilders.com for more information.

Insulated Rammed Earth workshop
June 26 - June 30
Barierre, BC Canada

Learn to build high quality insulated rammed earth walls like a pro. You will learn:

• Foundation construction
• 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, a highly experienced RE builder

See rammedearth.info for more information

Hemp Building Course
June 30 - July 2
Vilanu nov., Latvia

Steve Allin's three day course includes theory and practice to give participants an opportunity to understand how the material works and the economics of the process of installation. Students get a chance to get hands-on experience with frame building, hempcrete installation, shuttering design and hemp plastering. Participants are presented with a Certificate of competence on completion of the course. Popular with people from many strands of the construction industry, Steve’s courses have been attended by architects, builders, interior designers, students and many other people interested in finding solutions to energy and environmental problems.

See hempbuilding.com for more information.

Cob Leveling Coat
July 3 - 6
Nevada City, California

Come and learn how to use cob as a leveling coat over straw bales. In this workshop, you will learn how to make our special cob mix for leveling coats, and apply it using hand tossing, slapping, and finishing with a trowel. Its fast, accurate, and very strong. Learn the fundamentals of trowel use and get the feel for plastering.

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Everything Earthen
July 8 - 14
Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Experience cob and so much more. This is an in-depth overview of how to source, process, mix, and transform common earth materials into beautiful housing and art. Learn how to create walls from cob/adobe, wattle and daub, rammed earth, straw clay, wood chip clay, straw bales, and more. Learn to mix and apply plasters of cob (adobe), cement, and lime. Also discover mixing and application of earthen paints and lime paints. Hands-on instruction, lectures and slides.

See www.earthenhand.com for more information.

Natural Plastering
July 10 - 13
Nevada City, California

Learn the basics of natural plastering including recipes and specifications. Get hands on experience applying plaster and plenty of practice developing muscle memory.

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Straw Bale Building Workshop
July 28 - 30
Asheville, NC

Bales make great sustainable building blocks for many projects, from dog houses, to courtyard walls, to large multi-story houses and public buildings. This workshop offers both informed instruction and practical experience building the straw bale walls of a two-story private house.Learn the ins and outs of building with bales from fun teachers with decades of experience and keen eyes for detail. Steve Kemble has been building with bales since 1990, and Mollie Curry dove into cob and other natural building techniques in 1996.

See mudstrawlove.com for more information.

Youth Cob Basics
August 2 - 30
Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Math meets mud in this new course. Monolithic earthen domes have been a common form of shelter around the world for eons. They can make great root cellars or garden sheds, and can easily endure the elements with a roof. Learn to construct a small catenary dome over four weekend classes. Attend some or all weekends, but we recommend all. It's going to be technical and fun!

See www.earthenhand.com for more information.

Decorative Clay Plasters
August 5 - 6
Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Learn the ancient art of mixing and plastering with clay, sand, and natural fibers. We will try out several different methods of application, and focus on the artistic possibilities using adobe. Have fun and get creative!

See www.earthenhand.com for more information.

Cob Dome Construction
August 6 - 28
Rockaway Beach, Oregon

For ages 10 - 17, and parents are welcome too. Attend any number of classes. Have fun playing with mud as a sculpture and building material. Learn something new this summer!Tuesday evenings, 3:00pm - 6:00pm

See www.earthenhand.com for more information.

Foundations
August 7 - 10
Nevada City, California

Join us and learn the fundamentals of natural foundations. Learn about the rubble trench foundation, earth bag foundation, stone foundations, and proper drainage. Hands on experience is the best way to learn.                            

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Timber Harvesting
August 21 - 24
Nevada City, California

Learn how to choose and sustainably harvest trees for natural building. Learn how to use a chain saw, fell, debark, and clean a tree so it cures properly. Learn how to identify trees that are best for building and use an Alaskan Mill to harvest your own dimensional lumber.                         

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Basics of Natural Building
Sept 2 - 4
Maricopa, California

This will be a very introductory exploration into the world of earthen and natural materials.  Learn how to source clay soils and other materials, make cob and adobe, and help build a cob wall.  Visit many examples of natural buildings on our building tour.  

• Course Tuition: $400 (Early bird discount $350, if registered and paid by July 15th)
• Course fee includes: Instruction, catered meals and camping accommodations

Contact Sasha Rabin, sashaATquailsprings.org for more information.

Round Wood Timber Framing Workshop
September 4 - 7
Nevada City, California

Learn our unique way to timber frame with round wood. We created a simple system that makes your joinery look clean and beautiful, without 5 to 10 years of training. Our system is for the DIY builder that doesn’t mind using hidden Timber Loks to secure their joinery. Our system has been approved by engineers and the building department.               

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Bale Cob Wall System
September 18 - 21
Nevada City, California

Join us and learn how to build with cob and straw bales. This natural wall system combines the best of straw bale building and cob walls. This wall system is easy and fast, and fun for people of all ages.          

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Cob Leveling Coat
October 2 - 5
Nevada City, California

Come and learn how to use cob as a leveling coat over straw bales. In this workshop, you will learn how to make our special cob mix for leveling coats, and apply it using hand tossing, slapping, and finishing with a trowel. Its fast, accurate, and very strong. Learn the fundamentals of trowel use and get the feel for plastering.   

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

Natural Plastering
October 9 - 12
Nevada City, California

Learn the basics of natural plastering including recipes and specifications. Get hands on experience applying plaster and plenty of practice developing muscle memory. 

See naturallivingschool.com for more information.

7th International Hemp Building Symposium
Oct. 17 - 18
Montreal, Canada

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 visit is an outing to a church and stone buildings situated nearby, a very beautiful project which has been renovated with Hempcrete and Hemp Plaster the inside of the stone wall.

See www.internationalhempbuilding.org for more information.

See On-Going Workshops for more listings.