Natural Building Course

Introduction to Natural Building

The Art of Surviving the End of the Oil Era with Grace

As we entered this decade, buildings were using about 50% of US energy, as compared with only 6% for road transport. Buildings just in the USA account for 10% of global fossil fuel demand. Between 6 and 10% of greenhouse gases come from cement making. If we can cut our housing resource consumption by even 10% we can save 5% of the national energy budget.

Natural building is not Green Building or Eco-Building. It is not about new high-tech materials. Natural building asks what is the least we can do with, and what of that can we get locally? Can we build a harmless house? Can we harmlessly build it? Can we fit into our rapidly changing world in a way that helps Gaia recover her balance?

Natural Building Introduction
3-day Intensive Course

2008: Apr 4-6
and more offerings if interest develops

Global production of petroleum per capita peaked in the 1970s. From here on, we need to how to live with less, and yet our profligate lifestyles are still expanding, still straining the web of nature. This workshop combines an introduction to straw, cob, earthbags, thatch and other natural building materials. In addition to covering the basics of foundations, walls, roofs, and passive solar design, we will give hands on experience over 3 days with strawbales, round pole timber, bamboo, native fieldstone, cob, earth plaster, and living roofs.

For a look at some of the workshop in 2007, see two videos (day 1 and day 2):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqQ2O3b7To8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OmOxw4aadw

You will need to register on You Tube to watch, if you have not already.

with Albert Bates, Cliff Davis, Katey Culver and Howard Switzer

$300 for the 3 day course, including meals & lodging.

For all course dates in 2008 please see our Full Calendar.

Our instructors:

	Cliff Davis is a holistic carpenter, gardener and yoga teacher who has studied natural building with Sun Ray Kelley, Kiko Denzer, Janelle Kapoor, Kaki Hunter and many others. He has worked as an arborist, edible landscaper, permaculturalist, and natural builder for over 5 years.
	Katey Culver has been a life-long Green activist with a focus on ecology and natural systems. She owns a local recycled paper supply company and has been teaching about, designing and building natural buildings since 1996.
	Howard Switzer is an architect with more than 30 years experience in building solar homes and working with natural, ecological, and recycled materials and construction techniques. His architecture firm designs and builds many straw and native material structures for residential and business clients in the Southeast.
	Albert Bates is one of the founders of the ecovillage movement. He has studied biodynamic and natural building in Mexico, China, Australia, Iceland, South America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe and teaches permaculture, natural buildings, and appropriate technology worldwide. He has tought in war-torn refugee camps, in the jungles of Yucatan and the Amazon, and in the Andes, Appalachians and the Alps.

Specific building systems to be covered will be:

Cob for building and special applications

Rammed earthbags, earthship tires, and Cinva-ram brick

Adobe, fidobe, papercrete and other hybrid mud techniques

Natural paints and plasters

Wattle and daub, pacarcilla, pacarilla, zacatlantiloli

Dry stack and mortared fieldstone

Vaults, apses, domes

Rubble trench foundations, drainage, and pest-proofing

Strawbale construction

Living roofs and thatch

Through hands-on sessions each day, students will gain practical experience in integrating a number of simple and valuable technologies into appropriate working solutions for any situation.

Albert Bates, Cliff Davis, Katey Culver and Howard Switzer