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April 20-22, Woodbury, TN, Introduction to Natural Building. Come stay at Birdsong Hollow Farm and enjoy home cooked, farm grown meals, pretty scenery and natural building fellowship. Covers basics of cob, straw bale, and natural plasters. A variety of natural buildings at various stages of completion for you to see and work on, as well as fieldtrips to nearby off-grid and naturally built homesteads. http://barefootbuilder.com/workshops.html for this and additional offerings.

May 4-6, Petaluma CA. Annual Spring Conference sponsored by The California Straw Building Association (CASBA). Conference Theme: How to prosper in a struggling economy and still build your dreams. Schedule and speakers is under development. Contact us if you want to be on the schedule. Registration Prices include all meals starting with dinner Friday night through lunch on Sunday) All prices are for CASBA members. If you are a non- member, add $75 to the full conference price. For fee schedule, go to strawbuilding.org. For accommodation info, go to walkercreekranch.org.

May 11th-19, Woodbury, TN. Cob Owner/Builder Intensive (Spring). Designed to prepare you to build you own cob home. Offers hands-on experience building a natural stone foundation, cob walls, plaster, plumbing, electricity, and roof. Also covers important topics like selecting your building site, finding materials, testing your cob mix, using a tractor to mix cob, passive solar design, dealing with the building department and more. http://barefootbuilder.com/workshops.html for this and additional offerings.

June 22-24, Angels Camp (Calaveras County) CA. Introduction to Straw Building, part 1: Bale Raising Workshop. Three-part workshop series offering instruction and hands-on experience with straw-bale building and earth plastering of a straw-bale root cellar. For more information, cost and registration, go to strawbuilding.org or call 209.785.7077.

June 29-July 1, Occidental CA. Woodshop for Women. While the presence of women working in the building trades is ever more common, avenues for women to learn the basic principles and techniques of carpentry are still scarce. This intensive three-day course will enable women to conceptualize and carry out basic carpentry projects. Topics include: essential tools and their proper use; safe and effective use of power tools; structural integrity; use of recycled wood; repairs; and basic techniques such as cutting, nailing, squaring and leveling. Also tour various buildings at OAEC to show different styles of carpentry: standard professional, natural building, temporary, artistic, and hippie funk! $495/$445 if registered three weeks in advance. For information call 707.874.1557 ext.101, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC), www.oaec.org

July 14-28, Oxford, Michigan. Course in Cob, Thatch, Straw, and Timber. Hands-on learning will span from foundation to thatched roof, cob and straw bale walls to finish plaster, earthen floor to timber frame. Instructors: Deanne Bednar, Christina Ott, Sarah Highland, Chris McClellan. In association with Cob Cottage. NaturalCottageProject.com. http://barefootbuilder.com/workshops.html for additional offerings.

July 22-August 2, Rutledge Missouri. Straw-bale Building Workshop. 10-day workshop covering bale stacking, securing, pinning, and plastering. Students will also experience sustainable community life at Dancing Rabbit in the process. Instructor: Mark Mazziotti. $995 (includes all meals and lodging) For more information, go to http://small-scale.net/yearofmud/natural-building-workshops/straw-bale-building-workshop-2012 Dancing Rabbit, 1 Dancing Rabbit Lane, Rutledge, MO 63563 Ph. 660-883-5511

August 18, Angels Camp (Calaveras County) CA. Introduction to Straw Building, part 2: Window & Door Details Workshop. Three-part workshop series offering instruction and hands-on experience with straw-bale building and earth plastering of a straw-bale root cellar. For more information, cost and registration, go to strawbuilding.org or call 209.785.7077.

September 7-9, Angels Camp (Calaveras County) CA. Introduction to Straw Building, part 3: Plastering Workshop. Three-part workshop series offering instruction and hands-on experience with straw-bale building and earth plastering of a straw-bale root cellar. For more information, cost and registration, go to strawbuilding.org or call 209.785.7077.

September 16-22, Estes Park CO. 2012 International Straw Builders Conference (ISBC), hosted by Colorado Straw Bale Association. Theme: Building Resilience for Our Collective Future... Inspired By Nature. More info, speakers list, call for presentations at www.strawbaleconference.com. Dusty Szymanski and COSBA Board coloradostrawbale@yahoo.com

Earthen Hand, Portland, Oregon, offering affordable local and international natural building courses. Courses provide information and hands-on instruction in earthen building techniques. International workshops assist indigenous communities by creating a useful earthen structure. Participants’ visits to new country allows them to interact and give something significant to local peoples. Courses: Cob Oven Construction, Earthen House Design, Earthen Paints and Plasters, Adobe Construction and Earthbag Basics. Visit www.earthenhand.com www.earthenhand.com for more information.

Sustainable Building Green Events Calendar:
http://calendar.sustainablesources.com
Lists all types of green and natural events, workshops and training opportunities.

LanderLand Workshops Strawbale Construction and Earth Plasters, Lime Plasters, Earthen Floors.
Please contact Tom and Satomi Lander / LanderLand www.LanderLand.com 575-895-5029

The Solar Living Institute promotes sustainable living through inspirational environmental education, offering hundreds of hands-on workshops on renewable energy, natural and green building, biofuels, and permaculture throughout the year. For more information, please call 707.744.2017 or visit our website www.solarliving.org

Details and registration form for weekend workshops in straw-bale building and earth building conducted at Whangarei New Zealand by Ian E. Redfern are listed at www.adobesouth.co.nz.

Curious about Strawbale construction and natural building?
Come join us for tours and hands-on workshops in north Oakland County, Michigan. Go to www.uheac.org and click on Strawbale Studio for dates and times of upcoming events. Or contact Deanne Bednar at 248-628-1887 or ecoartdb@aol.com.

Visit www.solarenergy.org/workshops for a listing of Solar Energy International's Workshops for 2006.

For a list of workshops in Australia scheduled through Huff 'n' Puff Constructions (John Glassford and Susan Wingate Pearse), visit
www.glassford.com.au/Upcoming.htm

Salt Spring Island, BC Canada. SIREWALL, Inc., rammed earth builders and designers offer eight different courses with 32 schedule options, varying from two-day introduction to rammed earth for homeowners to a month-long SIREwall Builders' Training for general contractor. ACU AIBC. For information, visit www.sirewall.com

Merritt College offers courses in permaculture design; natural building (hands-on building using materials such as cob, strawbale and earth; carpentry working on affordable and green housing; and construction management. 510.434.3840 www.peralta.cc.ca.us

Everdale, farm and learning centre located near Erin, Ontario, offers events and hands-on workshops in sustainable living. The Workshop and Event Schedule from straw-bale construction and earthen and lime plastering to making your own biodiesel is available at www.everdale.org/workshops or contact <lynn@everdale.org>

 

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This listing of strawbale/plasters events, tours, conferences, workshops and training opportunities is compiled from information sent to The Last Straw Journal by individuals, groups and organizations. Send information about events, conferences, tours, workshops and hands-on training to: The Last Straw, PO Box 22706, Lincoln NE 68542-2706; <thelaststraw@thelaststraw.org> or call 402.483.5135.

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