This is one of the most comprehensive cob course available in North America. In the past 15 years, we’ve taught almost 200 major cob courses and wrote the book on it too (The Hand Sculpted House)! In 9 intensive days, we’ll cover in depth all aspects of cob and the many techniques of building with cob including arches, details, shelving, furniture and earthen floors. In this expanded version of our most popular program ever, we’ll take the ground out from under your feet and turn it into a versatile medium to sculpt a whole house. You will learn construction of walls, doors, windows, roofing, foundations, siting, design and artistic details. And you’ll leave confident enough to build a cob building of your own! Space is limited to 20 people to allow personalized hands on instruction.

This post was submitted by Tammy.

Start Date / End Date:: Sept 17th – 25th, 2011

This is one of the most comprehensive cob course available in North America. In the past 15 years, we’ve taught almost 200 major cob courses. In 9 intensive days, we’ll cover in depth all aspects of cob and the many techniques of building with cob including arches, details, shelving, furniture and earthen floors. In this expanded version of our most popular program ever, we’ll take the ground out from under your feet and turn it into a versatile medium to sculpt a whole house. You will learn construction of walls, doors, windows, roofing, foundations, siting, design and artistic details. And you’ll leave confident enough to build a cob building of your own!
Space is limited to 20 people to allow personalized hands on instruction.

This post was submitted by Tammy.

Spend a week in North Carolina learning about cob building as we work together on the construction of a small cob cottage. We will work on mixing and applying cob as we build up the walls, as well as incorporating windows, a door frame, built-in shelving and seating. There will also be discussions on siting, passive solar design, rubble trench foundations, dry stacking urbanite, and incorporating straw bales (balecob).

Our farm is located in the piedmont of North Carolina, 30 minutes south of Chapel Hill, and 15 minutes west of Pittsboro.

Food and campsite provided.

This post was submitted by Danielle Acres.

A complete cob workshop that provides the skills necessary to transform the earth into a cottage or studio. We will cover design, passive solar, foundations, soils/materials, cob mixing, straw-bale hybrids, doors and windows, sculptural details, roofing, plastering, flooring and more. Using inexpensive natural and local materials we’ll create a garden studio of great durability and beauty. Afternoon lectures and labs will enrich the hands-on experience. Some on-site camping is available, we’ll work with those from out of town on lodging. Gourmet vegan and raw meals prepared by chef Gabrielle Chavez. For more information and to register contact Gabrielle Chavez at gabriellesgarden{at}gmail.com or 503-957-3694.

This post was submitted by Bernhard Masterson.

Start Date / End Date:: May 8 – May 15, 2010

Join us for a week of natural building and living in the beautiful Texas Hill County outside of Austin. Professional builders Kindra, John and Sara will take a week off from their packed building schedules to share their passion and knowledge of cob construction. The curriculum is designed to give participants a full outline of what it takes to complete a simple cob project. Including: choosing a site, finding/harvesting materials, design, budgeting, foundations, mixing, building, windows/doors, arches, niches, roof attachment, plastering and earthen floors. Daily guest lecturers will cover other aspects of sustainable living: composting toilets, solar electric, greywater re-use, and more!

We will stay on the land enjoying home-cooked vegetarian meals, campfires and starry night skies. One-day field trip will include carpool travel to a site in Fredericksburg, TX to see and plaster on a nearly completed tiny cob cottage. Families welcome!

This post was submitted by Kindra Welch.

Familiarize yourself with the concepts behind a rubble trench foundation. On Friday night, you will see a photo presentation documenting the digging of the foundation trench. Over the weekend, experience hands-on work as we do flow-testing on the trench, lay gravel, install drain-pipe, and ready the foundation for the masonry stemwall that will be built on top of it.

Additional presentations will cover design of drainage systems, and a look at additional types of drainage/foundation systems other than the rubble trench. There will also be an option to spend an hour or two working with cob on the Hand-Sculpted Whimisical Walls.

Workshop will include both information sessions and hands-on sessions on our current project: Building Sacred Space (a small building for spiritual work and meditation).

Weekend Workshop Schedule
7:00pm to 8:30pm Friday
9:00am to 4:00pm Satuday (lunch provided)
9:00am to 3:30pm Sunday (lunch provided)

This post was submitted by Elizabeth Edmiston.

Arguably the most important part of a structure is its foundation. For a material like cob, the foundation is especially important because there is no going back to fix it once tons and tons of material is sitting on top of it – it must be done right the first time.Our Friday night presentation will cover the design of our masonry stemwall.

Over the weekend, students will get hands-on work laying a combination of stone, concrete block, and urbanite in mortar. Additional presentations will cover the pros and cons of a dry-stacked stone foundation, and a slideshow of other types of foundations.

There will also be an option to spend an hour or two working with cob on the Hand-Sculpted Whimisical Walls.

Workshop will include both information sessions and hands-on sessions on our current project: Building Sacred Space (a small building for spiritual work and meditation).

Weekend Workshop Schedule
7:00pm to 8:30pm Friday
9:00am to 4:00pm Satuday (lunch provided)
9:00am to 3:30pm Sunday (lunch provided)

This post was submitted by Elizabeth Edmiston.