Rammed Earth, Cob, and Straw Workshop – East Tennessee

Dates: October 21– October 25, 2024 (YES. We are still having the workshop as scheduled.)

Location: Greeneville, Tennessee

Come and join us in beautiful eastern Tennessee for our Rammed Earth, Cob and Straw Workshop! We will be working hands-on with rammed earth, cob building, and straw-clay building. This workshop is very unique because you will get hands-on experience with three different building techniques in one class. This workshop is perfect for beginners and experts alike! You will get the expert knowledge to build with rammed earth, cob and straw! Either for small-scale structures or large-scale projects like homes and buildings.

This workshop is a great experience to learn how to build with rammed earth, cob and straw, and to get a broad learning overview of natural building techniques. You will get a solid foundation in natural building fundamentals. You will learn the advantages of high thermal mass rammed earth and cob versus high insulation straw materials. We will be constructing demonstration projects with each material so you get hands-on experience and a feel for each method. We will also be mixing and applying lime plaster on an existing cob building, and studying Natural Building together each day. After this workshop, you will have the basic experience and confidence to design and build your own rammed earth, cob and straw constructions or buildings.

Hands-On Work Topics:

– How to build and set up rammed earth forms for walls and structures.

– How to properly mix and compact rammed earth material into forms.

– How to choose the right materials for rammed earth, and how to add color to your layers.

– How to make cob (learn how to make cob with the tarp method and with machinery)

– How to build cob walls using traditional hand-sculpting and using innovative slipforms (learn all the great advantages of building cob walls with forms)

– How to make straw-clay (also known as light-straw-clay)

– How to build highly insulating straw-clay walls (learn how to frame and pack the walls)

– Selecting and testing soils for cob, rammed earth, and straw-clay (learn several ways to test your soil composition)

– Lime Plaster Finishing (learn how to mix and apply lime plaster finishes to your walls)

– Creating window and door frames in cob walls (learn how to install frames into cob walls)

Classroom and Discussion Topics:

– Site selection and design (includes Passive Solar design principles)

– Materials and tools (covers traditional and modern cob building toolset and materials)

– Building Solid Foundations (learn all about constructing proper building foundations)

– Building codes and how to successfully get building permits for rammed earth homes, cob homes and straw homes.

– Best practices for building a healthy, non-toxic home.

– Basic Electrical and Plumbing integration for rammed earth homes, cob homes and straw homes

– Installing windows and doors

– Roofing and Bond Beams. Proper roof ventilation practices!

– Natural plasters and finishes (Vapor Permeable / “Breathable” finishes)

– Overview of all Natural Building materials, and how to hybridize them!

This workshop is a unique experience for people to learn about building rammed earth homes, cob homes and light-straw-clay homes, and to get an overview of Natural Building. Not only are there plenty of hands-on lessons to learn from, but we will also have ample discussion and informal classroom time. Most rammed earth workshops, cob workshops and strawbale workshops don’t cover this many topics. But here, you will learn all the core lessons needed to start building from this one workshop!

Plus – there will be many hours of discussions about building homes and natural building throughout the workshop. Its a great way to get your questions answered and brainstorm your building ideas!

The workshop will be held at a private property in Greeneville, Tennessee.

Each day will begin at 9:00 AM, and the days will include hands-on building, classroom sessions, discussions, and learning activities related to cob, straw, and natural building topics. We will break for lunch between 12:00 to 1:00 PM, and we will complete each day at around 4:00 PM. They will be full-packed days! Worth your every penny!

The workshop will be taught by Alex Sumerall, an east coast Earth Building Mason who has a focus on creating earthen structures that are healthy, aesthetically pleasing, and functional for modern life. He is the owner of This Cob House, which is dedicated to teaching people about cob and earthen building techniques. Alex has been practicing earthen building since 2011. He graduated from the Aprovecho School of Natural Building in 2013 in Cottage Grove, Oregon, and continues to teach, present, consult, and construct.

Free Bonus!

Everyone who signs up for the workshop will receive a printed copy of Alex’s book, “Build a Cob House: A Step-By-Step Guide”, and the downloadable PDF version, FREE! We only make printed copies for workshop students, so this is your chance to get one. We will be using the book as a lesson guide throughout the workshop too so you can follow along with your book in hand.

Alpaca Farm and Fiber Mill Tour!

As another added bonus to the workshop, we also offer a free alpaca farm and fiber mill tour at our neighbor’s Two Roots Farm. They have over 50 friendly alpacas, a fiber mill, and a gift shop! We usually go on this tour Wednesday after class.

Listen to the great things that our workshop participants are saying!