Tasmania Advanced Cobber “Full Build” Certification

THE PROJECT

 

 

The 5-week Advanced Cobber Certification Workshop students will be building the first COB structure on the Land.  Until now Stefan and guests have been living in the caves, and camping, so this will be the first earthen shelter.  We are honored he has chosen COB, to be built in an intimate, sacred and soulful way and created, as always, with 12-15 pairs of loving and passionate muddy hands and feet.  Starting with the “boots”, the stone foundation, to the “hat”, our indestructible trademark reciprocal green roof, we will cover everything in between!  You will leave confident, transformed, inspired, motivated, excited, and ready for more.  Be prepared for a total life makeover, and a new strength and empowerment to fearlessly lead a life TRUE to yourself!  We see this in every workshop year after year.  It’s called “Cob Therapy”!

We will be building a 14m2/150ft2 round building (final size is always dependent on class number). The breathtaking reciprocal roof structure we build in all of our workshops is the strongest roof there is, due to its interlocking spiral structure which holds itself up with no outward pressure on the monolithic round wall of the building. In addition, it mirrors the horizontal social structure favored in indigenous societies, who meet under these types of roofs for council circles, as we will do weekly.

Students in this Advanced Cobber Certification training will, as always, learn all the steps to

 

 

 

building a complete Cob Building from scratch.  In week 1, we dig the rubble trench and fill it with a sturdy 30cm-wide aesthetic stone foundation to support the wall and roof, and finish the week off by pouring the first layer of adobe/cob floor on a layer of insulation underlain by a gravel base for drainage.  In weeks 2 & 3, we build the monolithic cob wall, layer by layer, with all its detailed insertions and finish week 3 off with 2 days of relaxed sculpting.  In week 4 we plaster our beautifully-decorated and solid wall with an earthen-manure mix for 4 days.  On Friday we begin the Reciprocal Roof structure and in week 5 we complete the structure and cover it with a Green Roof.  On the final days we will finish the top of the wall as well as the second floor coat, ready for Graduation and the Celebration on Saturday evening.  Sunday morning is our Closing Circle before the public Open House on the final Sunday, when the final project is revealed to the outside world!

 

 

We encourage non-White and multiracial students who are curious or already interested and passionate about earthen construction to come learn the art and technique of cob building with CCG.  We want a workshop that feels comfortable for non-white students, and aim for a healthy balance of races, cultures and languages.  CCG has taught in many countries of the world and our mission is to create access to everyone interested, especially the local people, so we can create international cob building families where all students grow and learn on a personal and interpersonal level.  We aim to create intercultural and interhuman bonding experiences through our Cob building workshops to heal the world one Cob house at a time.  So please follow your Heart & Soul, listen to the Call, and come and embark on a life-changing adventure in 2026!

 

DETAILED WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

 

 

 

 

The 35-day Advanced Cob Building Workshop consists of 25 days (Monday through Friday) of learning & construction for 4 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon with theoretical instruction (lectures with graphics) on most Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons to complement the hands-on experience.  Students arrive on Sunday between noon and 2pm and settle in. The Workshop begins at 4pm and ends on a Sunday, 5 weeks later, after the morning Closing Circle & Brunch, around 2pm. Students can arrive a day or two before to acclimate and settle in (please let us know) but will need to cover their own food
 needs, unless a work trade or meal fee is approved by Host (to be decided closer to the date). The Opening Circle begins promptly at 4pm, followed by a Host Site Orientation at 5pm, Dinner at 6pm and an Introduction to the Project by the Instructors at 7pm.  We require that students arrive Saturday before dark or Sunday by 2pm AT THE LATEST!!! We need to begin ALL TOGETHER, as the most important information for the success and smooth-running of the workshop and the well-being of the students will happen on Sunday between 4pm and 8:30pm.  It is very inconvenient for students, Host, Instructors and the group, when someone arrives late and misses any of the opening sessions.  Please be punctual because Monday morning at 9 am we begin digging the trench for our Cob Building and students need to be prepared and ready to go!!!!

Following Breakfast from 7:30-8:15am, the morning learning/building session begins at 8:30 am and lasts until 1pm with a 20-minute snack pause at 11am. Lunch break is from 1pm to 2:30pm, which includes a rest time before the 3-hour afternoon session begins, from 2:30pm-5:30pm. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays there is a 60-minute lecture at 2:30pm, followed by construction time. Tuesdays and Thursdays students begin building again right after the rest time. After class in the afternoon there is a 90-minute break before dinner (served from 7pm to 8pm), in which s

 

 

tudents are encouraged to stretch, do some type of relaxation/movement practice, go swimming, walking and just relax.

There is sometimes a work trade student officially or informally leading yoga and movement practice in the mornings or afternoons (depending on student preference). There will also be 3-4 evenings (once a week) after dinner for showing slides, videos and having Course-related discussions. Other evenings are mostly free and sometimes students offer informal courses in their specialties and passions. Tuesdays are reserved for our weekly Council Circle, where we do a deeper sharing and listening to attend to the inner worlds of our students, staff & Host(s) during this intense experience.

On weekends students are free to explore the area, rest onsite, and even continue building, subject to Instructor approval.  All weekend meals are provided by students who are welcome to use the kitchen.  Host and/or other students can carpool into town for weekend food provisions.

The 35-day Course will offer practical learning by building a complete 15m2 curvilinear building from foundation to roof, as 
described in the “Project” section. Those who complete the 35-day Workshop will receive an Advanced Cobber Certificate of Completion for Foundation, Cob Walls (which includes Door, Windows, Shelves, Art, Electrical Housing & Plumbing preparation), Floor, Plaster & Roof.

DAILY SCHEDULE

The daily schedule (subject to slight modifications due to climate/time of year) will be:
7:30-8:15 Breakfast
8:30-1:00 Class
1:00-2:30 Lunch
2:30-5:30 Class (Lecture on MWF’s)
5:30-7:00 Rest/Yoga
7:00-8:00 Dinner
8:00-9:00 Slides/Videos/Discussion (once a week)
Students are expected to be on time and participate in all sessions and required activities as the goal of building a full construction depends on the whole group working together!

COURSE CONTENTS

Students will learn every phase of building a cob building from foundation through the reciprocal roof in hands-on building and lectures/theory. In addition to the lectures,
slideshows and videos will be shown to support and enhance their understanding of cob materials, cob building, design, geography, budgeting, business options and legal issues.

Our hands-on practice will include:

digging foundation trench

pouring gravel and inserting drainage pipe (if applicable)

building foundation stemwall

analyzing soils and materials

making test bricks

deciding on correct mixture

deciding on best location

making cob w/ partner and solo
building with cob

preparing and inserting the door

preparing and inserting fixed and opening windows

preparing and inserting shelves

inserting bottle windows, glass and other objects

inserting electrical housing and outlet/switch boxes (when applicable)*

insert PVC pipe for plumbing in walls (when applicable)*

sculpting

preparing and applying earthen plaster (1 coat)

pouring an earthen floor (2 coats)

preparing walls for roof connection

building reciprocal roof frame

putting on roof sheathing and other elements

installing green roof

making small-scale cob designs of future projects, time permitting

In addition to Cob Building practices, the Course material
also includes:

legal cob construction practices & the international cob code (Appendix AU in the IRC)

cost analysis

creating a cob business (building/teaching)

assisting, interning and teaching with CruzinCobGlobal

*While the insertion of electrical housing and one or more outlet/switch boxes and PVC pipes to hold plumbing are always included in the workshops, the simplicity or complexity depends on the host’s design and preferences. There will be no electrical wiring or plumbing pipes installed during workshop. That is beyond the focus of this course and requires professional experience and certification/licensing.
TO REGISTER AND FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE VISIT SITE: https://cruzincobglobal.org/events/tasmania-full-build-cob-cottage-workshop-near-nubeena/