Cob Workshops

Rammed Earth, Cob, and Straw Workshop - East Tennessee
2024-10-21 - 2024-10-25 | This Cob House, Greeneville, TN, 37743, United States
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!

“The cob workshop was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about natural building, not only from Alex’s instruction, experience and demonstrations, but from interacting with people from different backgrounds who were a great source of collective knowledge. The hands-on experience was priceless!”

Tony Romo, Texas

“The Cob Building Workshop was a great investment of my time! It was well organized, extremely inspiring, and FUN! Alex was able to explain construction basics to neophytes like me, yet he could also answer the complex questions asked by the more experienced workshop attendees. I can’t wait until the next workshop!”

Marybeth Babos, Tennessee

Lodging
There are two options for lodging: free camping on site, or making reservations at one of the local hotels or AirBnBs. Hotels are available in the neighboring towns of Greeneville, Newport, Parrottsville, and Hot Springs.
Nearby is the Briggs Brothers Ranch in Parrottsville, TN, and the Hot Springs Resort in Hot Springs, North Caolina.
Campers will have access to a private portable toilet and a private outdoor shower.
The workshop location has running water available, but no electricity yet. Please bring your own solar generator if needed.

Food
Meals will not be included in this workshop so participants will need to provide their own food and drinks. There are several local restaurants and grocery stores nearby the workshop site. We even have an amazing corner-store within a walkable distance from the workshop site!
Each student is responsible for their own meal preparation. An hour for lunch is provided, allowing adequate time for food, a quick nap, or trip into town. There is no official kitchen on site yet. Coolers are welcome and encouraged!
Recreation & Surroundings
Greeneville is located near the edge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is a beautiful area, and there are many scenic places to visit nearby. You can also travel to places like Gatlinburg, TN or Asheville, NC within a one hour driving time from the workshop site.
Family & Group 10% Discounts
Ask about the 10% discount. We encourage group & family activities because it enhances learning among your support group. Email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com for custom group/family invoice.
Children/young people of any age are welcome to join in and learn. Please be aware that some areas are under construction, as is the purpose of this workshop, but it is generally child-safe.
Prices
Price: $499

Additional Discounts: 10% for family and friends participating together.
Teens accompanying a parent/guardian are half price. Children under 13 accompanying a parent/guardian are free.

Please email me to register with the group/family discount. For normal registration, please click the “Sign Up Now” button above.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com
If you have a large party of people registering, they can all register separately, or contact me for a custom invoice.

10-Day Natural Building Techniques
2024-09-21 17:00 - 2024-10-01 12:00 (America/Denver) | Cob hill natural building school, hughes springs, TX, 75656, United States
This action-packed, hands-on/feet-on workshop is for adults and youth ages 12+ accompanied by parents who intend to build their own cob home! Test your grit during 10 days at Cob Hill Natural Building School, as Cat Taylor teaches the techniques and skills from the foundation to the roofing system. We will learn about various building styles: cob; bale cob; palletable cob. We will also cover many other natural building concepts like: site placement and preparation; dig a rubble trench; stack a stone stem wall; tamp subfloors; set windows; build up our walls and of course cob, cob, cob!
Hands on experience covering
soil testing
foundations dig a rubble trench pier and beam s
tack a stone stem wall (dry stacking)
cob building
bale cob
palletable cob
timber framing
windows and doors
roof designs
living roofs
roof sheathing
tree felling
log peeling
log milling (saw mill)
Shou Sugi Ban(Japanese art of waterproofing wood)
Primitive tent camping sites are available near the build including access to hot showers, plus 3 plant-based meals a day are included in your tuition! You will need to bring your own camping gear. (See FAQ section of naturalbuildingorg.com) Prospective attendees, please be advised that we are unable to accommodate guests, unregistered children under 12 or pets on site for the duration of the workshop; however, there are nearby lodging options available for them including Daingerfield State Park, as well as two boarding options within 30 minutes of Cob Hill.
$1165 tuition includes a $200 non-refundable deposit to secure your spot. Only if NaturalBuildingOrg has to cancel the workshop for some unforeseen reason will this deposit be refundable. Save $100 automatically if your registration includes two or more people. Active duty military personnel and honorably discharged veterans with valid ID or DD214 receive 20% off, and eligible Cob Hill Lifetime of Learning (L.o.L.) contact us for a discount code before booking.

Rammed Earth, Cob, and Straw Workshop - East Tennessee
2024-09-16 - 2024-09-20 | This Cob House, Greeneville, TN, 37743, United States
Dates: September 16 – September 20, 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!

“The cob workshop was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about natural building, not only from Alex’s instruction, experience and demonstrations, but from interacting with people from different backgrounds who were a great source of collective knowledge. The hands-on experience was priceless!”

Tony Romo, Texas

“The Cob Building Workshop was a great investment of my time! It was well organized, extremely inspiring, and FUN! Alex was able to explain construction basics to neophytes like me, yet he could also answer the complex questions asked by the more experienced workshop attendees. I can’t wait until the next workshop!”

Marybeth Babos, Tennessee

Lodging
There are two options for lodging: free camping on site, or making reservations at one of the local hotels or AirBnBs. Hotels are available in the neighboring towns of Greeneville, Newport, Parrottsville, and Hot Springs.
Nearby is the Briggs Brothers Ranch in Parrottsville, TN, and the Hot Springs Resort in Hot Springs, North Caolina.
Campers will have access to a private portable toilet and a private outdoor shower.
The workshop location has running water available, but no electricity yet. Please bring your own solar generator if needed.

Food
Meals will not be included in this workshop so participants will need to provide their own food and drinks. There are several local restaurants and grocery stores nearby the workshop site. We even have an amazing corner-store within a walkable distance from the workshop site!
Each student is responsible for their own meal preparation. An hour for lunch is provided, allowing adequate time for food, a quick nap, or trip into town. There is no official kitchen on site yet. Coolers are welcome and encouraged!
Recreation & Surroundings
Greeneville is located near the edge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is a beautiful area, and there are many scenic places to visit nearby. You can also travel to places like Gatlinburg, TN or Asheville, NC within a one hour driving time from the workshop site.
Family & Group 10% Discounts
Ask about the 10% discount. We encourage group & family activities because it enhances learning among your support group. Email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com for custom group/family invoice.
Children/young people of any age are welcome to join in and learn. Please be aware that some areas are under construction, as is the purpose of this workshop, but it is generally child-safe.
Prices
Price: $499

Additional Discounts: 10% for family and friends participating together.
Teens accompanying a parent/guardian are half price. Children under 13 accompanying a parent/guardian are free.

Please email me to register with the group/family discount. For normal registration, please click the “Sign Up Now” button above.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com
If you have a large party of people registering, they can all register separately, or contact me for a custom invoice.

Cob Outdoor Kitchen with Oven, Rocket Cooktop & Reciprocal Roof in the Azores Islands (São Miguel)
2024-09-15 12:00 - 2024-10-13 12:00 (Atlantic/Azores) | WA
THE PROJECT

Santa Fe CruzinCobGlobal Workshop, 2021

In this workshop we will be building a wonderful clay-based outdoor kitchen, as well as a beautiful reciprocal roof structure to go over it. The kitchen will include a wood-fired cob oven, great for baking and making pizza, and a Rocket-Lorena stove. The Lorena stove was developed by the Pueblo Indians as an ingenious way to efficiently cook and store heat. Between oven and stove we will install prep and serving stations, a sink, and some cob benches and “half” walls (time permitting).

DETAILED WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION & SCHEDULE

5-week workshop students building a reciprocal roof in the Azores in 2023

In the first week we will learn how to install a reciprocal frame roof structure on an existing wood support, followed by a green roof covering. In weeks 2 & 3 we will start with building various dimensions of interconnected lava stone foundations to support our Cob Oven, Rocket Stove Cooktop, and Counter/Work Table and Shelving and then begin making cob as we learn the technical building of an Oven and Rocket Stove & Cooktop. In week 4 we will complete our work by finishing the cob with beautiful earthen plasters. All materials will be local, of course, to the island, except the refractory bricks and possibly one straw bale.

The beginning of the rocket stove

This workshop is designed as a crash course to familiarize participants with the global skills for building an outdoor kitchen. A lot of material will be covered and a lot of different tasks and processes will be happening simultaneously. As such, as a student, expect to be toggling between different areas of interest and be prepared to absorb a lot of information. Every other day we will engage in theoretical discussions and lectures after lunch to help contextualize the work we will be doing.
For anyone interested in learning beforehand, listed below is some recommended reading:
* “The Rocket Mass Heater Builder’s Guide” by Ernie and Erica Weisner
* “Build Your Own Earthen Oven” by Kiko Denzer
* “The Hand Sculpted House” by Ianto Evans, Michael Smith and
* “The Complete Cob Construction Guide” by Michael Smith
Participants in this workshop will learn:
1. the ins and outs of earth-based building, including cob, wattle and daub & earthen plasters
2. how to design and install a reciprocal frame roof structure
3. all about rocket stove technology: history, design, principles of combustion, fuel selection, best practices, and how to integrate one into other cooking systems such as the Lorena stove
4. how to design, build, and operate a clay-based oven
5. a general approach towards designing an outdoor kitchen, including space optimization and efficiently locating appliances
4-Week Schedule:
Week 1: Reciprocal roof
Week 2: Foundations and drainage, Cob, Rocket Stove Core, and plumbing prep
Week 3: Oven and Lorena stove, install cabinet, shelving, storage and prep surfaces, and begin plaster prep
Week 4: Finish plaster prep, plaster, pizza party
Daily Schedule:
7:30-8:15 Breakfast
8:30-1:00 Class
1:00-2:30 Lunch
2:30-5:30 Class & Lectures
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!

Complete Pallet-Cob Cabin in Mossyrock, Washington
2024-09-15 - 2024-10-13 | Caya Sanctuary, 686 Winston Creek Road, Mossyrock, WA, 98564, United States
Join us for an unforgettable end to your 2024 Summer, living and building in community on the healing grounds of CAYA Sanctuary, nestled in the foothills of Mt. St . Helen’s. In this four week workshop, we will explore different elements of natural building, design, and carpentry while completing a 180 sq ft Pallet Cob Dwelling with a reciprocal frame living roof, earthen-lime floor, cob sculptures, earthen plaster, and clay and lime paints. CAYA Sanctuary is the perfect setting for this experience, offering idyllic forest campsites, wood-fired hot tubs, refreshing river swims, saunas, cacao-fueled dance sessions, weekly community bonding circles, and an optional evening of breathwork with a soothing sound bath. In addition to gaining the skills necessary to build your own healthy, earthen home, we will deplete d our capacity for living communally, and empower each other to become better versions of ourselves.

Cob Oven Build in Corbett, Oregon
2024-08-22 - 2024-08-25 | WA
Earthen ovens have been used by humans for thousands of years to cook everything from pizza to roasted meat and vegetables. They offer a beautiful and functional addition to any home or backyard. In this introductory natural building course, students will learn to source and mix local clay soil to construct and plaster a large cob oven over a dry stacked stone foundation. We will explore the many benefits of building with earth and gain an intimate understanding of the strength and sculptural freedom cob offers as a material.

Natural Building with Clay, Stone and Wood
2024-08-18 - 2024-08-24 | Tan Oak Park, Laytonville, California
A week-long immersion in practical skills for developing a healthy reciprocal relationship between people and place. Imagine inhabiting the landscape in a way that simultaneously enhances the health and resilience of the local ecosystem while harvesting materials to build beautiful and energy-efficient human shelters. Such a lifestyle is not only possible but has been the standard practice of many cultures around the world. Learn with us how to re-evolve a regenerative place-based culture.
About 6 hours per day will be spent developing practical building skills under the supervision of instructors with more than 5 decades of combined experience. Hands-on work sessions will include:
• Cob mixing, wall building, and sculpting
• Harvesting, processing and framing with round poles
• Stone and mortar foundations
• Prospecting for and harvesting clay soil, stone and gravel
• Clay plasters to protect and beautify earthen walls
• Installing a durable earthen floor
• Developing and testing recipes for cob, clay plasters and earthen floors
About 2 hours each day will be dedicated to understanding the theory behind sustainable building in order to prepare participants for their own design and construction projects. Lectures include:
• Materials selection and harvesting to improve forest health
• Overview of a wide range of natural wall systems
• Understanding clay soils and other natural building materials
• Alternative foundations (with little or no cement)
• Fire-resistant building techniques
• Energy-efficient passive solar design for your bioregion
In addition, participants will encounter:
• Epic swimming
• Delicious, nutritious food (as much as possible sourced locally and organic)
• Campfire fun
• Meeting new friends with shared values and objectives
• Positive, practical EMPOWERMENT
Instructors include renowned natural building author and educator Michael G. Smith (strawclaywood.com) and veteran professional natural builder Colin Gillespie(polecraftsolutions.com).
Hosted at Tan Oak Park. The accommodations are camping decks. Car camping is welcomed. Showers and flush toilets are available. Three high quality organic meals per-day will be provided.
Email organize@nm-era.org for questions. Inquire for children, work-trades, and scholarships.
Cost $800

Natural building extravaganza
2024-08-16 15:00 - 2024-08-25 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Allie and Chloe’s land, 25563 Hall Rd, Junction City, OR, 97448, United States
The full 9 day workshop! Learn how to build your own COB house from foundation to roof. Camp on our beautiful property, nestled in the Oregon woods, with other participants. Enjoy three home cooked organic meals a day. Use the outdoor showers and composting toilets. Cost $1200**Discounts available. Just ask!

Contact us to get started! 541-285-3369 or AllieMaggio74@gmail.com

Roofing for Fast Cobbers!
2024-08-08 15:30 - 2024-08-12 11:00 (America/Vancouver) | Lasqueti Island, 1 Beautiful Bicycle Lane, Lasqueti Island, BC, V0R 2J0, Canada
The Roofing for Cobbers 3 day intensive workshop is new for 2024! After building almost 20 roofs of 5 different materials, including Lasqueti’s Arts Centre, it’s time to share these skills with you. I’ve delayed this offering because being off the ground is inherently dangerous, but this year we’ll have a roof design that uses two different “shed” styles that will be easily accessible from low, stable scaffolding. Of course, safety will be foremost in our minds at all times.
The roof itself will be made of metal, the longest-lasting (other than slate) and lowest cost (over its lifespan) material currently available. We’ll see and examine liquid membrane roofs, hand-split cedar shake roofs, and many other metal roof examples in between our workshop sessions.
Every roof has multiple layers, and we’ll experience installing all the standard ones: the main decking, tar paper, and then the metal itself. We’ll also install a glass skylight that is far from standard but has proven to work like a charm without the exorbitant cost of building in and buying commercial skylights.
Our Workshops begin on a Thursday evening with a welcoming dinner and end with a Farewell breakfast on Monday before you depart on the 11 am ferry.
Food, Food, and more Food!
Every workshop day, we start with a hot, hearty breakfast (with a Q&A), after which we start learning. In the morning, two hands-on sessions sandwich a hearty snack break. A hot, hearty lunch (with another Q&A session), to make sure we have the strength and stamina to absorb all the learning we can, precede a longer afternoon session. After an hour break to clean-up, a hot gourmet dinner accompanies a daily recap on lessons learned and sets the stage for an evening discussion among ourselves or with an invited guest from the Community.
Please visit our workshop page for all the details and to fill in our online application. This course will complete your learning journey and allow you to complete your own natural buildings!
We also offer discounts to those who register in pairs or who take multiple workshops with us.

Cob Oven Workshop in Scotland
2024-08-06 16:00 - 2024-08-10 12:00 (America/Denver) | Old Deer, Scotland, Mavis Bank, Old Deer, Grampian, AB42 5JT, United Kingdom
Join us in the beautiful North East Scotland where we will build a cob oven.
Expect to get dirty, have lots of fun, see some castles, whisky distilleries, and beautiful countryside.
The cob oven will be a Highland Cow sculpture with a cob oven in the belly. Cat is an artist and enjoys sculpting. This will be a unique opportunity to see an artist at work.

Interior Plaster & Paints Workparty
2024-07-18 11:00 - 2024-07-21 15:00 (America/Denver) | WA
A 4-day workparty teaching about interior plasters and paints over a strawbale wall system! We will cover the essentials of the interior plaster prep and application process specific to using natural insulations and clay plaster base coats. The interior currently has clay plasters that are in need of repair, the plaster was applied during a previous learning experience before the client called our company to help fix and finish the home. This is a unique opportunity to see how to repair errors and learn what not to do! We will go over plaster finish options and showcase the art of natural plasters by also using ready mixes from our favorite natural material suppliers. This work is being completed on a fire rebuild home in Paradise, CA. We are utilizing grant funding to complete this house for a lovely women who has been living in a trailer for the past years. There is no cost to attend these workparties, our hope is to have many hands make light work and get us closer to a finished home years after these devastating fires. We appreciate you coming to learn with us and using your hands to help finish this home.
This workshop will cover:

How to source the raw materials that make up natural plasters

How to source clay and lime plasters and climate appropriate options

Aggregates and what is appropriate for use in plasters

Using carbon sequestering building materials and what that means for our planet

How to test and ensure good plaster and paint mixes

Mixing techniques and efficiency

Application techniques and what tools to use

Natural wall systems and appropriate substrates specific to natural plasters & paints

How to properly prepare wall systems to receive natural plasters & paints

This course is suitable for both beginners and experts. You will learn everything from the basics, how to test recipes, and apply that mix. You will leave with a confidence and understanding of how to apply exterior plaster to your own home.

Intro to Cob and Straw Workshop
2024-07-15 - 2024-07-19 | This Cob House, Greeneville, TN, 37743, United States
Dates: July 15 – July 19, 2024 (YES. We are still having the workshop as scheduled.)

Location: Greeneville, Tennessee

Come and join us in beautiful eastern Tennessee for our next Introduction to Cob and Straw Workshop! We will be constructing both a cob building and a straw-clay building. This workshop is perfect for beginners and experts alike! You will get the expert knowledge to build with 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 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 cob versus high insulation straw materials. We will be constructing the walls on a new cob building and a straw-clay building, mixing and applying lime plaster, and studying Natural Building together each day. After this workshop, you will have the basic experience and confidence to design and build your own cob and straw constructions or buildings.

Hands-On Work Topics:
– 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 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 cob homes and straw homes.
– Best practices for building a healthy, non-toxic home.
– Basic Electrical and Plumbing integration for 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 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 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 cob 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, LLC, 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!

“The cob workshop was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about natural building, not only from Alex’s instruction, experience and demonstrations, but from interacting with people from different backgrounds who were a great source of collective knowledge. The hands-on experience was priceless!”

Tony Romo, Texas

“The Cob Building Workshop was a great investment of my time! It was well organized, extremely inspiring, and FUN! Alex was able to explain construction basics to neophytes like me, yet he could also answer the complex questions asked by the more experienced workshop attendees. I can’t wait until the next workshop!”

Marybeth Babos, Tennessee

Lodging
There are two options for lodging: free camping on site, or making reservations at one of the local hotels or AirBnBs. Hotels are available in the neighboring towns of Greeneville, Newport, Parrottsville, and Hot Springs.
Nearby are the Meadow Creek Moundation Lodge in Parrottsville, TN, and the Hot Springs Resort in Hot Springs, North Caolina.
Campers will have access to a private portable toilet and a private outdoor shower.
The workshop location has running water available, but no electricity yet. Please bring your own solar generator if needed.

Food
Meals will not be included in this workshop so participants will need to provide their own food and drinks. There are several local restaurants and grocery stores nearby the workshop site. We even have an amazing corner-store within a walkable distance from the workshop site!
Each student is responsible for their own meal preparation. An hour for lunch is provided, allowing adequate time for food, a quick nap, or trip into town. There is no official kitchen on site yet. Coolers are welcome and encouraged!
Recreation & Surroundings
Greeneville is located near the edge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is a beautiful area, and there are many scenic places to visit nearby. You can also travel to places like Gatlinburg, TN or Asheville, NC within a one hour driving time from the workshop site.
Family & Group 10% Discounts
Ask about the 10% discount. We encourage group & family activities because it enhances learning among your support group. Email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com for custom group/family invoice.
Children/young people of any age are welcome to join in and learn. Please be aware that some areas are under construction, as is the purpose of this workshop, but it is generally child-safe.
Prices
Price: $499

Additional Discounts: 10% for family and friends participating together.
Teens accompanying a parent/guardian are half price. Children under 13 accompanying a parent/guardian are free.

Please email me to register with the group/family discount. For normal registration, please click the “Sign Up Now” button above.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com
If you have a large party of people registering, they can all register separately, or contact me for a custom invoice.

“Create Sacred Space” 15 day Cob Workshop
2024-07-14 15:00 - 2024-07-28 17:00 (America/Denver) | Nevada City, CA
In this comprehensive 15 day workshop, you will learn all the basics of building a small cob cottage, by creating a 15′ diameter round Cob sauna temple space , with a timber framed earthen roof.
Cob saunas are a fantastic teaching project, as they are big enough to learn and practice your cob building skills, but small enough that we’ll have plenty of time to explore the other crucial aspects of the cob building process, which often get overlooked in workshops with larger cob projects.
We will take you on a journey through the most important aspects of cob construction so that you’ll feel confident in building your own cob cottage. You’ll get to experience firsthand the joys and challenges of building a cob house, and in the process, learn how to install doors, windows, a cedar floor and stone hearth, a wood-stove and chimney, carve niches, altars and practice bas-relief sculpture, make and apply earthen plaster from scratch and top it off with installing the beams and rafters for the timber framed earthen roof. You’ll specifically be creating a cob sauna, which is a great starter project for when you return home.
We’ll also go into detail about various ways to mix cob, including with a tractor and a cement or mortar mixer, and will have at least one full demo of tractor cob, as that has been one of my specialties for over 20 years. We’ll also teach a moveable cob form system, which greatly speeds up the wall building process, and talk in detail about the latest in the cob permitting process, and how to prepare building plans to get a permit.
In addition to all this great cob fun, we’ll also be incorporating a morning yoga/movement/ meditation practice together, as we co-create this temple space together. We’ll also have a local natural building tour, visiting some local cob homes, saunas, temples and garden walls. And well have time to take a special river trip to our local South Yuba River for some excellent swimming and play.
Three gourmet meals a day, camping in an oak grove overlooking the South Yuba River canyon, and hot showers included.
Rob Pollacek is a master cob builder, having been a professional cob and natural builder since 1999. He trained and apprenticed with the Cob Cottage CO. in 2000 and 2001, and specializes in tractor cob, moveable form systems, temples, sauna spaces, cob cabins, earth roofs, poured adobe floors, earth plasters, garden walls and teaching his “Create Sacred Space” cob workshops. He built a 3000 square foot permitted cob house from 2004-2007, and recently built a permitted cob building at Big Bend Hotsprings, and is currently building a permitted cob building near his home in Nevada City, CA, of which he did the architectural drawings for and organized the permitting process through his local building department.
He still loves his cob sauna projects and hopes to share his love of these wonderful spaces with you at this workshop.
Please check out his website, Californiacob.com for more information about this workshop and to see photos of many of his past projects.

Natural Plasters and Floors
2024-07-13 - 2024-07-21 | Wanosh Forest Gardens, Willits, CA, United States
Are you ready for a deep dive into natural finishes? This workshop includes seven full days of skill-building in many aspects of natural plasters and earthen floors, taught by a team of experts with decades of international experience. For more information, see website: https://wanosh.org/arts-of-natural-plasters

All the Basics of Building…the Fast Cob Way!
2024-07-11 15:30 - 2024-07-15 11:00 (America/Vancouver) | Lasqueti Island, 1 Beautiful Bicycle Lane, Lasqueti Island, BC, V0R 2J0, Canada
We are continuing our 18 year tradition of hosting Fast Cob Natural Building Workshops…with our All-the-Basics-of-Building Fast Cob Workshop.
Every All-the-Basics-of-Building Fast Cob Workshop includes:
Natural Building Design: working with nature to make long lasting, beautiful structures;
Fast Cob: how to mix it and build with it, including windows and doors…it is now at least 30x faster than “traditional” cob;
Foundations: how we stack rocks to keep our buildings solid and safe;
Roofs: we’ll show you various options and simple, elegant designs (we are also offering a Roofing Workshop for Fast Cobbers!);
Plumbing and Electrical: you’ll see just how easy it is with Fast Cob!

Our Workshops begin on a Thursday evening with a welcoming dinner and end with a Farewell breakfast on Monday before you depart on the 11 am ferry.
Food, Food, and more Homemade Organic Food!
Every workshop day, we start with a hot, hearty breakfast (with a Q&A), after which we start learning. In the morning, two hands-on sessions sandwich a hearty snack break. A hot, hearty lunch (with another Q&A session), to make sure we have the strength and stamina to absorb all the learning we can, precede a longer afternoon session. After an hour break to clean-up, a hot gourmet dinner accompanies a daily recap on lessons learned and sets the stage for an evening discussion among ourselves or with an invited guest from the Community.
Please visit our workshop page for all the details and to fill in our online application. Although not required, this course is best taken after completing the Focus-on-Finishing workshop in May.
We also offer discounts to those who register in pairs or who take multiple workshops with us.

Intro to earthen floor workshop
2024-07-05 09:00 - 2024-07-07 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | WA
Intro to earthen floors! learn how to build an earthen floor from the ground up, on our beautiful property, nestled in the Oregon woods, with other participants

1-Day Intro to Plaster
2024-06-22 | Mud Dauber School Campus, Snow Camp, NC, 27349, United States
INSTRUCTORS: Greg + Danielle

STUDENT #: 15 students [maximum]

COST:
– $150 Early Bird Rate (30 days in advance)
– $175 Regular Rate
– 5% discount for family + friends participating together
– 10% discount for BIPOC participants
DESCRIPTION:
Clay plaster is the best introduction to the vast world of natural paints + plasters, because it is forgiving in its application, has a simple recipe, and is safe and fun to apply by trowel or by hand. Join us to get hands-on experience with the mixing and application. Together, we’ll be adding a fresh layer on one of our natural walls, which is a really satisfying transformation to be a part of!
This is a perfect course for those who are interested in natural plastering, but are not ready to commit to the more intensive 3-Day Plasters + Paints course. We’ll also tour our campus to see and discuss our demonstration cottages, cob oven, and cob/strawbale garden walls.

TOPICS COVERED:

* mixing and applying earthen plaster
* artistic and sculptural opportunities with plaster
* campus tour!

All the Basics of Building…the Fast Cob Way!
2024-06-20 15:30 - 2024-06-24 11:00 (America/Vancouver) | Lasqueti Island, 1 Beautiful Bicycle Lane, Lasqueti Island, BC, V0R 2J0, Canada
We are continuing our 18 year tradition of hosting Fast Cob Natural Building Workshops…with our All-the-Basics-of-Building Fast Cob Workshop.
Every All-the-Basics-of-Building Fast Cob Workshop includes:
Natural Building Design: working with nature to make long lasting, beautiful structures;
Fast Cob: how to mix it and build with it, including windows and doors…it is now at least 30x faster than “traditional” cob;
Foundations: how we stack rocks to keep our buildings solid and safe;
Roofs: we’ll show you various options and simple, elegant designs (we are also offering a Roofing Workshop for Fast Cobbers!);
Plumbing and Electrical: you’ll see just how easy it is with Fast Cob!

Our Workshops begin on a Thursday evening with a welcoming dinner and end with a Farewell breakfast on Monday before you depart on the 11 am ferry.
Food, Food, and more Homemade Organic Food!
Every workshop day, we start with a hot, hearty breakfast (with a Q&A), after which we start learning. In the morning, two hands-on sessions sandwich a hearty snack break. A hot, hearty lunch (with another Q&A session), to make sure we have the strength and stamina to absorb all the learning we can, precede a longer afternoon session. After an hour break to clean-up, a hot gourmet dinner accompanies a daily recap on lessons learned and sets the stage for an evening discussion among ourselves or with an invited guest from the Community.
Please visit our workshop page for all the details and to fill in our online application. Although not required, this course is best taken after completing the Focus-on-Finishing workshop in May.
We also offer discounts to those who register in pairs or who take multiple workshops with us.
There is only 1 spot remaining in this workshop. However, we are now offering this workshop from July 11-15 here.

Intro to Cob and Straw Workshop
2024-06-17 - 2024-06-21 | This Cob House, Greeneville, TN, 37743, United States
Dates: June 17 – June 21, 2024 (YES. We are still having the workshop as scheduled.)

Location: Greeneville, Tennessee

Come and join us in beautiful eastern Tennessee for our next Introduction to Cob and Straw Workshop! We will be constructing both a cob building and a straw-clay building. This workshop is perfect for beginners and experts alike! You will get the expert knowledge to build with 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 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 cob versus high insulation straw materials. We will be constructing the walls on a new cob building and a straw-clay building, mixing and applying lime plaster, and studying Natural Building together each day. After this workshop, you will have the basic experience and confidence to design and build your own cob and straw constructions or buildings.

Hands-On Work Topics:
– 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 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 cob homes and straw homes.
– Best practices for building a healthy, non-toxic home.
– Basic Electrical and Plumbing integration for 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 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 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 cob 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, LLC, 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!

“The cob workshop was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about natural building, not only from Alex’s instruction, experience and demonstrations, but from interacting with people from different backgrounds who were a great source of collective knowledge. The hands-on experience was priceless!”

Tony Romo, Texas

“The Cob Building Workshop was a great investment of my time! It was well organized, extremely inspiring, and FUN! Alex was able to explain construction basics to neophytes like me, yet he could also answer the complex questions asked by the more experienced workshop attendees. I can’t wait until the next workshop!”

Marybeth Babos, Tennessee

Lodging
There are two options for lodging: free camping on site, or making reservations at one of the local hotels or AirBnBs. Hotels are available in the neighboring towns of Greeneville, Newport, Parrottsville, and Hot Springs.
Nearby are the Meadow Creek Moundation Lodge in Parrottsville, TN, and the Hot Springs Resort in Hot Springs, North Caolina.
Campers will have access to a private portable toilet and a private outdoor shower.
The workshop location has running water available, but no electricity yet. Please bring your own solar generator if needed.

Food
Meals will not be included in this workshop so participants will need to provide their own food and drinks. There are several local restaurants and grocery stores nearby the workshop site. We even have an amazing corner-store within a walkable distance from the workshop site!
Each student is responsible for their own meal preparation. An hour for lunch is provided, allowing adequate time for food, a quick nap, or trip into town. There is no official kitchen on site yet. Coolers are welcome and encouraged!
Recreation & Surroundings
Greeneville is located near the edge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is a beautiful area, and there are many scenic places to visit nearby. You can also travel to places like Gatlinburg, TN or Asheville, NC within a one hour driving time from the workshop site.
Family & Group 10% Discounts
Ask about the 10% discount. We encourage group & family activities because it enhances learning among your support group. Email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com for custom group/family invoice.
Children/young people of any age are welcome to join in and learn. Please be aware that some areas are under construction, as is the purpose of this workshop, but it is generally child-safe.
Prices
Price: $499

Additional Discounts: 10% for family and friends participating together.
Teens accompanying a parent/guardian are half price. Children under 13 accompanying a parent/guardian are free.

Please email me to register with the group/family discount. For normal registration, please click the “Sign Up Now” button above.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com
If you have a large party of people registering, they can all register separately, or contact me for a custom invoice.

One Day Intro to Natural Building
2024-06-15 08:30 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Be the Change Project, 2055 McCloud Avenue, Reno, NV, 89512, United States
Overview of the Day
We’ll start early with a tour of our permaculture homestead nestled in the heart of Reno. We have several cabins, a couple ovens, garden walls, and appropriate technologies a plenty to show off.
We’ll spend the rest of morning getting familiar with clay soil, sand, and straw and how we process and mix them to make cob and adobe as we build a section of wall. We’ll demonstrate the use of earth bags and how we incorporate straw bales and cordwood into a wall.
In the afternoon we’ll focus on different types of plasters from base coats through finish coats using finer materials and pigments. We’ll also take time to do some sculpting and carving.
At the end of the day we’ll fire up our cob oven, turn on some music, and make and cook our own pizzas.
About the Site
The Be the Change Project is a Reno-based nonprofit, centered on our half-acre urban homestead where we have offered classes, tours, and workshops since 2011. That year we were able to buy what was a run down and neglected house on a half-acre through fundraising and crowdfunding. Since then we have enjoyed living an alternative and off-the-grid lifestyle while transforming the property into a verdant oasis. It has become a center for neighborhood uplift as well as a model for simpler living in the urban/suburban context. We were a Mother Earth News Magazine Homestead of the Year in 2013.
Reno is in the high desert on the western edge of the Great Basin. The weather in June is usually warm, clear, and sunny during the days with cooler nights. It can get hot, and rain is unlikely.
Along with earthen cabins, landscape walls, ovens, and different plaster types on site, we’ve developed and use many systems for living more sustainably in town about which we’ll share during the day.

Solar cooking and wall heaters

Small scale solar PV

Wood stove and solar thermosiphon water heating

Composting – vermicomposting and conventional aerobic piles

Alternative septic system – the Watson Wick

Basic principles and practices of Permaculture

Organic small plot intensive gardening including season extenders like hoop houses, root cellaring and solar dehydrating

ScAvenging! – upcycling and salvaging materials from the urban waste stream

Living with little electricity or fossil fuels

Wood-fired hot tub

Lodging
There is no lodging available for this one day event.
The Schedule
8:30 Introductions and tour
9:30 Investigating Materials
10:00 Making cob and adobe
10:30 Building with cob and adobe
11:30 Earth bags, straw bales, and cordwood cob
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Plasters – base coats through finish
4:00 Sculpting, carving, and niches
6:00 Pizza Dinner (included)
Instructors
Kyle Isacksen has been building with earth since 2010 and teaching natural building since 2011 with House Alive and the Be the Change Project. Kyle has a background in construction, teaching, and simple living. He’s worked as a framer, carpenter, and commercial roofer and recently finished building a “green” conventional house in his neighborhood in Reno. He was a science teacher for 7 years, is a frequent speaker on sustainable living, and is a contributing writer for Mother Earth News magazine and blog. Kyle enjoys basketball, hiking, reading, and martial arts.
Katy Chandler is the co-founder of the Be the Change Project and has lived in and worked with natural building materials for many years. She is a prolific gardener, certified permaculture designer, urban garlic farmer, and former math teacher and school designer. She loves to dance, laugh, and pore over seed catalogs while cozied up to the wood stove on long winter nights. Kyle and Katy also have two teenage sons.
Payment & Refunds
This workshop requires a $100 payment to reserve your spot. Once a payment is made, Kyle will reach out to you, welcome you to the course, and get you in the email loop with all the details.
Go here to make a Venmo deposit or send a check for $100 made out to Cobitat and mailed to 2055 McCloud Avenue, Reno, NV 89512.
Payment is refundable until 6 weeks before the start of the class. If you cancel with less than six weeks before the start of the class and your spot can be filled, we will issue a full refund. If it can’t be filled, we’ll refund $50.

Permitted Cob
2024-06-08 | Mud Dauber School Campus, Snow Camp, NC, 27349, United States
INSTRUCTORS: Greg + Stephen

STUDENT #: 18 students [maximum]

COST:
– $175 Early Bird Rate (30 days in advance)
– $195 Regular Rate
– 5% discount for family + friends participating together
– 10% discount for BIPOC participants
DESCRIPTION:
Join us for a new course offering that will introduce students to the experience of taking on a permitted cob project. Since cob is considered an alternative building material (even though it’s been used for thousands of years!), there are more steps to go through in obtaining a permit, as compared to a conventionally-framed home.
We have planned a schedule that allows for a good balance of hands-on work, versus presentations and discussions. We will mix cob by foot and by machine, explore a variety of cob recipes and their compression test results, and build a part of a cob wall using a forming system.
The co-instructor for this course, Stephen Hren, has completed two permitted cob projects in North Carolina – in two different counties – and will share his experience with his most recent project, which was finished in 2023. Stephen will give a slideshow presentation after lunch to discuss his process and answer questions. We’ll also enjoy a partial tour of our Mud Dauber Campus, to discuss some of our demonstration buildings here.

TOPICS COVERED:

*mixing cob by foot
*mixing cob by machine
*installing cob in a form system
*discussion of cob codes and permitting process
*Q&A session

Exterior Scratch Coat Plaster over Strawbales Workparty
2024-06-06 11:00 - 2024-06-09 15:00 (America/Denver) | WA
A 4-day workparty teaching about exterior plasters over a strawbale wall system! We will cover the essentials of the exterior plaster prep and application process specific to using natural insulations. During the workparty, we will discuss testing to determine the right materials and recipes for exterior plasters. A scratch coat exterior plaster will be applied. We will go over plaster finish options. This work is being completed on a fire rebuild home in Paradise, CA. We are utilizing grant funding to complete this house for a lovely women who has been living in a trailer for the past years. There is no cost to attend these workparties, our hope is to have many hands make light work and get us closer to a finished home years after these devastating fires. We appreciate you coming to learn with us and using your hands to help finish this home.
This workparty will cover:

How to source the raw materials that make up natural plasters

How to source clay and lime plasters and climate appropriate options

Aggregates and what is appropriate for use in plasters

Using carbon sequestering building materials and what that means for our planet

How to test and ensure a good plaster mix

Mixing techniques and efficiency

Application techniques and what tools to use

Natural wall systems and appropriate substrates specific to natural plasters

How to properly prepare wall systems to receive natural plasters

This course is suitable for both beginners and experts. You will learn everything from the basics, how to test recipes, and apply that mix. You will leave with a confidence and understanding of how to apply exterior plaster to your own home.

Cob Hill 21-Day Natural Building Cert
2024-06-01 16:00 - 2024-06-22 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Cob hill natural building school, hughes springs, TX, 75656, United States
This action-packed, hands-on/feet-on workshop is for adults who wish to begin their learning journey toward helping others realize their natural building dreams as part of a build crew or to supervise their own home build! Natural building is tough. Are you tougher? Find out during 21 days at Cob Hill Natural Building School, as Cat Taylor teaches the techniques and skills you will need to get from the foundation to the roofing system.
Hands on experience covering
site selection
home designing
passive solar
soil testing
foundations – dig a rubble trench pier and beam
stack a stone stem wall (dry stacking)
cob building
bale cob s
traw bale
palletable cob
timber framing
windows and doors
LSC – light straw clay insulation
roof designs
living roofs
roof sheathing
tree felling
log peeling
log milling (saw mill)
earthen plasters
Shou Sugi Ban(Japanese art of waterproofing wood)
Leading a team
Real time home build experience
Class time on basic electrical, basic plumbing, facts and myths in natural building, common mistakes in natural building, choosing build style, project planning, budgeting, acquiring materials, purchasing property and permits, correct placement of building, water catchment, composting toilets.
Primitive tent camping sites are available near the build including access to hot showers, plus 3 plant-based meals a day are included in your tuition! You will need to bring your own camping gear, contact us if this is an issue. (See FAQ section of naturalbuildingorg.com) Prospective attendees, please be advised that we are unable to accommodate guests, children or pets on site for the duration of the workshop; however, there are nearby lodging options available for them including Daingerfield State Park, as well as two boarding options within 30 minutes of Cob Hill.
The $1890 tuition includes a $200 deposit to secure your spot that is is non-refundable unless NaturalBuildingOrg has to cancel the workshop for some unforeseen reason. If registration includes two or more people there is a $50 discount per person. Active duty military personnel and honorably discharged veterans with valid ID or DD214 may select the appropriate tuition tier to receive 20% off, and eligible Cob Hill Lifetime of Learning (L.o.L.) Contact us for an appropriate discount code.

Artistry with Clay & Lime taught by Athena Steen
2024-06-01 - 2024-06-06 | Rosewater Ranch, 30 minutes north of Reno, Nevada, Reno, CA, United States
Number of Students: up to 15
Cost: $900
The Project
During this six day workshop we will cover the essentials of natural and earthen plasters and dive deeper into the more specific finishes for your home. Each participant will have their own practice panel to learn these methods with ease and repetition.
This workshop will cover a large range of natural wall finishes including:

Simple clay & lime basecoats

Smoothed and polished clay finishes

Clay paint

Lime finishes & fresco

Stabilized exterior plasters

This course is suitable for both beginners and experts. You will learn everything from the basics, such as finding soil, how to compose a mix, and applying that mix. You will leave with a confidence and understanding of how to coat walls in your own home with beautiful, creative earth finishes.
During every workshop we make time for specific issues related to individual situations. This usually includes a careful look at different climates and regions, living with families or in communities, dealing with the building code, physical and financial challenges, appropriate technologies and more.
Kyle’s book, “Build it with Earth: the Cob Pizza Oven” and Conrad’s, “House of Earth” are both included with the workshop and will be mailed before we begin.
About Athena
Athena Steen grew up building with clay and adobe. She loves creating sculpted spaces that connect form with function, and walls rich with pattern, texture and color. Through the Canelo Project, a small non-profit organization, Athena and Bill, her husband, have been teaching workshops for over thirty years, in strawbale construction and earthen building. Focused on simple, low-skill, low-cost methods that build community between people, culture and nature. Co-authors of “The Straw Bale House,” “Small Strawbale,” and “Built by Hand,” Their influence in the natural building world has been widespread. When Athena does not have her hands in the mud, she also enjoys publishing and designing books.
Oso, her son and co-teacher for this workshop, has been immersed in natural building, including working with clay. He has built several clay-plastered strawbale, adobe, and timber frame structures from start to finish. He is an excellent hands-on teacher.
About the Site
Rosewater Ranch is a 130-acre property and community 30 minutes northwest of Reno with gardens, orchards, goats and chickens, a mushroom growing business, developed permaculture aspects, an earthen cabin and pizza oven. It is set on a verdant north slope against public lands offering a gateway to mountains, forest and trails.
The area is in the high desert on the western edge of the Great Basin. The weather in June is usually warm, clear, and sunny during the days with much cooler nights. It can get hot and rain is unlikely.
Lodging
Options include tent sites and parking for camper vans, trucks, or trailers.
Registration, Payment, & Refunds
This workshop requires a $400 deposit to hold your space. When a deposit is made, Kyle will reach out to you, welcome you to the course, and get you in the email loop with all the details.
Go here to make a Venmo deposit or send a check for $400 made out to Cobitat and mailed to 2055 McCloud Avenue, Reno, NV 89512. Full payments are also gladly accepted.
Deposit is refundable (minus $50 for books and mailing cost if they’ve already been shipped to you) until 6 weeks before the start of the class. If you cancel with less than six weeks before the start of the class and your spot can be filled, we will issue a refund minus book costs. If it can’t be filled, your deposit will not be refunded.
Full payment is requested by two weeks before the start of the class.
The Daily Schedule
We are aware that students make a big investment in a workshop such as this. We honor your time and do the best we can to share our knowledge and experience. Expect long days with lots of building and learning. On some evenings we will show slides and films featuring our previous projects and that of other people and cultures. Believe it or not, we also still like to make time for a campfire and some music. We always strive to make the workshop itself a comfortable, memorable and fun experience.
NOTE: This workshop starts with lunch at 12:00 on Saturday, June 1st and ends after lunch on Thursday, June 6th.
7:30am-Breakfast
8:30am-Talk/discussion
9am – Hands-on
10:30 or 11am- Snack break
1pm – Lunch
2pm – Hands-on
4:30pm – Clean -up
5pm -Class ends
7pm – Dinner
8pm -Optional slideshow
Delicious home-cooked meals are provided and will be vegetarian with occasional meat options.
Pickup and Dropoff
Airport pickup and drop off is available from the Reno Airport on Friday or Saturday morning before the start of the workshop and the Thursday at the end of the workshop.
Support Staff
Kyle Isacksen has been building with earth since 2010 and teaching natural building since 2011 with House Alive, Be the Change Project, and now Cobitat. Kyle has a background in construction, teaching, and simple living. He’s worked as a framer, carpenter, and commercial roofer and recently finished building a “green” conventional house in his neighborhood in Reno. He was a science teacher for 7 years, is a frequent speaker on sustainable living, and is a contributing writer for Mother Earth News magazine and blog. Kyle enjoys basketball, hiking, reading, and martial arts.
Katy Chandler is the co-founder of the Be the Change Project and has lived in and played with natural building materials for many years. She is a prolific gardener, certified permaculture designer, urban garlic farmer, and former math teacher and school designer. She loves to dance, laugh, and pore over seed catalogs while cozied up to the wood stove on long winter nights. Kyle and Katy have two teenage sons.

Earthen Floor Workparty
2024-05-23 11:00 - 2024-05-26 15:00 (America/Denver) | Muddy Hands, CA, United States
A 4-day workparty teaching all things earthen floor related! We will cover the essentials of earthen floors, preparation, base and finish pours. During the workshop, we will conduct tests to determine the right materials and recipes for earthen floors. A base earthen floor will be poured and participants will help create samples for the finish floor recipe. This work is being completed on a fire rebuild home in Paradise, CA. We are utilizing grant funding to complete this house for a lovely woman who has been living in a trailer for the past years. There is no cost to attend these workparties, our hope is to have many hands make light work and get us closer to a finished home years after these devastating fires. We appreciate you coming to learn with us and using your hands to help finish this home.
This workparty will cover:

How to source the raw materials that make up earthen floors

How to test your site soil to be used as a building material

Aggregates and what is appropriate for use in floor systems

Using carbon sequestering building materials and what that means for our planet

How to test and ensure a good floor mix

Mixing techniques and efficiency

How to create a level, consistent floor and what tools to use

Sub-floor and design details specific to earthen floors

How to properly finish the floor

Artistic techniques and embedding stone or tile

This course is suitable for both beginners and experts. You will learn everything from the basics, such as finding soil, how to compose a mix, and pour that mix. You will leave with a confidence and understanding of how to install an earthen floor in your own home.

Intro to Cob and Straw Workshop
2024-05-20 - 2024-05-24 | This Cob House, Greeneville, TN, 37743, United States
Dates: May 20 – May 24, 2024 (YES. We are still having the workshop as scheduled.)

Location: Greeneville, Tennessee

Come and join us in beautiful eastern Tennessee for our next Introduction to Cob and Straw Workshop! We will be constructing both a cob building and a straw-clay building. This workshop is perfect for beginners and experts alike! You will get the expert knowledge to build with 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 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 cob versus high insulation straw materials. We will be constructing the walls on a new cob building and a straw-clay building, mixing and applying lime plaster, and studying Natural Building together each day. After this workshop, you will have the basic experience and confidence to design and build your own cob and straw constructions or buildings.

Hands-On Work Topics:
– 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 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 cob homes and straw homes.
– Best practices for building a healthy, non-toxic home.
– Basic Electrical and Plumbing integration for 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 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 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 cob 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, LLC, 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!

“The cob workshop was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about natural building, not only from Alex’s instruction, experience and demonstrations, but from interacting with people from different backgrounds who were a great source of collective knowledge. The hands-on experience was priceless!”

Tony Romo, Texas

“The Cob Building Workshop was a great investment of my time! It was well organized, extremely inspiring, and FUN! Alex was able to explain construction basics to neophytes like me, yet he could also answer the complex questions asked by the more experienced workshop attendees. I can’t wait until the next workshop!”

Marybeth Babos, Tennessee

Lodging
There are two options for lodging: free camping on site, or making reservations at one of the local hotels or AirBnBs. Hotels are available in the neighboring towns of Greeneville, Newport, Parrottsville, and Hot Springs.
Nearby are the Meadow Creek Moundation Lodge in Parrottsville, TN, and the Hot Springs Resort in Hot Springs, North Caolina.
Campers will have access to a private portable toilet and a private outdoor shower.
The workshop location has running water available, but no electricity yet. Please bring your own solar generator if needed.

Food
Meals will not be included in this workshop so participants will need to provide their own food and drinks. There are several local restaurants and grocery stores nearby the workshop site. We even have an amazing corner-store within a walkable distance from the workshop site!
Each student is responsible for their own meal preparation. An hour for lunch is provided, allowing adequate time for food, a quick nap, or trip into town. There is no official kitchen on site yet. Coolers are welcome and encouraged!
Recreation & Surroundings
Greeneville is located near the edge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is a beautiful area, and there are many scenic places to visit nearby. You can also travel to places like Gatlinburg, TN or Asheville, NC within a one hour driving time from the workshop site.
Family & Group 10% Discounts
Ask about the 10% discount. We encourage group & family activities because it enhances learning among your support group. Email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com for custom group/family invoice.
Children/young people of any age are welcome to join in and learn. Please be aware that some areas are under construction, as is the purpose of this workshop, but it is generally child-safe.
Prices
Price: $499

Additional Discounts: 10% for family and friends participating together.
Teens accompanying a parent/guardian are half price. Children under 13 accompanying a parent/guardian are free.

Please email me to register with the group/family discount. For normal registration, please click the “Sign Up Now” button above.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com
If you have a large party of people registering, they can all register separately, or contact me for a custom invoice.

Focusing on Natural Building Finishing…the Fast Cob Way!
2024-05-16 15:30 - 2024-05-20 11:00 (America/Vancouver) | Lasqueti Island, 1 Beautiful Bicycle Lane, Lasqueti Island, BC, V0R 2J0, Canada
We are continuing our 18 year tradition of hosting Fast Cob Natural Building Workshops…and it begins with this Finishing Workshop.
Together, we’ll learn…

“first layer” of plastering (which nobody else has done and helps make our building technique even easier and faster…at least 30X faster than any other offered!),
the gorgeous finish layer with two different aggregates (sand and lime),
how to make and use natural pigment paints (a DIY recipe), and
make and use lime-wash
plus, we’ll pour a small cob floor!

We’ve made finishing not only gorgeous, but very easy. Just like our Fast Cob building technique.
Our lime plaster is perfect for areas subjected to water spray (like showers and around sinks). The sand plaster is limit-less in its applications and dirt cheap.
Our natural paints are completely non-toxic at every stage and as vibrant as any other paint, ranging from bright white, to yellows, oranges, reds, greens, blue, purple and black. All from our Mother Earth.
Our Workshops begin on a Thursday evening with a welcoming dinner and end with a Farewell breakfast on Monday before you depart on the 11 am ferry.
Food, Food, and more Food!
Every workshop day, we start with a hot, hearty breakfast (with a Q&A), after which we start learning. In the morning, two hands-on sessions sandwich a hearty snack break. A hot, hearty lunch (with another Q&A session), to make sure we have the strength and stamina to absorb all the learning we can, precede a longer afternoon session. After an hour break to clean-up, a hot gourmet dinner accompanies a daily recap on lessons learned and sets the stage for an evening discussion among ourselves or with an invited guest from the Community.
Please visit our workshop page for all the details and to fill in our online application. This course will prepare you to excel in our All-the-Basics Fast Cob Workshop in July. We also offer discounts to those who register in pairs or who take multiple workshops with us.

Complete Cob Guest Cottage at the RoundHouse Retreat in North Carolina (Murphy)
2024-05-05 14:00 - 2024-06-09 14:00 (America/New_York) | Roundhouse Retreat, 1397 Dinkins Creek Road, Murphy, NC, United States
THE PROJECT
We will be building a 14m2/150ft2 round cob bungalow/cottage for our Host Amy that will be rented out to guests who want to experience off-grid living and learn solar, micro-hydro and other independent living technologies. This will be Amy’s first 100% Natural Building on the site. The main house is made out of handcrafted kiln-dried cedar cordwood with a super high R-value and concrete between the logs. Students in this Advanced Cobber Certification training will, as always, learn all the steps to building a complete cob building from scratch: digging the trench and building a stone foundation and pouring the floor in week 1, building the monolithic cob wall with all its detailed insertions in weeks 2 & 3, sculpting the wall in week 3, plastering in week 4, building the completed roof in weeks 4 & 5 and finishing the wall and the second floor coat at the end of week 5.
Please visit our website event page for all the details and to register:
https://cruzincobglobal.org/events/complete-guest-cottage-at-the-roundhouse-retreat-in-north-carolina-murphy/

Annual Artisan Clay Event 4/24/24 – 4/28/24
2024-04-24 15:00 - 2024-04-28 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Cob hill natural building school, hughes springs, TX, 75656, United States
Join us for the first event of its kind where we have three powerhouse natural building artisans teaching together – Athena Steen, Betty Seaman and Cat Taylor.
You can’t get a better ABC of teachers in one place at one time! Together they have countless years of hands-on experience as artists, artisans and natural builders.
This event will take place in Texas at Cob Hill Natural Building School and will incorporate elements of cob, plasters and wood to build beautiful whimsical sculptures. No experience of natural building is required and this workshop is open to anybody interested in experiencing the broad spectrum of possibilities using natural materials, for not only building but artistic sculpting.
Expect lots of fun, laughter, bonding, music by the fire and a general relaxed good time while being amazed at what you can create! All women are educators, designers and builders of natural structures. These ladies all know how to have a good time while doing what they love!
Athena Steen is a world renowned natural plasterer and straw bale home designer and builder who has written many books and traveled extensively throughout the world teaching plastering techniques with artistic vision. She has done projects in many locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and museums in Japan. Athena is a founder of the Canelo Project, a NonProfit with a vision to connect people, culture and nature.
Betty Seaman has taught workshops all over the US for decades. She is a very experienced artist of many modalities including natural building, leatherworker, and beadwork. Betty was one of the first instructors at Cob Cottage Company. She describes herself as an accidental natural builder and has created her own unintentional community at Spirit Pine Sanctuary in Northern California.
Cat Taylor is a recognized and award winning artistic sculptor with great enthusiasm for natural building. Cat was featured on Discovery Channel while building her 2200 sq ft bale/cob home in NorthEast Texas. She founded Cob Hill Natural Building School as part of NaturalBuildingOrg, a NonProfit, benefiting Veterans and Youth in 2018. Cat is passionate about teaching natural building.
This is going to be a popular event, sign up early to guarantee your spot! This event does not qualify for NaturalBuildingOrgs LOL (Lifetime of Learning) Program or any other discounts.

Rammed Earth, Cob, and Straw Workshop
2024-04-22 - 2024-04-26 | This Cob House, Greeneville, TN, 37743, United States
Dates: April 22 – April 26, 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 constructing a rammed earth wall, and working hands-on with both 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 the wall on a new rammed earth bathroom accent piece, and a cob and straw-clay building. 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 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, LLC, 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!

“The cob workshop was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about natural building, not only from Alex’s instruction, experience and demonstrations, but from interacting with people from different backgrounds who were a great source of collective knowledge. The hands-on experience was priceless!”

Tony Romo, Texas

“The Cob Building Workshop was a great investment of my time! It was well organized, extremely inspiring, and FUN! Alex was able to explain construction basics to neophytes like me, yet he could also answer the complex questions asked by the more experienced workshop attendees. I can’t wait until the next workshop!”

Marybeth Babos, Tennessee

Lodging
There are two options for lodging: free camping on site, or making reservations at one of the local hotels or AirBnBs. Hotels are available in the neighboring towns of Greeneville, Newport, Parrottsville, and Hot Springs.
Nearby are the Meadow Creek Moundation Lodge in Parrottsville, TN, and the Hot Springs Resort in Hot Springs, North Caolina.
Campers will have access to a private portable toilet and a private outdoor shower.
The workshop location has running water available, but no electricity yet. Please bring your own solar generator if needed.

Food
Meals will not be included in this workshop so participants will need to provide their own food and drinks. There are several local restaurants and grocery stores nearby the workshop site. We even have an amazing corner-store within a walkable distance from the workshop site!
Each student is responsible for their own meal preparation. An hour for lunch is provided, allowing adequate time for food, a quick nap, or trip into town. There is no official kitchen on site yet. Coolers are welcome and encouraged!
Recreation & Surroundings
Greeneville is located near the edge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is a beautiful area, and there are many scenic places to visit nearby. You can also travel to places like Gatlinburg, TN or Asheville, NC within a one hour driving time from the workshop site.
Family & Group 10% Discounts
Ask about the 10% discount. We encourage group & family activities because it enhances learning among your support group. Email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com for custom group/family invoice.
Children/young people of any age are welcome to join in and learn. Please be aware that some areas are under construction, as is the purpose of this workshop, but it is generally child-safe.
Prices
Price: $499

Additional Discounts: 10% for family and friends participating together.
Teens accompanying a parent/guardian are half price. Children under 13 accompanying a parent/guardian are free.

Please email me to register with the group/family discount. For normal registration, please click the “Sign Up Now” button above.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at alex@thiscobhouse.com
If you have a large party of people registering, they can all register separately, or contact me for a custom invoice.
