Join House Alive for our most popular workshop. Over the course of 3 weeks, students will build a complete natural cottage from start to finish. This intensive program will give participants the confidence and knowledge to build their own earthen building.

The structure will be mostly cob but will integrate other natural building techniques, such as straw bale, light-straw-clay, and more. This will expose students to the full spectrum of options available and will help them learn how to apply them in varying circumstances.

All aspects of the building process will be covered:

• Site preparation
• Foundations
• Walls
• Doors and windows
• Electricity and plumbing
• Niches, shelves, built-in furniture, art
• Earthen plasters and floors
• Ceilings and roofs

The workshop is ideal for people who:

• Are interested in inexpensive, quality housing (a small cottage can be build for as little as $1000).
• Want a small cabin in the back yard for guests, a teenager, an office, or just a place to relax.
• Would like to build a larger natural home but want to practice on a smaller project first (a wise choice!).
• Are looking for a workshop that is extremely comprehensive and in-depth.
• Love uplifting experiences and creating beauty with a group of positive people.

When we say “Complete,” we mean it. Part of the building process is the planning and designing. We always make sure that students go home with the tools to design their own structure, whether it be a small cabin or a larger house.  In addition, a living space usually requires an assortment of systems, such as electricity, water, toilets, and refrigeration. During this workshop we discuss simple, elegant and inexpensive options for many of these systems, often called “Appropriate technologies.” Through these systems, we can understand efficiency and cost-benefit relationships.

We will be building most of each day, every day, which means that students will be “learning by doing.” We limit the class size to 14 people to ensure each student gets plenty of individual attention from the instructors. In addition to the building activities, each day has approximately 2-3 hours of presentation and discussion time to talk about concepts, present slide shows, or share thoughts and ideas. We are fortunate enough to have a dozen or so natural buildings on our site, and many more in our neighborhood. We will be able to visit some of them on field-trips in order to maximize our exposure to different styles and methods.