Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners
We acknowledge that the Dja Dja Wurrung are the Traditional Custodians of the unceded land on which we live. We pay humble respect to their elders; those of the past, those who guide them now and the leaders who are emerging. We extend this respect to all Traditional Owners and recognise their deep and continued connection to land, waters and community.
Tickets
Week 1
Both weeks
Week 1
The course content is the same across both weeks, so you won't miss a thing... We will just be working on different areas in the house.
Apply here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CGuq0MOP8tYmaRedo_6ceXxmj9m1BN2j2eaoP3AM8_o/edit
WEEK 2
Both weeks
Week 1
The course content is the same across both weeks, so you won't miss a thing... We will just be working on different areas in the house.
Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CGuq0MOP8tYmaRedo_6ceXxmj9m1BN2j2eaoP3AM8_o/edit
Both weeks
Both weeks
Both weeks
Double the fun! If you want to stay for the whole two weeks, make the most of the muddy fun, and really master those skills, then this is the ticket for you!
Apply here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CGuq0MOP8tYmaRedo_6ceXxmj9m1BN2j2eaoP3AM8_o/edit
The workshop
***Restructured due to popular demand!***
You asked and we are delivering!! After loads of interest from people wanting partial tickets or a different price, we've changed a few things around and managed to bring you BOTH!
- It's still the workshop you wanted - the same epic teachers will be onsite for the duration, teaching the same awesome skills.
- We are capping the numbers to make student groups smaller, so we can reduce our catering overheads and bring you a lower ticket cost.
- This doesn't mean that the variety or quality of the food is being sacrificed, only that we are looking at a more grass-roots, communal vibe on the worksite, with you legends pitching in for a bit of meal prep occasionally.
Natural Building Modalities taught on the workshop
Strawbale Walls
Plastering and Rendering
Plastering and Rendering
Strawbales are installed inside the timber-framed house to provided maximum insulation.
The thickness of the walls allows for the creation of decorative niches and deep window seats.
Plastering and Rendering
Plastering and Rendering
Plastering and Rendering
Lime render is applied to the outside of the house to create a breathable, waterproof covering.
The inside of the house is plastered in clay and earthen plasters sourced from the the site itself.
Light Earth
Plastering and Rendering
Bottle Walls
Light earth, or light clay straw, is a mixture of clay slip and straw. It has a good balance of thermal mass and insulation and we are using it to pack our internal walls. The light earth is rendered in clay plaster and, depending on how it is finished, it can look beautifully soft and organic, or it can look uniform, like a standard internal wall in a conventionally plastered house.
Bottle Walls
Wattle and Daub
Bottle Walls
A great way to upcycle old glass and a beautiful way to allow coloured light to flood your space!
Bottle bricks are made by cutting two bottles in half and creating an enclosed, tubular 'brick'. This is then placed inside the wall, with both ends exposed to allow light to pass through.
Cob
Wattle and Daub
Wattle and Daub
Cob is a mixture of clay, sand, and straw, with water added.
It is stomped into a beautiful soft mixture with the feet and can be used to create all kind of wonderful shapes and structures.
Wattle and Daub
Wattle and Daub
Wattle and Daub
Flexible sticks are woven together to form a lattice and earthen renders are applied to both surfaces.
About the project
A fully-permitted, off-grid family home
This two bedroom family home has been designed with a compact footprint in order to be sustainable in both its construction and maintenance. It is fully solar passive, the strawbale walls creating a highly insulative envelope: high thermal mass elements contained within the house enable it to maintain a comfortable ambient temperature with minimal additional heating and cooling.
Your hosts
Hannah and Morgs have been living with their children, Oli and Felix (and Mr Fluff, the cat) onsite in a converted bus for 5 years. They have spent this time observing seasonal changes on the land and refining their design according to the principles of Permaculture, as well as navigating the lengthy permitting process, regenerating native bush land and enriching the soil for food production.
Underground cellar
A 3 cubic metre cellar under the house means that we can harness the thermal mass in the ground below us to create a cool store for preserving food, and also to passively cool the house in summer.
The Instructors
Earl Boyd - Professional Natural Builder and Workshop Facilitator
Natural building artisan and earthen alchemist; Dirty Earl is a professional natural building contractor and educator currently based in Tasmania, with roots in her homelands of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Early in her training as a conventional carpenter Earl serendipitously stumbled upon the magic and wonders of traditional; earthen building. The possibilities it could offer the housing crisis along with the many environmental and health benefits sparked her desire to ‘dig’ further…..and so chasing the revival of these old ways of building she embarked on a journeyman style adventure! Nomadic by nature and with more than 12 years experience Earl has been involved with 90+ natural building projects throughout NZ and Australia exploring, creating, playing and teaching various earth timber stone and fibrous techniques.
Working along the natural building spectrum from carpentry to mudbrick, cob, lightearth, hempcrete, wattle’n’daub, strawbale to natural finishes in earthen floors, lime and clay plasters and more. Her projects range from historic earthen restorations to new home construction and renovations to festival and art projects. Living the #muddlife Earl brings her skills, experience, knowledge and enthusiastic passion for all things natural building - from the raw materials and ancient methods to the holistic design intertwining our vast; wild landscapes. From the ways in which we make shelter together as a community, connecting deeply with each other and our surroundings to the beauty, and creativity that is brought to life through our collective hands. Having facilitated over 20 owner builders and instructed on close to 30 educational workshops Earl is driven and motivated to spread the love and share the delights in transformation of local raw materials into earthen architecture, and will be leading the practical elements of the workshop teaching you how to stack strawbale, make mud stick, and much more!!
Tommy D - Certified Carpenter and Natural Builder
No stranger to a workshop, Tommy has worked on many natural buildings; Strawbales in Victoria, Earthships in South Australia, Tasmania & NSW, cob ovens and cob houses, and superadobe. He’s done a few Permaculture Design Courses, and been to Earthship School in New Mexico.
From Melbourne, and freshly completed a Diploma of Construction, he works as a certified carpenter, always striving where possible to practice regenerative, planet-A-friendly ethics in the mainstream construction environment. Which isn't easy! But definitely worth trying and encouraging.
Keen as to build some strawbale with you!
FAQs
Where do I buy a ticket?
Just send us the application form from the home page and, once we've processed it, we will send you details of how to pay.
What does my ticket cover?
Everything! Your meals, camping spot, lessons, guided practice, learning conversations with the crew.
I have plans for a project of my own - can I get some advice?
Absolutely! Bring your plans, ideas and inspiration with you and you can nut it out with the experts onsite.
So where does my ticket money go?
Basically - the catering! Food, drinks, renting a cool room, fuel for cooking - oh and hot showers so you can get sparkly clean... before you get all muddy again!
What do I need to bring?
Camping gear and a can-do attitude!
Do you have aircon and soft fluffy pillows?
Hell no! But we've got shade, trees, and a dam for swimming. Get amongst it!