Natural Building Series
These workshops celebrate construction of the round central tower of the Village Arts Building at Earthaven. Situated between the two wings of the building, the 13’ diameter tower will house two spiral staircases leading to the upper floors.
Building with Earth: Cob and Compressed Earth Blocks
August 24-29, with Steve Brodmerkel and friends
Now that the foundation of the VAB tower is set and dry, we begin building the earthen walls, first with cob—a moist mixture of clay-earth, straw and sand—and then with compressed earth blocks—a dry mixture of earth and sand with a small percentage of Portland cement for structural strength. Pre-formed bricks and some cob will be on hand to lighten our work load. Participants will have a chance to make cob with the old-fashioned tarp method, as well as experience tractor-mixing and the partly-mechanized production of compressed earth blocks. A comprehensive tour of natural buildings at Earthaven will be offered on day one. Limited to 14 participants.
Come for the weekend or all 6 days!
$100/day or $425
for the whole camp
Tuition includes camping and meals for Culture’s Edge Members, and tours of natural building sites at Earthaven.
Join Culture’s Edge! You can send us a prorated amount and become a supporter of our work and a receiver of the perqs! A membership application is at www.culturesedge.net.
Poster (pdf)