Cob: books/videos & workshop resources
Charmaine R Taylor
tms at northcoast.com
Wed Mar 20 22:18:03 CST 2002
Hi- there are two basic cob books out one by Cob Cottage- CObber's
COmpanion-$22, and one by Becky Bee - Cob Builders Handbook- $24.who
trained with them.
There is a small English book on Cob & Clay building- great photos in
it- describes clay lump, clay bat, et. $10
There are several books on earth of all kinds- Appropriate Building
materials covers absolutely everything including using bamboo. $33
Earth Construction- translated from French is a huge book with even more
technical info on soil and earth building- lots of testing data. $47.50
There is one cob video out- Building with the Earth by Cob Cottage. $22.
Two new books on cob are coming out later this year, on cob houses and
natural building.
There are books on earth and adobe, rammed and brick style- more the
adobe tradition, not monolithic.
There are videos on these methods too.
I carry all of these at the dirtcheapbuilder.com site, and Cob Cottage &
Becky Bee sell direct also.
Here are a batch of sites for more info, plus workshops address I know
of:
Earth building articles
http://www.dab.uts.edu.au/EBI/research/mortensen.html
http://www.dab.uts.edu.au/EBI/research/botswana.html
Becky Bee's Groundworks http://www.cpros.com/~sequoia/
Groundworks P.O. Box 381, Murphy, OR 97533, U.S.A.
Ianto Evans & Cob Cottage Company
http://www.deatech.com/cobcottage/cob-workshop.html
Cob Cottage Company Box 123
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Phone or FAX (541) 942-2005
Jan 's COB & Natural building
http://www.inti-solutions.com/cob/
Jan Sturmann, Cob Courses
72 Baker Rd, Shutesbury MA 01072
(413)295-1702
Down to Earth Building Bee home page
http://www.alternatives.com/cob-building/
History of Cob
http://www.networkearth.org/naturalbuilding/history.html
Joiners Quarterly and Fox Maple
School of Traditional Building
http://www.foxmaple.com/
Questions and Answers about Cob
http://www.networkearth.org/naturalbuilding/cob.html
Natural Building Resources
http://www.strawbalecentral.com/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Amazon Nails- SB in UK by Barbara Jones
http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/
Hollinroyd Farm
Todmorden OL14 8RJ, UK
Tel/ fax: 00 44 (0)1706 814696 or 0845 458 2173
e-mail:barbara at strawbalefutures.org.uk
Archibio- Francois Tanguay
L'Eperviere, 1267 Chemen Lac Deligny Oest,
Mandeville, Quebec, Canada, JOK ILO.
Workshops, design/build ecological houses, books, consultation.
Arcosanti HC Box 4136 Mayer AZ 86333 Tel: 520-6327175
email:arcosanti at aol.com
Workshops for 5 weeks based on the sustainable desert designs and work
of architect Paolo Solari
Black Range Lodge Star Route 2, Box 119 Kingston NM 88042 Offers
occasional workshops on natural building. 505-895-5652
Fillie & Verhoeven Bouwmeesters Address: Fonteynenburghlaan 19
2275 CZ Voorburg , The Netherlands Strawbale builders +31 70 395 4218
phone, +31 70 319 1484 fax Filenver at euronet.nl
www.euronet.nl/~filenver
Bowerbird Construction
Box 698, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 512-796-4012 bowrbird at texas.net
Workshops-Strawbale Building and Consulting
Building Concerns 131 Blithedale Ave. Mill Valley CA 94941. Tel:
415-389-8049
vschomer at interiorconcerns.org Offers courses on green design and
building
Buckley Rumford Co., Jim Buckley, 1035 Monroe Street, Port Townsend, WA
98368
Tel: 360 385 9974, Fax: 360 385 1624, email:buckley at rumford.com,
web:www.rumford.com
Traditional, historic and efficient Rumford fireplaces and other masonry
fireplaces, masonry heaters and masonry chimneys. We offer training and
workshops for masons,
builders and architects
Building Education Center
812 Page St., Berkeley, CA 94710, Tel: 510/525-7610 Classes on
electrical/plumbing as well as well as design and construction courses.
Cal-Earth (Geltaftan Foundation) 10376 Shangri La Ave. Hesperia, CA
92345 Tel: 760-244-0614 calearth at aol.com Founder Nader Khalili's
superadobe, earthbag and fired earth dome construction techniques are
taught. Offers apprenticeships.
The Canelo Projects- (520) 455-5548 FAX: (520) 455-9360 HC1 Box 324,
Elgin, AZ 85611, E-Mail: absteen at dakotacom.net
Comprehensive Straw Bale Workshop: Bill and Athena Steen The week long
workshops are designed to introduce participants to a straw bale
building and to a wide range of design, building and structural options
and help them select an approach which best suits their needs.
Earthen Floors & Natural Wall Finishes: Bill and Athena Steen The
workshop focus is on methods and materials used over the centuries by
traditional master craftsmen along with those evolving in contemporary
natural building circles. Special emphasis will be placed on matching
appropriate straw bale wall finishes to varied climates and conditions.
Straw & Clay - Workshop in Mexico: with Bill & Athena Steen and Save the
Children. The techniques focus on low-cost, simple, load-bearing homes
as well as larger, more complex buildings using concrete structures.
Cedar Valley Workshops- 616/696-0603, 215 E. Muskegon St., Cedar
Springs, MI 49319
Short, intensive courses on energy-efficient construction and renewable
energy technologies.
Center for Ecological Pollution Prevention
PO Box 1330 Concord, Massachusetts 01742 USA
Tel.: +978/318-7033 Email: EcoP2 at hotmail.com
See our website: http://www.cepp.cc workshops on toilet/greywater
building
Center For Maximum Potential Building Systems
8604 FM 969, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78724 (512) 928-4786 (512) 926-4418 fax,
max_pot at greenbuilder.com The Center, established in 1975, is a
non-profit sustainable design and appropriate technology firm engaged in
education, research, and demonstration activities. Call for information
on architectural design, workshops, lecture, and consultation services.
Circle Springs Cohousing community email: wgaia at lasal.net, 435-259
8618.
The community is focused on creating a sustainable micro-village
including
affordable natural housing. Ongoing Project: The building is a 2500 sq.
ft. timber frame, straw bale, straw clay, passive solar, etc., building
is located on a 124 acre piece of rural land 20 miles south of Moab
Utah.
Cob Cottage Company- 541-942-2005 Ianto Evans, Michael Smith , P.O.
Box 123, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Cob and thatch workshops-The Cob Cottage Company teaches natural
building and design by creating actual earthen buildings in every
workshop. At week long workshops, sponsors have an opportunity to begin
their own cottage studio, garden shed or retreat, with a crew of 12 to
20 workshop participants and thorough hands on instruction in all
aspects of building with earth and other natural materials. Call for
latest schedule.
Cobworks Pat Henneberry
C103 Horton Bay Rd., Mayne Island BC Canada V0N 2J0
Pat at cobworks.com
250-338-4660
Ongoing workshops and training in cob, building and woodworking. Also
will design /build cob.
Community Eco-design Network-
(651) 306-2326
Eric Hart , PO Box 6241, Minneapolis, MN 55406 Call for a full class
schedule.
Strawbale workshops, plus farming, water systems, more.
Cross Timbers Permaculture Institute-
512-273-9538 Inger Myhre & Kirby Fry at compuserve.com 1483 County Road
311, McDade, Texas 78650
On the job training for strawbale and water systems, no planned formal
courses at this time.
DAWN/Out On Bale By Mail
Joelee Joyce E-mail: dawnaz at earthlink.net
6570 W. Illinois St.
Tucson, AZ 85735
Tel: (520) 624-1673 FAX: (520) 882-8676
Web site:http://www.greenbuilder.com/dawn/
Developing Alliances with Nature - Sustainable
Living for a Better World
Development Center for Appropriate Technology,
David Eisenberg. PO Box 41144, Tucson, AZ 85717 e-mail:
strawnet at aol.com
Workshops , consulting, research and testing, code issues.
EACI Adobe Workshops
Professional Owner / Builder: 5-day program.
Owner / Builder Basics: 3-day program. This course will give you a basic
hands-on experience working with adobe. Weekender: 2-day program.
Saturday-Sunday This is designed for the busy person with a small adobe
project.
Earth Girls Natural Building
Emily Heindsmann earthgirls at juno.com
505 N. 61st St., Seattle WA 98103
Tel: 206-297-9479
Ongoing seasonal workshops locally on cob, strawbale, floors, ovens, and
natural building techniques. See Sustainable Living News
Earthsweet Home- (802) 254-1135/ 254-7674 RR2, Box 955, Putney, VT or
98 Falk Road,
East Dummerston, VT 05346 e-mail: earthswt at sover.net Earth Sweet Home
House is the site of a series of Educational
workshops exploring ecological building and design. (see case history)
Earth Systems Design Ron Sutcliffe, P.O. Box 511, Reserve, NM 87830 USA
Tel: 05 773 4895 email: compost at concentric.net
web:www.concentric.net/~compost
Composting Toilets, Greywater Treatment, Passive Solar Design, Site
Analysis and Design with respect to archeo-astronomy alignments, and
strawbale and earth home construction. We offer from two to five
composting toilet/greywater treatment seminars per year.
Earthwood Building School- 518/493-7744
Rob and Jaki Roy. 366 Murtagh Hill Rd., West Chazy, NY 12992 Classes
cordwood- specializing one- to five-day workshops in Cordwood masonry
and Earth Sheltered housing, solar/PV installation, saunas. Call for
schedule.
East Coast Alternative Building Center email: ecabc at juno.com Tel:
(717) 843-5890, 829 Arlington Road, York, PA 17403
Rich Schreiber, Scott Strachan, Mark Roberts We offer Straw Bale
Construction workshops in the spring and fall. We can provide
apprenticeship training positions assisting us with building
construction.
Elfin Permaculture, Dan Hemenway, Permacltur at aol.com also: Yankee
Permaculture, Barking Frogs Farm
Permaculture, PO Box 52, Sparr FL 32192-0052 USA
Elfin Permaculture instructors Dan and Cynthia Hemenway will go about
anywhere
in the world in response to a request to teach permaculture. Our
standard programs include:* a one-day workshop.* a weekend workshop in
which participants produce a rough permaculture design* a 10-day (or
two weeks in translation) permaculture design intensive in which the
class produces a fairly advanced permaculture design. This is an
excellent program for owner-builders to host because they get very high
quality design input for their site.
* The three-week Elfin Permaculture Design (certificate) Course, which
includes a permaculture design produced by the class.
* A 5-6 month Permaculture Design Correspondence Course online,
annually,
running 5-6 months and including extensive work on student-prepared
permaculture designs.
* An open-ended Permaculture Design Correspondence Course similar to
the
online course (can also be online) but one-on-on. (We only allow two
one on-
one programs of any kind to be running at any one time.)
* A variety of advanced training options under APT (Advanced
Permaculture Training.)
* On site internships at Barking Frogs Farm.
The Eco Nest Building Company-(505) 984-2928 laporte at econest.com
http://www.econest.com
Robert LaPorte PO Box 864 Tesuque NM 87574
Workshops on Light straw-clay, timberframing and more. Classes with
Frank Andresen
Fox Maple School of Traditional Building -(207) 935-3720, fax (207)
935-4575 P.O. Box, 249, Brownfield, ME 04010 Timber Frame workshops
at
One-day Timber Frame Design Seminar Introductory Timber Framing
Workshop
A hands-on workshop to a complete a timber frame using traditional
joinery details.
Advanced Timber Framing.The theory and mechanics of hip and valley roof
framing are covered in-depth in this 6 day workshop. Previous timber
framing experience required.
Natural Enclosure Systems Frank Andresen, a German expert in natural
infill systems, will explore and discuss the relative advantages of the
many alternative methods and materials which can be applied to timber
frame enclosures.
Thatching Collin McGhee, a Scottish Master Thatcher, who resides in the
U.S., will be working with us for a week long thatching session
Cob Workshop Ianto Evans, of Cob Cottage Company, will be instructing a
Cob workshop at Fox Maple. Traveling Workshops- call for dates and
locations
Florida Solar Energy Center-407/638-1015
1679 Clear Lake Rd. Cocoa, FL 32922-5703
Classes on hot climate designing and building for Florida.. Also, solar
water heating, passive cooling, and renewable classes.
Greenbuilder.com- events calendar- check this website for updated, full
listings of ongoing workshops and classes.
http://www2.greenbuilder.com/calendar/
GreenFire Inst. 1802-B 7th Ave..
Seattle, WA 98119
206-286-7860
Ted Butchart Design and planning for Natural Building
Green Logic Design, Darren Port
PO Box 2249, NYC, NY 10009 Tel:212.769.6387, fax 732.431.0928
email:ketsie at aol.com
www.planetwoodstock.com/greenlogic.htm Workshops offered starting Fall
1998
Groundworks, Becky Bee
PO Box 381, Murphy OR 97533
Tel: (541) 471-3470
Classes, workshops, seminars on planning and building with cob and
earth.
Going Concerns Unlimited, John Cruickshank 569 NCR 29, Loveland CO 80538
Tel: (970) 679-4342, Fax:(970) 679-4233 email:
hobbithouse at compuserve.com
Sunny John toilet web: www.zianet.com/blackrange/br_pages/
sunny_john.html
Workshops and classes detailing construction of the Sunny John which
covers an introduction to timberframing and light clay wall
construction, PermaCulture design principles, and grafting and budding
of fruit trees
Heartwood- 413/623-6677 Will and Michele Beemer
Johnson Hill Rd., Washington, MA 01235
Conventional and timberframe construction, carpentry for women,
furniture, housebuilding. Jack Sobon teaches also.
HOPES (Holistic Options for Planet Earth Sustainability) 5249
University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403 Tel: 541-346-0719
hopes at laz.uoregon.edu http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~hopes
Hosts an annual Spring ecodesign conference with hands-on workshops.
International Institute for Bau-biologie & Ecology, Inc., Helmut Zeihe,
Director
PO Box 387, Clearwater, FL 34615 baubiologie at earthlink.net IBE
Newsletter Concerned with the effects of building materials on human
health and the environment, offers home study course.
Institute for Bioregional Studies 449 University Ave. Charlottetown PE
Canada C1A 8K3 Tel: 902-892-9578 Offers permaculture and ecological
planning courses.
Institute for Independent Living- 800/762-7325
Real Goods Trading Corporation
966 Mazzoni Street, Ukiah, CA 95482-3471
Classes on planning and building renewable home energy systems.
Institute for Social Ecology PO Box 89 Plainfield VT 05667 Tel:
802-454-8493 ise at igc.org http://www.tao.ca/~ise College level programs
in planning and design for sustainable communities, offers workshops and
a lecture series.
Midwest Renewable Energy Association Educational Institute Box 249
Amherst WI 54406 Tel: 715-824-5166 Fax: 413-824-5399
http://www.the-mrea.org/edinst.html Quarterly Newsletter, annual energy
fair in WI, offers ongoing workshops in efficient energy
construction/solar.
Moonshadow
Anthony Blondin or Ashley Gilbert
Route 1 Box 304, Whitwell, TN 37397
Tel: 423-949-5922, mediarights at bledsoe.net
Workshops on: Post and Beam Timber Framing, Cob, Straw Bale, Hemp and
Sod
Natural House Building Center-
515/472-7775 RR 1, Box 115F
Fairfield, IA 52556
Workshops on straw and clay building
Natural Space Domes- Tel: 800-733-7107, 612/674-4292 37955 Bridge Rd.
North Branch, MN 55056 Classes on dome-building and design
Nacul Environmental Design Center
592 Main St. Amherst MA 01002
Tel: 413-256-8025
Teaches ecological construction and design, promotes ecodesign.
North Carolina Alternative Energy Corporation- 919/361-8000
PO Box 12699, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27709
Workshops on heat pumps and other energy technologies
Northern Arizona Sustainable Building Network (NASBN) PO Box 1951
Flagstaff AZ 86002. A volunteer organization established to educate on
alternative and natural building methods.
Conducts workshops, offers tours,
Northern California Permaculture Institute Tel: 415-663-9090
PO Box 341 Pt. Reyes CA, 94956 email: pinc at nbn.com web:
www.nbn.com/~pinc/
Offers tours, workshops and education
Northern New Mexico Community College
El Rito Campus, El Rito, NM 87530, Quentin Wilson email:
qwilson at nnm.cc.nm.us
Tel: (505) 581-4156 or (505) 581-4100,
Fax: (505) 581-4130
Adobe Construction Program
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center Tel: 707-874-1557, Fax: 874-1558
(Author Michael Smith teaches here) 15290 Coleman Valley Road,
Occidental. CA 95465 Teaches classes and workshops in permaculture.
gardening, beekeeping, composting, seed management, cob and strawbale,
and more.
Out On Bale- 520/624-1673 Call for information. Judy Knox
1037 East Linden St., Tucson, AZ 85719
Workshops on straw-bale construction.
Owner-Builder Center- 713/956-1178, fax: 713-956-7413
Houston Community College, 4141 Costa Rica, Houston, TX 77092 Design
and construction classes Teaches use of local materials, residential
construction local to Houston area.
Permaculture Center in Santa Cruz, CA 400 Vaca Del Sol, Corralitos, CA
95076
Tel: 408-763-3848 Offers courses on permaculture and straw bale
building.
Permaculture Design and Workshops- as listed in Sustainable Living News-
WA
The newsletter lists ongoing classes in permaculture areas see online at
www.sustainablelivingnews.com for an updated schedule. PO box 4572
Seattle WA 98145
Permaculture Drylands Institute,
PO Box 156, Santa Fe, NM 87504-0156
Tel: (505) 983-0663, fax: 505-986-0339 pdrylands at aol.com Courses and
training in permaculture
Rammed Earth Works Assoc. 1350 Elm St. Napa CA 95257 Tel: 707-244-2532
ewinst at aol.com Offers on demand workshops in rammed earth building.
Real Goods Trading Corporation
555 Leslie St., Ukiah, CA 95482-5576 800/762-7325
Offers workshop training in house retrofit, solar energy, eco design and
natural building methods.
The Shared Living Resource Center Tel: 510-548-6608,
2337 Parker St., Berkeley, CA 94704-2841, Ken Norwood email:
slrcnorwood at igc.org
Workshops on building shared living communities that are affordable,
socially supportive, and ecologically sustainable.
Shelter Institute- 207/442-7938, 38 Center St., Bath, ME
04530shelterinst at aol.com
http://mainecoast.com/shelterinstitute
Classes on design and construction of new homes and retrofits,
timberframe also.
Shelter Earth 204 Aliso Dr. NE Albuquerque NM 87108 Tel: 505-260-1112
Offers ongoing workshops on cob, earth floors, plasters, earthbag
construction
Shenoa Learning and Retreat Center-
(707) 895-3156
Philo, California Work Exchange Opportunities and Garden
Apprenticeships
Land Stewardship Program, contact Mark Brown at (707) 895-2568. cob *
adobe * superadobe * rammed earth * PISE * strawbale * straw-clay *
stone * timber * bamboo * wattle & daub * living roofs * natural floors
* energy, water & waste systems * temporary housing * permaculture
Skillful Means PO Box 207, Junction City, CA 96048 Tel: 530.623.4479
web: www.snowcrest.net/smb
John Swearington balehead at delphi.com Offers training and workshops in
strawbale building members of CASBA (Calif. Strawbale Assoc.) Workshops
and consultation on straw-bale construction.
Smart Shelter 684-6530 Road, Montrose CO 81401 Tel: 970-249-2396
Publishes a journal and keeps track of alternative building in Colorado,
offers workshops and courses.
Solar/Adobe Associates- 505/984-0077
847 East Palace Ave. Santa Fe, NM 87501
Workshops on designing and building energy-efficient solar adobe
homes.
Solar Energy International- 970/963-8855
PO Box 715 Carbondale, CO 81623-0715
Workshops on design and building of state-of-the-art solar homes,
Classes on how to install, and maintain renewable electric systems.
Solar Survivor Architecture- 505/758-9870
PO Box 1041 Taos, NM 87571
Workshops on design and construction of rammed-earth Earthship tire
homes.
Southface Energy Institute Homebuilding School PO Box 5506, Atlanta, GA
30307, 404/525-7657
HBS at southface.org http://www.southface.org
A building school for those interested in contracting or building their
own home learn energy-efficient construction.
Southwest Solar Adobe School- 505/252-1382 PO Box 153, Bosque, NM 87006
Joe Tibbets fax:505 861 1304
Teaches owner-builders and professionals techniques for passive-solar,
environmentally conscious, and resource-efficient earth construction.
http://www.adobebuilder.com
StrawCrafters, Tom Luecke,
3785 Moorhead Ave., Boulder, CO 80303.
Workshops and instruction, consulting, construction.
Sun Ray School Of Natural Living
13470 Janicki Road, Sedro Wooley, WA 98294 Tel: 360-856-0413 Sun Ray
Kelly teaches workshops on natural building, design, timberframe, earth
construction and finishes.
Sustainable Systems Support, Carol Escott and Steve Kemble, PO Box
318, Bisbee, AZ 85603. Tel: 520-432-4292 email: sssalive at primenet.com
Workshops. consultation, design, , informational materials on strawbale
building.
Straw Into Gold Christy Z. Tews - Tel: 702-884-3121 1605 Freeport
Blvd., Sparks, NV. 89431 StrawGold at worldnet.att.net
Workshops: turning your house building project into a workshop. The
owner gets an educated workforce, the workforce learns about the guts of
a building and becomes part of a community who help each other on the
next project.
Sun Ray School Of Natural Living - Sun Ray Kelly-13470 Janicki Road,
Sedro Wooley WA 98294
Tel: 360-856-0413 Workshops on all facets of natural building, design,
timberframe, earthen finishes, visit the website for photo examples of
designs built.
Timber Framers Guild of North America PO Box 1075 85603 Bellingham, WA
98227
Tel: 360-733-4001 tfona at world.std.com http://www.tfguild.org The guide
helps connect timberframers and teaches the woodworking style of
timberframing.
U.S. Heritage Group, Inc.
2511 North Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60647 773-286-2100
fax: 773-286-1852 email:usheritage at usheritage.com
Masonry Restoration Techniques, Lime Mortar Workshops
Vital Systems 1037 Folger St.
Berkeley CA 94710 Tel: 510-548-7400 VitalSystems at usa.net
Teaches workshops on strawbale, cob earthen floras, plasters, living
roofs (sod) and sustainable building.
Women Build Houses 1050 S. Verdugo, Tucson, AZ 85745
wbhwbhwbh at aol.com
Tel: (520)882-8876, (805)323-9975 Offers classes and workshops to
increase women's
knowledge about and access to building and maintenance skills. Class
registration: 206-8000 Features Cob, Straw bale, permaculture,
cookstoves and solar, kid's classes, composting/waste, and more.
Yellow Mountain Institute for Sustainable Living, PO Box 205,
Batesville, VA 22924
Tel: 540-456-6447
http://monticello.avenue.gen.va.us/Community/Environ/yellowMtn/workshop/cordwood
East Coast courses and workshops conducted with U of VA in all building
areas from timberframe to tires.
Yestermorrow School- 802/496-5545 RR 1, Box 97-5, Warren, VT 05674
Courses on timberframe and strawbale construction, co-housing,
landscaping, and solar design.
Talmath Mesenbrink- Papercrete workshops
c/o General Delivery Crestone, CO 81131
Talmath Mesenbrink c/o North Valley Realty Crestone, CO 81131
Phone: 719-256-4197
tumbleweedsworkshop at usa.net (rarely checks email, so don't count on this
method)
There are many more workshops and classes offered than can be
represented here. Class schedules change and new events are added..
Call the workshop or education resource here and request their latest
schedule, or upcoming class information. Many courses are taught around
the country during the summer months
(Becky Bee's Groundworks, Cob Cottage, Eco Nest Center have traveling
builder's classes.)
Workshops, Classes
(c)2001 The Dirt Cheap Houses Resources Guide