“Build With Us”

Natural Building Workshop

Colorado, USA

Come learn to build using truly natural, sustainable, affordable, beautiful materials at this 4-day workshop.

Workshop runs:  Friday, July 23 to Monday, July 26, 2010

Jefferson, Colorado (approx. 1¼ hours from Denver)

Highway 285 (between Bailey and Fairplay)

Thai organic farmer/earthen builder Jon Jandai and Coloradoan Peggy Reents will teach various natural building techniques using local, readily available materials.  They have been leaders in the natural building movement in Thailand for years and are now starting a family compound based on sustainable living techniques in Jefferson, Colorado.

You will receive hands-on experience in: implementing basic sustainable design principles, selecting clay, making adobe bricks, building walls from various earthen techniques, building an earthen wood-fired baking oven and making and applying earthen plasters, homemade clay and lime paints and finishes for earthen and strawbale walls.

Come stay on their pristine land at over 9,000 ft. elevation in the Rockies.  Along with learning the building techniques, you will be introduced to Thai massage, Thai cooking, and organic seed saving.  Fresh homemade meals will be provided.  Please bring your own tenting gear.  $300/person, $480/2 people.

Topics & techniques

The workshop will include:

• Introduction to our “compound”, our vision and tour of the other strawbale house on site as well as our present project, an earthship under construction
• Basic design principles for environmental citing, climatic considerations, and aesthetics
• Adobe brick making
• Adobe wall construction
• Earthen wood-fired baking oven construction
• Intros and smaller projects using other earthen building techniques including wattle-and-daub, cob, and earth bag
• Earthen plasters for earthen walls and strawbale walls
• Making and applying homemade natural clay/starch paints, lime, linseed oil, beeswax and other options for finishing sealants, etc
• And more

Evening/afternoon activities and exchanges will also be included.  These include; an introduction to earthen building, introduction to Thai cooking, Thai massage, and seed saving and our work in Thailand at Pun Pun organic farm, sustainable living learning center and seed center.

The Project

This building workshop will be held on our family land in the high elevation of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  In the summer of 2005 our extended family bought a piece of land with the intention of creating a so-called “family compound” where we would all come together to live for parts or most of the year together.  We wanted it also to be a place which could experiment and demonstrate various sustainable building and living techniques.  We started by building a strawbale home for our parents and earthen solar panel shed and now are working on a home for Peggy’s sister’s family which will use the earthship technique. We are located just outside Jefferson, Colorado which is on Highway 285 between Bailey and Fairplay.

General Schedule

Friday, July 23^rd:

10am               Registration, orientation, tour

12                    Lunch

Afternoon        Design principles discussion, selecting soil for building, making adobe bricks and cob

Evening           Earthen Building Slideshow

Saturday, July 24^th:

Building with earth, displaying different techniques, working on earthen oven.

Evening           Intro to Thai massage

Sunday, July 25^th:

Making and applying earthen plasters for various kinds of walls, base coat to final coats and other finishes

Evening           Intro to Thai cooking

Monday, July 26^th:

Morning           Making and applying homemade clay paints

After lunch      Wrap-up until 2pm or so.

Teaching team

Jon Jandai, Peggy Reents, Nate Reents

Living situation

You should prepare and bring with you your own camping gear (tent, mat, sleeping bag) with the knowledge that it can get quite cold at night.  If the weather should be very cold we can all bunk in the living room of the strawbale house as well.  You will be able to use the strawbale house toilet and shower facilities as well as an outdoor composting toilet.

Homemade, fresh meals will be shared and eaten outside and in the strawbale kitchen, vegetarian and non-vegetarian options will be available and we will try to use the most organic vegetables as possible.  Please specify if you have any specific dietary needs.

Fee

$300/person, $480/2 people

Arrangements can be made for participants from less developed countries.  Your contributions go toward allowing us to continue to do the work we do in Thailand with Pun Pun with peasant and farmer groups.

Registration

1)  Contact Peggy Reents at pareents@yahoo.com.
2)  Send in your deposit to hold your spot.  A $150 US non-refundable deposit is due to us as soon as possible.  The remaining fee will be due on the first day of the workshop in check or cash or if you prefer you can send the full amount by check beforehand.

The deposit check can be sent addressed to:

Peggy Reents
Re: Build with Us Workshop Jefferson
3405 El Caminito
Loveland, CO  80537 USA

Contact Peggy Reents at pareents@yahoo.com to register or for more details. For more information on us visit our website at www.punpunthailand.org or visit Pun Pun Organic Farm on Facebook.