2-Day Cob Oven Build

Building a cob oven at a local farm, located about 15 minutes from our campus. A cob oven is a great beginner project for anyone interested in natural building, because it includes multiple techniques in a small, functional project. We’ll be making different cob mixes, laying fire brick, installing slip-straw, and even getting to apply some base coat earthen plasters by the end. The oven build will also include an attached countertop, which we’ll construct using a straw bale core covered with structural cob. Our work together will cover all of the functional oven layers and components that you need to know about to build your own oven someday - from a base insulation layer, to a protective plaster layer, and everything in between!

Intro to Cob & Straw September

This workshop is a great experience to learn how to build with cob and straw, and to get a broad learning overview of natural building techniques. You will get a solid foundation in natural building fundamentals. You will learn the advantages of high thermal mass cob versus high insulation straw materials. We will be constructing the walls on a new cob building and a straw-clay building, mixing and applying lime plaster, and studying Natural Building together each day. You will also get to see living examples on-site of a completed cob building and straw-clay building. These are excellent examples that you can learn a lot from! After this workshop, you will have the basic experience and confidence to design and build your own cob and straw constructions or buildings.

Intro to Cob & Straw October

This workshop is a great experience to learn how to build with cob and straw, and to get a broad learning overview of natural building techniques. You will get a solid foundation in natural building fundamentals. You will learn the advantages of high thermal mass cob versus high insulation straw materials. We will be constructing the walls on a new cob building and a straw-clay building, mixing and applying lime plaster, and studying Natural Building together each day. You will also get to see living examples on-site of a completed cob building and straw-clay building. These are excellent examples that you can learn a lot from! After this workshop, you will have the basic experience and confidence to design and build your own cob and straw constructions or buildings.