Join us for this excellent 1-day theory course, led by Barbara Jones, which is the essential preparation for strawbale design whether you’re a self-builder, an architect, a designer or someone interested in natural building. This critical workshop is foundational for any straw-bale builders, and will save you precious time & money when designing your own Straw Bale Building.

LOCATION:

Todmorden College, 44 Burnley Rd, Todmorden, OL14 7BX, UK

ABOUT THE COURSE:

We recommend taking this course after our 'Preparing to Build with Bales' theory course, although they can each stand alone. By the end of this jam-packed session, you will have have a solid foundation for how to design your own Straw Bale Building. We'll cover all of the following topics, with time for questions and discussion;

• Introduction to a brief history of Straw Bale Building
• Understanding how to identify good building bales
• Learning how to design with the bale in mind
• Learning about strawbale panels for prefabricated and modular buildings
• Learning how to customise and ‘dress’ bales on site
• Understanding where to locate posts for framework buildings

ABOUT BARBARA JONES:

Barbara is the founder of SNaB (@schoolofnaturalbuilding), and the UK’s preeminent straw-bale building authority. She has decades of experience with straw bale building, clay and lime plastering, building physics and leading work on building sites across the UK and Europe. Her book, 'Building with Straw Bales; A Practical Manual for Self-Builders and Architects' is considered the essential guide to building with straw, and Barbara brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to every course. She will ensure course participants have a wonderful learning experience.

REPRESENTATION:

The School of Natural Building is a not-for-profit BenCom, set up to benefit communities, and doesn't receive external funding. However, we believe in driving representation within the construction and building industry, and price our courses as fairly as we can to ensure that they remain accessible. Our prices include tuition, all materials and refreshments (bring your own packed lunch).

Price: £75/person

ACCESS:

Theory courses take place in Todmorden, at Tod College, which is fully wheelchair accessible and and equipped to support nearly all access needs. Should you have concerns about accessibility, you can reach out to us for more information regarding the accessibility of the course site, and we can assess the options together.

TRANSPORTATION:

The School of Natural Building believes in the urgency of the climate challenge, and our work is fundamentally about supporting a low-carbon future where people live in ways which bring us closer to the earth, back into community with our ecosystem and back to ourselves. For this reason, we urge participants to travel to our course locations via public or shared transport where possible. We'll often connect course participants via email in advance of the course, to facilitate ride-sharing.

BOOKING:

There are limited places on this course, and booking is essential. Please use the button below to pay and secure your place. Please note that for insurance reasons, all participants must be 16 or over. We look forward to meeting you, but if you have any questions ahead of attending, please email schoolofnaturalbuilding@gmail.com.