Worried about the climate emergency and ecological breakdown? Want to play your part in decarbonising the housing stock by using natural materials, and improve your indoor air quality at the same time? Are you planning a straw-bale or other natural material build or retrofit, and need to use plasters which will let your walls breathe? Join us to learn about the wonders of natural plasters, and how they can address all these issues and more.

LOCATION:

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

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course is a fascinating exploration of natural plasters and all that they can do for your building and your health (which is a lot!). It will give you an understanding of topics such as:

• Healthy indoor air quality
• Humidity regulation – say goodbye to mould and condensation
• Historical precedents – plasters that last
• The natural cycle of lime
• How and why lime works better than cement
• Making clay plasters from earth
• Realistic costs

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.