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Today was a great day. We accomplished a bunch of stuff on the site, the weather was great, and spirits were high. We had several lectures on site that allowed us to slow down and learn to a pace that we could then accelerate into the work.
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Our third day was not as productive as I had hoped it would be. We had some rain the previous night and the cold air of the day seemed to tax all of our efforts to move forward. That said, we got all the walls straightened and weedwhacked to a point where we could address the next steps of the job.
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We were so close! We almost got the whole building baled today. There was a lot to learn including the Miller’s knot, how to notch bales, how to stack and stuff walls, and how to keep things as straight as possible. With a lot of hands working hard, we managed to get really close to completing the baling in day two, but we ended up one course short for the majority of the building.
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Yesterday was the first day of the May Seven Day Intensive Straw Bale Construction Workshop here in Jacksonville. We have a great group of people here and we are well on our way to completing another wonderful bale building. Over the next seven days, i will be posting comments and images from the workshop to show you a general thread of how the workshops proceed in hopes that some of you will be inspired to take the next step in learning about this amazing building procedure. Here’s a summary of what we got done on the first day:
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Several individuals have moved their participation date from May to later workshops. As a result, I have several spots available in the May Seven Day Intensive Straw Bale Workshop. The dates for the workshop are May 5 - 11. Obviously that is coming right up. If you are wondering whether this workshop is for you, please read on to hear what some of the April participants said about their experience. If you know you are ready to sign up, please visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com to grab one of the last spots for May.

The April workshop was a huge success. I was amazed at how far along we got with the building and how much the participants were able to learn and employ. Even with two completely unexpected days of snowfall, we were able to fully bale, shape, and plaster (exterior scratch coat) the entire building. It looks fantastic and I am seriously impressed with the ability of the participants to execute what they learned.

I am happy to hear that my impression of the workshop was also held by those who attended. I have gotten lots of positive feedback, some of which I have shared with you here. Perhaps the greatest thing about learning hands on is the ability to ask questions as the project moves forward. Not just questions about what is being done on the workshop, but how those new skills and techniques would influence someone’s home design or construction. I was able to answer questions specific to each participant’s situation and plan for construction. Everything from how to run a job site, to which type of plaster is the best option for an individual’s climate and use.

Check out what some of the participants had to say:

“Thank you for offering this one-of-a-kind learning experience, it was truly worth our while to take the time for the workshop. There is no doubt we are now more confident to take on much of the straw bale building process ourselves and potentially save money in labor and costly mistakes with the knowledge we gained.”

Thank you,
Skip & Jenna F., Colorado
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I am happy to announce that although the April workshop is completely full, there is still room in the May seven day intensive straw bale construction workshop here in Jacksonville, Oregon. The concrete guys are coming today to pour the foundation for the April workshop and then I will be busy framing and getting ready for the 20 folks arriving in a couple weeks.

The May workshop is scheduled for May 5 - 11 and will be a great opportunity for you to get your hands dirty in straw bale construction.

The May workshop is filling up quickly, so don’t hesitate if you want to be involved. To give you an idea, the April workshop filled up quickly and the last six spots all went away in one day as people jumped off the fence. If you want to learn about building with bales, it’s time to visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com/Registration and sign up today. I hope to see you soon!

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Just a quick announcement to let you know I have added several dates for my 7 day intensive straw bale workshops during the summer months. Please visit www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com for more information or to sign up. I have one workshop scheduled for each summer month (June, July, and August) as well as dates in April, May, and September!

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The 7 day intensive straw bale construction workshop originally scheduled for Bend, Oregon will now be held on my property in Jacksonville, Oregon. I hope to include a tour of straw bale homes in the workshop schedule. This should give participants the opportunity to see different styles of completed homes and perhaps inspire them to build to their best!

To sign up for the workshop, please visit www.StrawBakeWorkshops.com/Registration. We we still work hands on to build a straw bale structure and will have lots of time for questions and answers.
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Wow…that is sneaking up on me! There are only 10 weeks left until we start the April Straw Bale Workshop in Bend, Oregon. I just spoke with the host and he and his wife are very excited to get it going. So am I. There is still room in the workshop, but I can’t say how long that will last. The host said he is going to start advertising locally and inspiring friends to sign up. You can sign up at www.strawbaleworkshops.com/Registration.html We will be working on a small post and beam structure so anyone interested in building this style house would benefit from the workshop.
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I am happy to announce a new workshop date for the 2008 season. I will be holding a seven day intensive straw bale workshop September 1 - September 7, 2008 at the beautiful Berry Hill Gardens country Bed and Breakfast. Here’s a little description of the property from their website (www.BerryHillGardens.com).

Off the beaten path on a secluded lane, conveniently centered between Bainbridge, Afton and Oxford, our country bed and breakfasts are located in the heart of Central New York. The breathtaking Leatherstocking Region is an area bursting with museums, sporting facilities, artisans and fascinating history.

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I am excited to announce the launch of www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com. This new site will list the information for all of the workshops I will be leading in 2008. As it stands now, I have three workshops scheduled for Southern Oregon. The dates are April 14-20, May 5-11, and September 15-21. In addition, I have a tentatively scheduled, special 2 week workshop in Armenia starting July 21, 2008.
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The Jackson County Home Show will be held at the Jackson County Expo Center in Central Point, Oregon this September 21-23. On Saturday, September 22 at 1:30 pm, there will be talk about straw bale construction by a local engineer Nabil Taha of Precision Structural Engineering, Inc. and Designer, Chris Keefe of Organicforms Design. I have done this talk with them on two previous occasions and it is a good introduction into straw bale construction. It is also an opportunity to ask those nagging questions you may have about design and engineering as it relates to straw bale construction. I will not be attending this talk this time around as I will be in LA.

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I say “free” because I am sure the owners of the house would appreciate a donation towards the workshop, but there is no fee for the weekend. This Saturday, September 8th, and Sunday, September 9th, I will be leading a workshop on a straw bale house in Medford, Oregon. It will start at 9am on Saturday morning. I will be teaching the basics of bale re-tying, notching, stacking, and more. Everything you need to know to stack a house and wrap it for plaster (if we get that far!). This is a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of baling from me and for free no less! For more information, please contact Scott at s_mackison@yahoo.com. I hope to see you there!

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Learn how to Build with Straw Bales!!

Paonia, Colorado: Solar Energy International (SEI) is proud to announce Straw Bale Design & Construction taking place September 14- 16, 2007. In this workshop participants will be building a straw bale chicken coop and applying earthen plasters to its walls. The cost is $325 for members of SEI $350 for non-members.

Take a hands-on approach to learning about designing and building a straw bale home. This workshop will give you a broad understanding of the state of Straw Bale construction, the qualities of straw, design considerations, construction techniques, building codes, insurance & financing, with plenty of hands-on experience.

There are no prior building skills necessary for being a part of this workshop.

If you have any questions or would like more information send Matthew Harris an email at matthew@solarenergy.org or give hima call 970.527.7657. You can also visit www.solarenergy.org or contact SEI at 970.963.8855 for workshop details or to register.

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For all of you who are looking for workshop opportunities or natural building conferences, this is the blog post for you! It is long, but that is because there is a lot of detail and a lot of workshops listed. You can find out more by clicking the link in the name of this blog post. Thanks to the folks at Natural Building Network for this information.
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My friend Jim Haim has asked me to post the following information for 2 workshops he is hosting this year. His company, COBTogether (Creating Organic Buildings Together), offers natural building workshops for people of all ages. They bring people together to teach the empowering skills of sustainable building.
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For those of you interested in the bale raising party in South Austin, I have some new information. Below is a release from the host of the raising:

Thanks for your interest in the wall raising to be held Sat Nov 18th in South Austin.
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I just got wind of a bale raising in Austin Texas. The raising is not booked as a workshop, but is instead a simple raising for a small structure. The building itself will be a 18 foot by 24 foot structure.
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Natural Building Colloquium Invitation
www.naturalbuildingtexas.org

In the spirit of strengthening and expanding our community of those interested in sustainable building, central Texas invites you to attend a Natural Building Colloquium. Colloquiums are gatherings of people, ranging from experienced to simply curious, who come to learn from each other, to synergize their experience and to remind themselves of their larger vision.
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Below is an invitation to the 2006 ISBBC. This should be a great event for beginners and experts alike.
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