What a beautiful community we have

Group hug!

New timber frame porch

What a beautiful week!  In all ways the Natural Building Workshop this last week far exceeded my expectations.  I had been sort of anxious about it due to all the logistics to pull together and all the new people to get to know and the nervousness about teaching…and of course once we got to it none of that turned out to be worth worrying about (is anything really worth worrying about?!).  It turned out to be one of the most exciting and inspiring weeks of the whole summer so far.

First of all, we had an AMAZING group of people for the workshop.  People came from all different backgrounds and all different ages and in one week we managed to feel like one big family.  People were incredibly courageous and inspiring to me in so many ways: in the kinds of sacrifices they made to be there, in their openness and willingness to be vulnerable with each other, in their beautiful visions of the kind of future they want to create for themselves and others.  It reminded me that I really am part of a much bigger movement, far beyond just this apprenticeship and this cottage build; a movement full of amazing and fun people that I get to stay connected to and inspired by for the rest of my life.

We learned a ton of new techniques this week too!  What a whirlwind!  I learned about base coat plasters, finish plasters, earthen paints, straw bale construction and detailing, adobe wall construction, chorizo (a straw-clay like wall system), wattle and daub, and more of the details of navigating building codes.

So here are some photos of the week:

Me talking about the cottage

Sarah showing how to install cedar shake roofing

Plaster mixing

We got to visit Earthaven Ecovillage for a super inspiring tour of the various natural buildings on the property, including a gorgeous house that our instructor Steveo built there:

Arjuna's beautiful house at Earthaven (built by Steveo)

Cob hut at Earthaven

The group at White Duck Taco in Asheville!