Our lovely bunch of straw bale workshop participants

We just finished our awesome 10 days of the first Year of Mud Straw Bale Workshop — what a blast! We had yet another great batch of students, and there was ample opportunity to get lots of progress made, and learn all the ins and outs of working with straw bales. I think everyone went home energized and enlivened, and probably a bit tired too…. and definitely full from tons of great food.

I personally came away from this class with my love once again reignited for natural building, a wish for continuing to learn and challenge myself, and a strong desire to keep working in this invigorating format. It is so great to be surrounded by and working closely with people curious, excited, and enthusiastic about natural building and alternative living.

That ends our 2012 Natural Building Workshop season, but our work still continues on the house, of course. But not before April and I take a week off, however. We’ve been working a solid 7 days a week, at 8-12 hours a day, for at least three months. It’s been exhausting but totally worth the effort.

To celebrate the finale, here’s a slideshow of the 2012 Straw Bale Workshop!