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Strawtron

Dec 30
Love0

The Year of Mud Top 10 News and Posts for 2011

By Earthen Floor, Strawtron, The Year of Mud Book, Natural Building Workshops, Wabi-sabi Kitchen, Moisture, Timber Framing, Lime Plaster
Pug Cone

Pug dons a dog cone in 2011... but that's not terribly related to the here and now...

2011 has presented us with a wide mix of events and emotions. It’s been everything from momentous, to extremely challenging, to gratifying, and everything in-between. Just like every other year, I suppose, right? Each year is not so different from the last, but at the same time, each year is full of its own unique experiences.

This was the year we experienced some significant health challenges, decided to build a new home, continued to do major renovations to Gobcobatron to correct some of its moisture and heat issues, made some advancements on our kitchen construction, hosted our first mini building workshop, began organzing two major natural building courses, got some rewarding nods in the media, and ultimately, just like last year, kept incredibly occupied.

Here I present the top 10 news and posts from The Year of Mud in 2011.

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Dec 12
Love0

Straw Bale Building Workshop 2012: Build a Straw Bale House

By Workshops, Straw Bale Building, Strawtron

The Straw Bale Building Workshop at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is now open to applicants! Come join us in July 2012 for a comprehensive 10 day straw bale construction course, where you will learn valuable skills you need to know to build your own straw bale house.

You’ll get hands-on experience stacking, securing, and pinning bales, and plastering the walls with local clay. Enjoy and learn from the incredible experience of helping to build an actual home in a well-known, inspiring ecovillage community.
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Nov 22
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Timber Framing Workshop 2012: Build a Timber Frame Home

By Strawtron, Natural Building Workshops, Timber Framing

beth-slick

March 2013 Update: We are now offering a new Timber Frame Workshop for 2013 in August. Check out the details!

I am pleased to announce that folks can now read about and apply for the Timber Framing Workshop we are hosting at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, June 10-23, 2012. This is shaping up to be a unique and very exciting opportunity for folks looking to gain real building skills in an incredible setting!

2012 Timber Framing Workshop students will spend two full weeks at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Rutledge, Missouri learning the historic craft of timber framing using mortise and tenon joinery, as well as experiencing and learning some of the fundamental connections between natural building design and sustainable lifestyle alternatives.

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Jul 24
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Introducing Strawtron: New Timber Frame Straw Bale House Design

By Natural Building Workshops, Timber Framing, Straw Bale Building, Strawtron

Conceptual drawing of our new house (north view)

Things are definitely shaping up in our new house design process. We are super excited to be collaborating with a few folks on this project, very notably Tom Cundiff of The Edgeworks, who is assisting with the design of a slick timber frame for what we are calling “Strawtron”, our new straw bale timber frame house project.

This fall, we plan on breaking ground for Strawtron, a three room, passive solar, straw bale-insulated house with a timber frame, greenhouse for passive heat and extended living space, screened-in north porch, and 1/2 story loft with a west-facing balcony.

But there’s plenty to do before that happens…

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