A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our first Natural Building Essentials Workshop of the summer. What fun! The weather held out and we had great camping conditions, and April cooked up a veritable feast for our intrepid mudslingers. I think it’s fair to say everyone had a great time, myself included. Check out some photos of the course below!
It’s 2018, and that means The Year of Mud hits double digits this year (!). Ten years ago, I started The Year of Mud blog when I began my foolhardy journey into the world of natural building. Well dang. I’m not one to boast, but it’s been a lot of work to keep this website chugging that whole time. I certainly had no idea where I was headed when I decided to “build a mud hut” all those years ago. But one thing is for sure: natural building has been a huge focal point of my life since I first stuck my hands (and feet) in a batch of cob.
Starting today, we are offering a special discount on the 10 day Straw Bale Workshop at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Apply today and save $150 off the regular tuition!
If you’ve ever been interested in learning about straw bale construction and getting some solid experience working with natural building materials and techniques, now is your best chance.
Come experience The Year of Mud’s Straw Bale Workshop in a pioneering ecovillage community here in northeast Missouri! It’s going to be a great time. The course runs from July 22 – August 2. Spots are limited — reserve yours today!
p.s.: Contact me with any questions you may have.
Tom shows off three different antique boring machines
The first two full days of the Timber Frame Workshop have already come and gone, and it’s going great! We’ve got a great group of participants, the weather is just lovely, and we’re cranking away on some good ol’ fashioned joinery using a whole bunch of sweet hand tools from Tom’s collection. Chris Newman arrived yesterday and will be a great backup to Tom in guiding our group through the process of building the rest of the timber frame.
Making wood chips... er, timber framing beings!
Today was a historic day in the “Strawtron” building timeline — we began timber framing and building our house platform. Yahoo! A few nights ago, we got our delivery of massive sill beams and floor joists, including some honking 8×12 white oak beams at 16 feet long each — requiring no less than ten people to carry them 30 feet into our newly erected “wedding tent”, the temporary shade/weather structure we constructed for our Timber Frame Workshop.
Reserve your spot today in the 2012 Timber Framing Workshop!
Wow, it’s hard to believe only 30 days remain until the Timber Frame Workshop begins. From June 10-25, we’ll be hosting our first workshop dedicated to traditional timber framing, led by Tom Cundiff, a talented builder with 15 years of experience.
It’s going to be a great chance to learn how to build a home — without nails, screws, and lackluster dimensional lumber, but instead with beauitful, durable posts and beams that will last for generations. A timber frame house is the kind of home that can stay in your family for literally hundreds of years!
Anyway, we’ll be teaching participants the skills necessary to build their own timber frames, using hand tools and traditional techniques, of course. Not only that, students will get a valuable look into life at a functional ecovillage powered by renewable energy, complete with a range of various natural buildings.
It’s going to be a very fun time, and I hope you’ll consider joining us, because there are still a few spaces available. Apply today for the Timber Frame Workshop to get a guaranteed chance to be a part of our comprehensive building course!
And did I mention you’ll get fed delicious home-cooked, organic meals while you’re here? Mm, mm.
Demonstrating a scarf joint in a Timber Framing course
Wow, it’s almost May already. Time flies when it’s a beautiful spring! May 1 is also our Early Registration deadline for the 2012 Timber Frame Workshop — there are 3 short days left to apply and save 10% off the cost of the Timber Framing course.
Get your application in now to be a part of this unique course. Learn all about traditional timber frame construction with hand tools in a thriving ecovillage community this June. It’s a great chance for aspiring builders, current carpenters wanting to expand their skills, or for budding homesteaders to learn how to build a home that will last generations.
Thanks for reading!
Timber Frame Workshop 2012 Update!Here’s a friendly reminder for all the prospective natural builders and timber framers out there.
There are only 3 days left to qualify for the Extra Early Registration Discount for this year’s Timber Framing Workshop.
You can SAVE 20% by applying now — that’s a savings of $400. And don’t forget — spaces are limited. All experience levels are welcome.
After March 15, there is still an Early Registration Discount, which is 10% off the tuition.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for applying! Hope to see you soon.
The Year of Mud is happy to announce that we are seeking an intern during the 2012 building season. We are offering a rare natural building internship opportunity — the chance to help build a straw bale house from the ground up, and to participate in two complete natural building workshops in an inspiring ecovillage community.
Interns will help to organize and get full participation in our Timber Frame Workshop, and Straw Bale Workshop. Come experience what it is like to build a natural home from step one at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage!
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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Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This website is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. In 2012, we started offering Natural Building Workshops, so you can learn essential hands-on skills to build your own natural home.
