Introduction to Earth Building at Kelmarna

INTRODUCTION TO EARTH BUILDING
with Eddie Chambers

Join us at Kelmarna Community Farm for this weekend-long hands on earth building intro. A cob oven is an excellent introduction to earth building materials and methods, all transferable to larger structures. This workshop will start with foundations and work through walls, base (floor), insulation, ventilation, door, and roof. You'll get plenty of practice helping mix cob and construct the oven hearth. Saturday:

Day 1: Sat 18 April 9.30am - 4pm

9.30-10.30am - Cob mixing practical

-Tea-

11-12pm - Blackboard session

      ⁃     History of earth building

      ⁃     Types of earthen and natural buildings

      ⁃     Material science (clay, sand, fibres)

      ⁃     Cob oven building - technical lesson

12-1pm - Build hearth, mix cob
-Lunch-

1.30-4pm - Sand dome, lay thermal layer, mix cob

Day 2: Sun 19 April 9.30am - 4pm

9.30-10.30am - Brick arch doorway, lay cob, install flue

-Tea-

11-12pm - Blackboard session

      ⁃     NZ Earth building codes

      ⁃     Building consent and exemptions

      ⁃     EBANZ and global movement

      ⁃     Local leaders and examples

12-1pm - Mix/lay cob, mix clay plaster

-Lunch-

1.30-4pm - Finish cob dome, clay plaster practical

What to expect:

Come explore the wonders of earth building with passionate earth builder and structural engineer Eddie chambers. In this workshop Eddie will facilitate an introduction to earth building, using a cob oven build as a model. This workshop will cover the basics of earth building and earth building materials, a demonstration of some earth materials and methods, and the theory behind building a cob oven. Then we will get stuck in and put new knowledge to the test to construct the base and hearth of a cob oven. Attendees will come away with:

• How to identify, harvest and process wild clay for earth building

• What natural fibres and sands you can use to create cob

• Hands-on cob building techniques (plenty!) 

• How to build your own simple, low-cost earth oven at home.

Tickets include:

• theoretical and practical introduction to earth building materials and cob ovens

• access to learning material and additional resources

• hands on learning through doing

This workshop includes a shared lunch on both days. Please bring a plate of food to contribute.

We look forward to seeing you on the farm soon!
Kelmarna Community Farm Workshops Program.

Take a look at our other workshop offerings.

Please refer to the Kelmarna Community Farm Workshops policy for terms and conditions.