Strawbale Workshop

I just got back from a week long strawbale workshop in Geraldine, New Zealand put on by Sol Design, Ltd. A solid week of nothing but strawbale. It was a fantastic group of people, including strawbale experts, builders, plasterers, eco designers, and architectural designers. Twelve of us built a small strawbale structure in a week. I had so many questions after building my virtual house, and they were all answered by the end of the workshop. I highly recommend a workshop before you build. There are things you learn in a workshop that you just can't get from a book. Actually seeing and touching the earth and lime plaster mixes to get a feel for the proper consistencies. getting to build and see all of the fine details, and asking questions while your doing it can't be beat. What a great experience! I am completely confident now that I can build a house myself, except for plumbing and wiring. Its only a matter of endurance at this point. Although the work is very fun, I think it will take a very long time to complete. I am rebuilding my virtual house at the moment with all my new knowledge, and counting the days until I get to Indiana.