Designing & Building w Local, Natural Materials, April 5, 1-4:00 PM

"How to Design and Build with Local, Natural Materials"
by Elliott Ridgway of Golden Home Design
When: Sunday, April 5, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Where: Monroe, WA
Cost: $10.00

Elliott Ridgway, owner of Golden Home Design will share slides of his travels to Brazil, Costa Rica and other locations showing construction of earthen ovens (also known as cob ovens), saunas, a timber-framed temple, straw-bale homes, a straw-bale library and more. Natural building, according to Ridgway, can incorporate recycled and reclaimed materials along with the natural techniques, to create low cost, low footprint projects. An open discussion will follow the presentation.

Ridgway’s presentation is part of Alderleaf Wilderness College’s expanding list of courses and events open to the permies. Alderleaf’s goal is to provide holistic education in Traditional Ecological Knowledge. According to Alderleaf director and teacher Jason Knight, this knowledge “is the skills, wisdom and understanding of nature that all of our ancestors had when they lived close to the land in a sustainable way.” Teepees and longhouses might not be realistic in today’s world, but according to Ridgway, modern, natural building techniques are feasible, affordable and quite easy to incorporate. Ridgway’s presentation will illustrate a wide array of the current techniques being used for less toxic and more sustainable homes and structures.

Here's a couple photos.

A cob/earthen wall in Latin America, with air plants growing in wine bottles in the wall:

And Elliott working on earth bags combined with timber framing: