Natural Building/Asian Timber Framing Workshop with Jay C. White Cloud

This is much more than a workshop, it is a career opportunity.

Do you dream of building gorgeous hand-built homes of natural materials?

The Asian timber framing workshop is going to be held from August 10th to the 20th in Richmond, Utah. The cost for the workshop and lunch for those 10 days is $625. We will be building a walipini style greenhouse with attached workshop.

We will also be providing free entry into the workshop and a one month apprenticeship for up to 2 aspiring natural builders. These will be selected on the basis of eloquence and desire, not experience!

Send me a PM if you wish to pursue either of these options.

Bill, what is the lodging situation? Are there places to stay near by? Hotels, camp grounds, ect?

Brad,
There is camping in my neighbor's field at the back of the orchard or in the national forest that is 5 minutes drive away.
map
There aren't many hotels in Richmond, but plenty close by.

There have been several requests for the apprenticeships, but only one actual application; member Gabriel Grace sent me such a nice application, that he has been selected for this amazing opportunity.
Congratulations Gabe, we look forward to meeting and working with you.
Please apply now, as I am impulsive when I read a beautiful response like this and I may just award the apprenticeship early like I did for Gabe.

I'm kind of surprised that there aren't more people signing up for this. The cost for the workshop and lunch really couldn't be lower and the quality of instruction in my opinion couldn't be higher.
Jay C. White Cloud's advice on these forums has been indispensable to those of us seeking more and more natural techniques that are rooted in the cultural humus of our common human ancestry. The level of expertise in historical architecture alone is greater than many with PhD's in the field; then there's the mastery of tools, materials, awareness, etc. Jay is the full package, the real deal. There are very few of these masters left.
This workshop or apprenticeship will start with design and continue on through materials acquisition, foundation/drainage, framing, services, roofing and plastering. The core of the workshop is Jay's specialty the Asian style time frame on podii foundation with scribed posts and horizontal support structure.
Lunches are included at our favorite little diner, LD's Cafe.



Raised-Earth-Foundations
Topics that Jay has started
Some images of Jay's work on the web


I can be reached at enviroconutah@gmail.com

Bill, are you taking deposits? I'm about 90% sure I'm going. I just need to get the time off work thing figured out.

Hi Brad,

Yes, sorry I have not made this more clear. Deposit is $250. There is no late/early; registration is based on first come, first served and a maximum of 10 participants.

Jay will be camping on site and that is what I recommend for all participants that are able to sleep on the ground. RVs are welcome, but if there are too many, you will have to park up the street.

This workshop will be the starting point for a series of workshops that we have planned. They will include smaller workshops like this and then there will be workshops for building your own home. If you attend one of the small workshops, the fees for it will be applied to a workshop on your property where Jay and I help you design and build your own natural home from locally obtained materials. We hope to build up a core of attendees that all build their own homes and help others build theirs. We see this as the optimal vehicle for passing on as much knowledge as possible, while leaving a trail of mortgageless naturally built homes. Even more hopeful is to inspire other natural builders to say no to the wealthy clients that we usually work for and accept low wages and hard work in trade for communities of freed people helping others to be more like them.

Bill Bradbury wrote:I'm kind of surprised that there aren't more people signing up for this. The cost for the workshop and lunch really couldn't be lower and the quality of instruction in my opinion couldn't be higher.
Jay C. White Cloud's advice on these forums has been indispensable to those of us seeking more and more natural techniques that are rooted in the cultural humus of our common human ancestry.

Very true. I'd love to go to his workshop, but I'm on the wrong continent at the time

Hi Rebecca,

Just because you can't come, doesn't mean you can't learn!

The hands-on portion of this workshop will be for attendees of course, but the reading and designing portion is open to all who would like to participate. I feel that someone could learn quite a lot from this and the photos of the building process that I will be posting as we go. Please ask questions and participate fully, even if you didn't pay.


The second book is Complete-Japanese-Joinery

I would love to be at this!!! But can't leave the farm as I am the "hired"help... When can I host one of these??!! Jay is an amazing source of knowledge, I want to watch him build.

Hello Skye,

Thanks for your interest, we are not going to schedule anything more for this year, but if you have a project ready for next year, send me an email and we'll talk.

If there are any others out in Permie land that would like to host a workshop; we are looking for projects for next year.

If you have land that you would like to live on, but no home yet; Jay and I would love to come out and help you build your own natural home from locally sourced materials. We are reducing our labor rates to the minimum that we can exist on, so as many people as possible can build their own home, help others to build their own home and go on to teach the principles learned to coming generations. We will bring nearly every tool necessary and assist with design and permitting process to ensure a smooth and pleasurable build.

If you don't know us from Permies, Jay and I bring over 70 years of combined construction experience and a deep knowledge of the land and the way elemental forces interact within a home. We are both in high demand by the rich, but we don't feel this is the path that we are called upon.

I believe that with this program, we can produce natural homes that are fully integrated into the land for around $20/sq ft.

Hi Bill and Jay,

Is this still happening? There haven't been any posts in here for a while so I wanted to jumpstart the conversation.

Hi Chris,

I have been speaking to Bill Bradbury over the past few days about attending the workshop, so I can reassure you that it's still on, and that Bill intends to post some more info here soon!

I would be so down with this! Sounds so cool, but alas my wife is due August 25th

The possibility of having you (Bill and Jay) build our house in a workshop style sounds intriguing to say the least. I just came upon this thread today...
We are in a situation of seeking financing for land and house via a construction to perm loan which necessitates code compliant plans for review by the city and bank/assessor are you able to help in this regard? Also the bank needs a licensed contractor to build it. One of the lots we're looking at has some nice looking fir trees, not too old but straight. I thought they'd be fine for building with but we'd need someone to grade and stamp them.

Hi Tim,

I will send you a PM about this.

All Blessings,
Bill

Since there have been so few updates, I wanted to bump this up and hear where you are in the process? What is the design of the building? Any sketches available? Any more info you can provide?

Thanks

Well here's a start.

I am very sorry to have to reschedule the workshop for spring of next year.

My shop caught fire and the fire spread to my home. The damage is extensive, but there were no injuries and I have excellent insurance. If you have sent a deposit, your check went up in the fire.

If you still would like to work with Jay and I, e-mail and we'll talk. I don't have electricity, so internet is only available at the coffee shop and I rarely get a chance to get here. I'll post more when I can.

All Blessings,
Bill

Oh, wow, I'm so sorry that happened, Bill, but very glad that no one was hurt. I wish you all the best as you rebuild your home and regain your equilibrium. Take care of yourself!

Thanks Jen,

I'm still in awe of the incredible force of fire! The speed and ferocity with which it engulfed the entire structure is terrifying to witness.

so sorry that has happened, Bill and thankful no one was hurt.....it must be hard to shift to rebuilding rather than all of the other projects you have going on.

Bill,

As the previous posters said, sorry to hear about the fire and glad to hear no one was hurt.

Keep us posted when you can


Paul

Bill : Sorry about the fire ! Yes, a fire is both an incredibly powerful Living and Breathing thing, several things must have conspired in your favor
to allow you a decent salvage !

Good Luck ! Big AL

I'm sorry to read about the fire, i was scrolling down to see workshop pics and was so sad to see a fire damaged shop & home instead!! I wish you well as you re-build. I do want very much to do a workshop here!!! A barn, or the small home (one whole month with Jay teaching!!) workshop would fit us to a 't'. I dont know how to pm anyone but I can try calling Jay!

@Bill Bradbury - I hope you are safe and warm. With three months under your belt after this mishap, hopefully you've got a good roof over your head. Best of luck in recuperating those loses that insurance can't replace.

I greatly appreciate the plans that were laid out for the workshops.
I'd love to attend one eventually.

However, I am currently planning to build with slip-form and possibly Durisol blocks, fire being one of the reasons I want to avoid the beautiful wood work that Jay C. and crew creates. Another reason is that I'd heard of folks taking chainsaws to log cabins when they go to break in.

I will be watching for your posts and hoping all is well.

Thank you ever so much for the kind wishes and heartfelt sympathies, we are well on our way to a full recovery. The fire was terrible, but we are clearing out a lot of the BS that has accumulated in the house over the last century, so all is for the best (thanks Farmers).

I was going to have Jay WhiteCloud work on the house with me, but he just stopped answering my calls and never showed up; putting me well behind schedule, so we are not going to be putting on any workshops together or anything else for that matter.

All Blessings,
Bill

Hey Bill, glad to hear all is well and good to see you back....We need more talented folks like yourself.