What to Expect During an Earthbag Building Workshop

It’s time to play! We’ll be posting a volunteer registration form sometime in the near future. Here are some tips to make your experience safer and more enjoyable!

Wear weather-appropriate outdoor clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.  We’ll be working on a small hilltop field with a shaded tree line nearby, so wear sun protection such as sunscreen or a broad-rimmed hat.  Wear close-toed shoes to protect your feet, and work gloves.  Long pants and boots may be useful.  There actually aren’t many ticks at this exact spot (we should be past the peak season for chiggers, too).

We welcome families to attend and learn with us, but request that you supervise your children, as childcare cannot be provided on-site and there are sharp things and tools which could hurt. Even small children can help fill earthbags, although often it’s more about getting dirty than filling a bag 🙂

What to Bring

  1. A signed release & waiver of liability (sent to you by email after you register for a workshop).
  2. Enough water to keep you and loved ones properly hydrated for the duration of the workshop.
  3. Appropriate clothing and gear, like work gloves.
  4. Your favorite snacks or energy bars.
  5. Bug spray, sunscreen, a folding lawn chair or anything else you think you might need outdoors.

What to Expect

We’ll be building a 660 sq. ft. earthbag cottage on a small grassy hilltop with great views! You can arrive and leave at any time, but to get the most out of a workshop it would be best if you stayed the whole time. It’s entirely up to you. Our workshops last for roughly 4 hours with a break for food and water in the middle, and a break area where you can stop and rest at any time. But you may stay as long as you like.  We try to provide vegan, gluten-free food that’s safe for most people with allergies, but it’s great if you can bring your own food and water.

Here are some video clips of the activities we’ll be doing. These videos were created by the amazing Owen Geiger, earthbag architect who does a lot of good for the environment and refugees. Obviously some of these activities will be slightly different for us, since we’re NOT building a dome nor a rectangular house but a roofed roundhouse designed by Geiger; we’ll have a different fill, and some of our tools might be a bit different. But plenty of these short clips are pretty directly relevant to what you’ll experience at a Ripples workshop.

 



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