Courses from OUR Ecovillage - April to October

For registration/further information on all of OUR ECOVILLAGE’s courses below please contact: www.ourecovillage.org, info@ourecovillage.org or phone 250-743-3067. 

For immediate payment options please click on http://elkecole.com/registration_form.html.

Design Your Own Natural House: Ecological Design for Homeowners
The first step to making the dream of a natural house your reality is creating a design. From choosing a good site, basics of passive solar design, over space saving strategies to choosing the appropriate materials for your project, we will present ideas, exercises and information, share experiences and support your personal process.

A packed weekend course to get you started

Friday night, Saturday day and evening and Sunday day
Dates: April 18-20, 2008
Facilitator: Elke Cole, natural house designer/ builder
Cost: $200 incl. 2 lunches

Project Manager for Homeowners
Interested in building your own home, or understanding the process of building better? This program will introduce the concepts of Project Management as applied by professional builders, and those that can be used by Owners to make their projects come in closer to schedule and budget. Inter-personal skills such as crew leadership and delegation are reinforced with proper record keeping and briefing materials. Numerous examples of various projects are used to illustrate successful projects and discuss the ways things can go wrong. Follow up short mentoring sessions at OUR ECOVILLAGE through the summer will reinforce lessons and answer the questions that will come up.  House building is a win-win-win proposition if approached with the right attitude and tools.  Lead by Randy Churchill who has built a couple houses for himself and many for others. 

Time:  2 full days
Date:  May 3-4th, 2008
Cost:  $175 includes lunches

Curvilinear Foundations for Sustainable Building
The biggest carbon footprint of a natural home is the "good set of boots." Learn how to construct code approved curvy foundations in a very simple and cost effective way while minimizing the ecological impact. Course will be taught by experienced home builders Gord and Ann Baird of Eco-Sense (www.eco-sense.ca), who have a knack for sustainable systems, curves, structural design and experimentation. Topics covered include interpreting foundation plans, layout methods, Fabric Form foundation setup, re-bar placement, concrete options and more. Emphasis is placed on creative, simple and cost effective methods that can be used and adapted to any foundation.

Time:  5 days with some evening program
Date:  May 21-25th, 2008
Cost:  $500 includes lunches

Building As If People Mattered: A Look at Natural Building As It Meets Conventional Construction
House building has developed from traditional, vernacular, handmade to industrialized, mechanical and highly specialized. The natural building movement brings back to our awareness what we have given up in that process: the personal investment in building one's home, the expectation of a building that is to scale with human need rather than want, the respect for people and place.

Join us for a week of discussion and hands-on practice of natural building techniques.

Each day will contain presentations, discussion and some real physical work to help digest the information.

This course is directed at anyone involved with building, we ask that you read “The Art of Natural Building” or “The handsculpted house” if possible. Be prepared to try unfamiliar things both physical and ideological. You will leave with some answers, more questions and a desire to be part of the solution for a path to sustainability.

Facilitators: Elke Cole, natural house designer/ builder and builders and engineers

Time: 3 days and evenings
Date: June 27-29, 2008
Cost: $ 250 incl. 3 lunches

Frame and Infill Wallsystems
So you have a nice timberframe structure: what's the skin of the building?

Or you've taken the old skin off your framed house and want to “naturalize”?

Natural ways for infill include varieties of working with “light clay,” straw or cob. We'll discuss detailing, finishing options and possibilities while working on the Art Studio walls with light clay.

5 days May 28–June 1, 2008
Instructors: Elke Cole and others
Cost: $ 400 incl. lunches

Building Cob and Community
Cob building is learned quite easily by people from all walks of life. We work together, learn from each other and discover our connections through activity and reflection. Technical learning includes materials, recipes, building instruction, attaching doors/ windows, building arches. We start on foot and will introduce some mechanization along the way.

Age 14 and up
6 days July 2-6, 2008
Instructors: Elke Cole and others
Cost: $500  incl. lunch
 

Natural Plasters for Healthy and Beautiful Homes
Improve the indoor air quality of your home with natural plasters. Clay, our basic material, has inherent qualities to help us create a healthier environment. Its capacity to handle varying humidity levels, absorb odours and toxins, while being easy to use with simple techniques and recipes, makes it desirable for both interior and exterior finishing. These plasters are usable for conventional homes as well as cob, straw or light-clay walls. Participants will learn hands-on mixing and application, materials evaluation and recipes Suggested reading: “The Natural Plaster Book” Guelberth & Chiras, New Society Publishers

Required tools: please inquire
Instructors: Cindy Walker
Weekend Intro to Natural Plasters June 13-15  
Cost: $ 300 incl. 3 lunches
5 days : Beautiful natural finishes June 18- 22
Cost: $ 500 incl. lunches
Cost for both: $700

Introduction to Timber Framing
Spend an energetic weekend learning the basics of timber framing.  Interactive sessions with professional carpenters will get your questions answered, illustrate the spirit of heavy timber construction, and allow you to see/use the tools of trade in a controlled environment. Fundamental layout skills will let you in on the secrets of making joints tidy and solid. This is intended to be an 'exposure' to heavy timberwork only. Two full days w/ lunch at OUR Eco-Village. 

Facilitators: Randy Churchill and/or Higgs Murphy
Time: weekend - 2 days
May 10/ 11 or Sept.13/14, 2008
Cost:  $150 per person, 10 per session (includes lunches)
 
 
Timber Framing Basics - Square Rule
A rewarding week learning the basics of heavy timber joinery with the square rule layout method.  After a half-day of theory and history, attendees will spend the balance of the week laying out, cutting, and assembling a wall section.  Optional sessions will include slide shows, movies, or tool box dump (evenings?).  A hand's on course focused on the theory, practical considerations, and use of hand tools. Limited use of power tools is optional, including 8" & 16" saws, mortiser, planer, etc. A basic tool kit is suggested for attendees. 

Facilitators: Randy Churchill and/or Higgs Murphy
Time: 5 full days, evenings optional.
June 4-8  or August 6- 10
Cost: $500 per person, 10 per session (includes lunch & dinner). 
 

Timber Framing - Hip Roof Example
Not for the faint-of-heart or beginner, this one week session will introduce the basics of compound roof work with large timbers and apply these skills to a hip roof system laid out and cut during the course. Attendees must have basic carpentry skills and be comfortable with simple roof math. Power tools will be used for cutting joinery. Both simple drawing development and analytical approaches will be shown/used. A basic tool kit is suggested for attendees. 

Facilitators: Randy Churchill & Higgs Murphy
Time: week (Mon - Fri) full days.  No evenings as you'll need that time to recuperate.
August 20-24 or Sept. 3-7, 2008
Cost: $600 per person, 10 per session (includes lunch & dinner)
 

Timber Framing Raising - A Celebration of Craft
Join us for the raising of a timber frame created during our spring TF training sessions. Held on a weekend for maximum participation. All TF students are invited/encouraged to return for this event. Limited participation to assure safety of the crew, but a Rope raising is planned so everyone can help somehow. Please stay for the party afterward.

Facilitators: Randy Churchill & Higgs Murphy
Time: Sept. 19/20/21
Cost: None, but please bring something to share for the party afterward. 

Timber Framing for Builders/Contractors
Intended for the professional carpenter, this is a fast paced introduction to timber framing basics.  Friday afternoon is devoted to examples, theory, design, and interaction with other trades.  Full weekend days will see attendees lay out, cut and assemble small frame units appropriate for a porch or ceiling support system. 

Facilitators: Randy Churchill and/or Higgs Murphy
Time: Friday afternoon, Sat & Sun full days
Oct. 3-5, 2008
Cost:  $300 per person, 10 per session (includes lunches)