Building with Straw Bales Course | Brighton Permaculture Trust

Building with straw bales

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A three-day course run in partnership with Low Carbon Trust and in association with RESET

Date to be announced

All days of the course run 9.00am - 5.30pm in Stanmer Park, Brighton.

(Click here if you would like to be notified about future runs of this course/event.)

This course is for anyone interested in building with straw bales - a cheap, natural, healthy and low impact way of making your own house. This is a practical building course and involves lots of hands-on workshops.

What will the Building with straw bales course cover?

Learn how to build a straw bale structure. This intensive three-day course is designed to inspire you and give you the basic skills required for straw bale construction. The course covers building walls with straw bales, basic carpentry and plastering / rendering. We will try to avoid power tools and people of all abilities are welcome. You will also learn about the environmental and practical benefits of constructing buildings using straw bales.

During the course you will learn:
- How to build straw bale walls
- How to work with straw bales, including shaping, cutting & tying
- Learn about detailing for doors and windows, and how to construct roof structures.
- Learn about plastering & rendering with natural finishes
- Examine existing straw-bale buildings, built using different methods

Who is the course for?

This course is open to anyone aged 16 or over. It will be of interest to architects, planners, builders and engineers, as well anyone thinking about building their own home. It is suitable for complete beginners, as well as those who are familiar with eco-building and want to know more.

Learning methods and outcomes

This is an intensive practical and theoretical course; expect long days of hands-on work with short theory sessions, but also lots of fun. By the end of the course, participants will have an overview of straw bale building, know the basics of designing a straw bale building and have the practical skills to build a straw bale structure.

Accreditation

Continuing Personal or Professional Development (CPD) accreditation is available for this course/event which is accredited by the CPD Certification Service. We can issue a certificate after you have completed the course/event. To find out more, please contact us or visit: http://www.cpduk.co.uk

Course tutor

Ian Brown is the main tutor and has been teaching low impact building and sustainable construction for many years. He currently teaches construction at City College Brighton. He has built various low impact projects and specialises in straw bale building.

Venue

Stanmer Park (near University of Sussex), Brighton. Click here for directions to our meeting point near the church in Stanmer Park.

Click here for details of local accommodation and to find out about Brighton Permaculture Trust supporters who can provide accommodation in their homes.

What you will need to bring to the Building with straw bales course

Bring a note-pad and pencil, warm waterproof clothing, work gloves, a sharp knife (Stanley), tape measure, and some sturdy outdoor footwear you don’t mind getting dirty. Participants are also welcome to bring their own axes if they have them. Please bring food to share for lunch or your own lunch.

Fees

Fees include tuition, handouts and refreshments.

£280 - Sponsored/organisation rate
£280 - Individual income more than 25k/yr
£235 - Individual income 18-25k/yr
£190 - Individual income less than 18k/yr
£145 - Individual, concessionary rate (please read below)

Concessionary rates are available to people in receipt of means-tested benefits (including housing benefit, council tax benefit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, Working Tax Credit (income does not exceed £16,190) and/or Child Tax Credit), full-time students and OAPs. Please bring evidence of this to the course.

We endeavour to make our courses/events affordable to all. Unfortunately we do not receive any external funding for most of our courses/events and as such rely on large amounts of voluntary input to run courses/events.

See the cancellations and refunds policy.

Booking the Building with straw bales course

Booking is essential, as most of our courses/events are fully booked weeks in advance. However, if places are still available, then bookings can be made until midday the day before the course/event. A place is not secured until we have received the requested payment.

Please do not book unless you are able to pay for your place.

Paying for your place

Please read this section carefully, as you could lose your booking.

When you complete the booking process, you will receive a confirmation email from us. If you haven't received that email within the next few hours, please contact us immediately, as this email contains vital information regarding your booking.

You can pay when you book your place using a credit/debit card or PayPal, or you can tick the 'Pay later' box (in the Event Fee section), which gives you the option to pay by BACS or send us a cheque after you have booked.

If you tick the pay later box, you will have 7 days to pay for your place. Bookings that remain unpaid on our system for longer than that will be cancelled. You will receive notification of this cancellation by email. If you then decide you want to come, you will need to contact us to see if there is a still a place available for you.

If you are booking within two weeks of the course, you will not have the option to pay later. Instead, you will need to pay immediately at the point of booking using a credit card or PayPal. This will also be the only option available if the course is nearly fully booked.

Coming soon... register here for the next course

If places are available, you will automatically be taken to the booking form.

Contact Us

For further information or if you have problems with your registration please contact us.