10 – 14 August 2022
Come and join us on this exciting practical clay plastering course in Wales this August. This course is the first of it’s kind in the UK – we will be internally plastering a new self-build house – Nyth Pren – which is built with pre-fabricated EcoCocon straw panels.
Lew and Helen’s ideas were used by Chris Gaunt of Evergreen Architects to design the build, with the straw wall panels made off-site by EcoCocon. The wall panels, roof, joinery and cladding were built by Lew with Helen (when on holiday from work), a friend Stan and occasionally several helpful friends and family. Natural materials include straw, local larch cladding, wood-fibre and cellulose insulation, timber posts and i-joist trusses, clay plaster and local waste stone for landscaping. Although it’s known to sometimes be windy and rainy on Anglesey (!), on a clear day the rear South side has views to Eryri (Snowdonia) mountain range.
The course will cover practical aspects of clay plastering, including:
- How to make clay plaster from raw materials
- Preparing the walls for plastering
- Applying the first coat
- Using jute mesh
- Applying the second coat
- Rubbing up for a finish
- We will also learn to apply ready-mixed clay plaster
Barbara Jones will be your trainer. Barbara set up the School of Natural Building with her business partner Eileen in 2014 and has been teaching on-site for over 20 years. She has lots of experience of strawbale building as well as plastering and many other skills! She will ensure course participants have a wonderful learning experience.
Course dates: 10 – 14 August 2022
Location: Anglesey, Wales
Cost: £200 for 5-day course
Times: We will work from 8:45 – 17:00 each day
Food: Refreshments are included in the price but you will need to bring your
own lunch
Accommodation: You will need to find your own accommodation – we can give you guidance once you have booked
To Book: Please email schoolofnaturalbuilding@gmail.com to confirm a place and send your payment as soon as possible as our courses fill up quickly and we operate on a first come first served basis. We will then send you further details.
Payment should be made by BACs as detailed here:
Nat West Bank
Sort Code: 60-09-27
Account Number: 79606113
Please use reference: Anglesey Clay EcoCocon
Or can be made by PayPal here. Please click ‘Send’, enter the £200 fee, and write the reference ‘Anglesey Clay EcoCocon’ in the notes box.
Or can be made by cheque made payable to School of Natural Building and sent to:
Hollinroyd Farm, Todmorden, OL14 8RJ
The Bigger Picture!
YOU WILL NEED TO BRING WITH YOU (if you have them, we can provide most things except boots and clothing if you let us know):
- Overalls and/or long sleeved top and long trousers that you don’t mind getting mucky
- Waterproof coat and trousers that you don’t mind getting mucky
- Knee pads or trousers with integral knee pads
- A couple of pairs of heavy duty marigold gloves.
- A pair of wrap round safety glasses
- Paper and pencil
- Water bottle