Our Courses

We offer training and education on natural building through both theoretical and practical courses. These cover a range of topics looking at sustainability in the built environment, from design and planning to project management, through to learning the practical skills to build with natural materials.

Our courses welcome folks of all building abilities, and our build sites are renowned for attracting wonderful, welcoming people, so you’ll feel at home, no matter whether you’re a beginner or an experienced craftsperson. 

Some courses may be advertised at short notice because we often work with self-builders who may not be able to give a long lead-in time. We will advise all trainees of course dates by email as they are confirmed.

Upcoming Dates

COURSE
LOCATION AND DATES
COST

Straw Bale Building – 5 Day Course

TBA – Expression of Interest

£350 – Sponsored / income over 30k rate
£250 – Individual rate
£125 – Subsidised rate

Clay Plastering – 5 Day Course

Kilham, East Yorkshire | 09-13 June 2025

£350 – Sponsored / income over 30k rate
£250 – Individual rate
£125 – Subsidised rate

Lime Plastering – 5 Day Course

TBA – Expression of Interest

£350 – Sponsored / income over 30k rate
£250 – Individual rate
£125 – Subsidised rate

Intro to Natural Building – 3 Day Course

Tod College, Todmorden | 4, 5, 6 June 2025

£250 – All 3 days
£90 – Individual days

Car Tyre Foundations – 3 Days

TBA – Expression of Interest

£290 – Sponsored Rate/Income over 25k rate
£150 – Individual rate
£75 – Subsidised rate

Theory Courses – 4 x 1-day Seminars

  1. Preparing to Build with Bales 
  2. Designing your Straw Bale Building
  3. Technical Details for Straw Bale Building
  4. Natural Plasters

TBA – Expression of Interest

£360 – All Theory Seminars
£180 – Two consecutive day bundle
£100 – Individual days

Learn more about our courses

Straw Bale Building – 5 Day Course

Our Straw Bale Building course covers the practical aspects of building with straw, and by the end of the course, participants will have gained both knowledge and hands-on construction experience

Clay Plastering – 5 Day Course

An in-depth dive into clay plastering, where participants will learn practical skills to take into their own building or careers. Including getting your mix right and proper tool use.

NEW DATES AVAILABLE!

Lime Plastering – 5 Day Course

A practical focused workshop teaching the preparation and application of lime plaster, also known as lime render. Explaining the conditions needed for long-lasting, durable results.

Intro to Natural Building – 3 Day Course

A series of 1-day introductions to straw bale building, clay plastering and lime plastering – Available separately or as a complete course. The perfect springboard for any natural builder

NEW DATES AVAILABLE!

Car Tyre Foundations – 3 Days

Utilising a bountiful waste product for low-impact, cement free foundations. Learn about tyre selection, levelling, filling and more. The ultimate DIY foundation choice.

Theory Seminars – 4 x 1-day

Comprising four 1-day seminars diving into the details of self-build project management, building with straw bales, technical details for straw and introducing natural plasters (clay and lime)

Our booking office

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Testimonials

What Our Learners Say

The entire experience was a highlight, I loved every minute of it: contributing to making something on a new (huge!) scale; working with my hands; the idea that we’re building in a timeless, sustainable way; the inclusive and considered approach to building; working outdoors in the fresh air with natural materials; being part of a really diverse and respectful and supportive team; seeing our progress every day and feeling proud of that; knowing there is so much more to learn – and being excited by the future – while having learnt so much already; being the oldest person on site but never being made to feel past it! ; learning through doing – with a really brilliant, patient and lovely tutor.

Straw Bale Participant – 2024

I think the format you chose to run the course worked really well for establishing a good community, presenting opportunities to get to know different members of the group throughout the week. I also felt the pacing of learning and practical worked really well. I was really impressed by how thoroughly the information was imparted.

Lime plastering participant – 2024

Being able to learn from Barbara in both how to build a quality house, but also in how to live my life in a more generous and caring way. I think that Barbara is an amazing person.

Straw Bale Participant – 2024

For even more inspiration and information, check out Barbara’s book. Our self builders, and the architects we advise, all say this book is invaluable as a resource to understand how to build with straw. It covers the whole building process, from foundations to internal plastering. Barbara has been designing and building with straw for 25 years – this book is a distillation of all her knowledge and experience. Originally published in 2002 it has never been out of print – revised in 2009 and 2015, the last revision taking in details of how to compress straw walls and how to build the roof first when doing load-bearing buildings.

Thinking about hosting a course?

Are you a community group or a self-builder planning to construct a straw bale building? The School of Natural Building is here to help bring your vision to life. We offer a range of hands-on training courses that integrate directly into your build process, providing invaluable skills while advancing your project.

Learn More