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.
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 which includes:
- How to identify a good construction bale
- How to dress and customise bales
- Notching bales
- Load bearing and infill techniques
- Creating reveals around windows and doors
- Making the walls straight
- Compression of the wall
- Preparing straw bale walls for plastering
- and much more!
5 day course
Our Clay plastering course covers the practical aspects of clay plastering onto straw, and by the end of the course, participants will have gained both knowledge and hands-on construction experience which includes:
- The differences between key coat, body coat and finish coat
- How to determine mixes for each type of coat
- A basic understanding of how to process fresh clay into plaster
- The differences between using products and using your own clay
- The benefits of clay plasters & how they can help to combat climate change
- Practical skills for applying key coat and dub out walls
- Use of different types of plastering tools
- Creating curvaceous reveals around windows and doors
- Practical application of body coat
- Finishing techniques
- and much more!
5 day course
Our Lime plastering course covers the practical aspects of plastering onto strawbale walls, and by the end of the course, participants will have gained both knowledge and hands-on experience which includes:
- The differences between key coat, body coat and finish coat
- How to determine mixes for each type of coat
- A basic understanding of the Lime Cycle
- The benefits of lime plasters & how they can help to combat climate change
- Practical skills for applying key coat and dub out walls
- Use of different types of plastering tools
- Creating curvaceous reveals around windows and doors
- Practical application of body coat
- Finishing techniques
- After-care for external lime plaster (render)
- and much more!
3 day course
Our cement-free tyre foundations course covers the practical aspects of setting out and filling this innovative, low impact foundation. By the end of the course, participants will have gained both knowledge and hands-on experience which includes:
- An overview of setting out a building site
- Understanding how different levels affect the foundations
- How to know if your corners are square
- Choosing tyres
- Setting out datum pegs
- Advantages & disadvantages of digging holes vs trenches and how to do it
- How to lay the first tyre and make sure the tyres will all be level
- Filling and ramming a tyre
- Building up the stacks, levelling problems and how to deal with them!
- How to deal with over enthusiastic ramming!
Theory Dates in Todmorden, February
We are returning to Tod College, Todmorden, West Yorkshire. Accessible from Manchester, Leeds and Harrogate. For specific semilar dates, click the button on the right
| COURSE | LOCATION | DATES | COST | BOOKING |
| Practical – Straw Bale Building | TBC | 2025 dates coming shortly | See below | Expression of interest |
| Practical – Clay Plastering | TBC | 2025 dates coming shortly | See below | Expression of interest |
| Practical – Lime Plastering | TBC | 2025 dates coming shortly | See below | Expression of interest |
| Theory – Preparing to Build with Bales | Todmorden | Wednesday 12th February | £100 (Discount bundles available) | Book Here! |
| Theory – Designing your Straw Bale Building | Todmorden | Thursday 13th February | £100 (Discount bundles available) | Book Here! |
| Theory – Technical Details for Straw Bale Building | Todmorden | Wednesday 19th February | £100 (Discount bundles available) | Book Here! |
| Theory – Natural Plasters | Todmorden | Thursday 20th October | £100 (Discount bundles available) | Book Here! |
Some courses may be advertised at short notice because we 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.
Pricing – 5 day courses
The course fee covers all teaching, materials, handouts and refreshments.
£350 – Sponsored/organisation rate
£250 – Individual rate
£150 – Subsidised rate
We endeavour to make our courses and events affordable to all. Subsidised places are limited and are intended for those who truly cannot afford the standard rate. We don’t ask for any proof, but ask that you use your judgement when purchasing. Similarly, with the sponsored rate – if your place is being covered by your employer, we ask that you play a higher rate to provide access to those who need.
Our booking office
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.