Complete Cob Guest Cottage at the RoundHouse Retreat in North Carolina (Murphy)

Date/Time
Date(s) - Sunday, May 5, 2024 - Sunday, June 9, 2024

HOST & LOCATION

THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED AND WE HAVE ONE PLACE LEFT IN OUR CALIFORNIA WORKSHOP JULY 21-AUGUST 25 AND A FEW MORE 2024 WORKSHOPS ONLINE SOON! PLS SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL LIST BY WRITING CLAUDINE@CRUZINCOBGLOBAL.ORG TO BE ALERTED WHEN NEW WORKSHOPS ARE ANNOUNCED!

 

My name is Amy and I’ve been managing my off-grid mountain retreat near Murphy for almost 20 years, learning about solar and micro-hydro power, native plants, and alternative building as I go. I first worked with cob while living in Athens, GA in the early 2000’s by participating in a workshop where we built an environmental education school for children. I’m happy to report that it is still standing and in daily use! I am thrilled to work with this material again! I have 2 dogs, Oscar and Wille Nelson, two cats, Bubbles & Squeak, and a pet goat named Carl. I play fiddle, contradance, and sing, and have recently discovered competitive paddleboarding, which means I never do any of my chores anymore!

Currently, my property has a 2000 round foot, two-story round house, a smaller barn with an apartment on the second floor, and a larger barn ready to host medium- to large-sized workshops. It is situated on 25 pristine acres with a rushing stream, several springs as a water source, and it backs up to 80,000 acres of national forest. The cob dwelling we will build together will be on the highest mountain top on the property and will ultimately serve as additional retreat housing for visitors.

Over the last 2 decades, my retreat has served as a respite for me as a caregiver to both parents through protracted illness. I am now focused on turning this into a retreat center where others can also enjoy the peace, deep rest, and tranquility I have enjoyed on this property. My grand vision includes hosting retreats for caregivers who may not have the time or the means to get a much needed break, hosting retreats for refugee or new immigrant families, teaching alternative energy workshops, and hosting tai-chi, yoga, and chi-gong workshops. Perhaps most importantly, the Roundhouse Retreat will have goats, as Carl needs some more friends and goats are amazing emotional support animals.

The area surrounding this retreat is replete with lakes, rivers, and streams for paddling, swimming, fly fishing, etc. It is located between the Nantahala Gorge, where the famed Nantahala Outdoor Center provides ample opportunity for whitewater sports, and the Ocoee River, home of the 1996 whitewater Olympic races. Close by are the Tellico River, Lake Hiwassee, and Lake Chatuge as well as several waterfalls and majestic mountain hikes. The John C. Campbell Folk school is also only 20 minutes away, where you can experience hundreds of different folk arts including blacksmithing, weaving, fabric art, and Appalachian music classes. The Folk School hosts square and contra dances regularly and has a gift shop of student and instructor art.

During the evenings and weekends during this workshop, you can expect live music sessions, yoga or tai-chi classes, discussions on building your own off-grid set-up, and paddleboard and kayak instruction. We will put together multiple itineraries for hiking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, fishing, and paddling, though you will need to bring your own equipment or rent on site and find buddies within the group to play with. We can also help you organize your own perfect weekends in the gorgeous NC mountains. Join us in Murphy and let’s get DIRTY!

 

 

GALLERY

 

THE PROJECT

 

We will be building a 14m2/150ft2 round cob bungalow/cottage for our Host Amy that will be rented out to guests who want to experience off-grid living and learn solar, micro-hydro and other independent living technologies.  This will be Amy’s first 100% Natural Building on the site. The main house is made out of handcrafted kiln-dried cedar cordwood with a super high R-value and concrete between the logs. Students in this Advanced Cobber Certification training will, as always, learn all the steps to building a complete cob building from scratch: digging the trench and building a stone foundation and pouring the floor in week 1, building the monolithic cob wall with all its detailed insertions in weeks 2 & 3, sculpting the wall in week 3, plastering in week 4, building the completed roof in weeks 4 & 5 and finishing the wall and the second floor coat at the end of week 5.

 

DETAILED WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

 

The 35-day Advanced Cob Building Workshop consists of 25 days (Monday through Friday) of learning & construction for 4 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon with theoretical instruction (lectures with graphics) on most Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons to complement the hands-on experience.

Students arrive on Sunday between noon and 2pm and settle in. The workshop begins at 4pm with the Opening Circle followed by a Host Site Orientation and Introduction to the Project. Dinner is served at 6pm, and will be followed by an Introduction to the 5-week Workshop by Instructor Josh Burg & Assistant Valerie Østvik.  Monday morning we begin digging the trench for our Cob Building!!!!

Following Breakfast from 7:30-8:15am, the morning learning/building session begins at 8:30 am and lasts until 1pm with a 20-minute snack pause at 11am. Lunch break is from 1pm to 2:30pm, which includes a rest time before the 3-hour afternoon session begins. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays there is a 60-minute lecture, followed by construction time. Tuesdays and Thursdays students begin building again right after the rest time. After class in the afternoon there is a 90-minute break before dinner (served from 7pm to 8pm), in which students are encouraged to stretch, do some type of relaxation/movement practice, go swimming, walking and just relax.

 

There is sometimes a work trade student officially or informally leading yoga and movement practice in the mornings or afternoons (depending on student preference). There will also be 3-4 evenings (once a week) after dinner for showing slides,videos and having Course-related discussions. Other evenings are mostly free and sometimes students offer informal courses in their specialties and passions. Mondays are reserved for our weekly Council Circle, where we do a deeper sharing and listening to attend to the inner worlds of our students and staff during this intense experience.

On weekends students are free to explore the area, rest onsite, and even continue building, with Instructor approval.  All weekend meals are provided by students who can use the kitchen.  Host and other students can carpool into town for weekend food provisions.

The 35-day Course will offer practical learning by building a complete 15m2 curvilinear building from foundation to roof, as 
described in the “Project” section. Those who complete the 35-day Workshop will receive an Advanced Cobber Certificate of Completion for Foundation, Cob Walls (which includes Door, Windows, Shelves, Art, Electrical Housing & Plumbing preparation), Floor, Plaster & Roof.

 

 

DAILY SCHEDULE

 

The Advanced Cob Building Workshop begins on a Sunday at 4pm and ends on a Sunday, 5 weeks later, after the morning Closing Circle & Brunch. Students can arrive a day or two before to acclimate and settle in (please let us know) but will need to cover their own food
 needs unless a work trade is approved by Host (to be decided closer to the date).

The daily schedule (subject to slight modifications due to climate/time of year) will be:


7:30-8:15 Breakfast


8:30-1:00 Class


1:00-2:30 Lunch


2:30-5:30 Class (Lecture on MWF’s)


5:30-7:00 Rest/Yoga


7:00-8:00 Dinner


8:00-9:00 Slides/Videos/Discussion (once a week)

Students are expected to be on time and participate in all sessions and required activities as the goal of building a full construction depends on the whole group working together!

 

COURSE CONTENTS

 

Students will learn every phase of building a cob building from foundation through the reciprocal roof in hands-on building and lectures/theory. In addition to the lectures,
slideshows and videos will be shown to support and enhance their understanding of cob materials, cob building, design, geography, budgeting, business options and legal issues.

Our hands-on practice will include:

digging foundation trench
pouring gravel and inserting drainage pipe (if applicable)
building foundation stemwall
analyzing soils and materials
making test bricks
deciding on correct mixture
deciding on best location
making cob w/ partner and solo
building with cob
preparing and inserting the door
preparing and inserting fixed and opening windows
preparing and inserting shelves
inserting bottle windows, glass and other objects
inserting electrical housing and outlet/switch boxes (when applicable)*
insert PVC pipe for plumbing in walls (when applicable)*
sculpting
preparing and applying earthen plaster (1 coat)
pouring an earthen floor (2 coats)
preparing walls for roof connection
building reciprocal roof frame
putting on roof sheathing and other elements
installing green roof
making small-scale cob designs of future projects, time permitting

In addition to Cob Building practices, the Course material
also includes:

legal cob construction practices & the international cob code (Appendix AU in the IRC)
cost analysis
creating a cob business (building/teaching)
assisting, interning and teaching with CruzinCobGlobal

*While the insertion of electrical housing and one or more outlet/switch boxes and PVC pipes to hold plumbing are always included in the workshops, the simplicity or complexity depends on the host’s design and preferences. There will be no electrical wiring or plumbing pipes installed during workshop. That is beyond the focus of this course and requires professional experience and certification/licensing.

 

 

REQUIREMENTS & IMPORTANT INFORMATION

 

Students will need to come prepared for demanding physical work from Day 1.

This includes bringing:

Work clothes appropriate for the country and climate we are in
Work boots or other closed-toe shoes (for foundation and roof)
Flip-flops (for cobbing/plaster days)
Rubber dishwashing gloves (for lime mortar)
Work Gloves (for stone work)
Tape Measure
Box Cutter
Wood Hand Saw (cheap)*
Level (2ft)*
Hammer*
Japanese plastering trowel(s) (email:goldhillclayplaster@gmail.com)
Ear Plugs (roof week)
Wood Chisel*
4”-6” Diameter Round Plastic Container Lids (for plastering)
Good Moisturizer
Hat
Sunglasses
Water Bottle
Notebook/Pen/Camera
Safety Glasses
Carpenter Pencil & Sharpener
Sample of your Soil (optional)

Any other power tools like skilsaw, grinder wth metal blade, cordless drill, chop saw…will be very welcome if you are driving in.

*These tools will be very helpful to bring if you can, to minimize sharing and waiting, but if you can’t the Host will provide them of course.

 

 

***VERY IMPORTANT***

 

These workshops are designed for people that want to learn how to build a complete structure from start to finish in a professional manner and amount of time. They are very intensive and, while we make time for yoga, stretching, dancing, music, relaxing….all students are expected to be present and participating in all building/learning hours unless ill or have some other significant reason. This is because we design the size of the building
 and organize the structure of the workshop in accordance with the number of students and when people are absent it impacts the whole group and the other students have to work harder. In addition Instructors try to set up building work according to students’ preferences and learning needs.

That being said, the workshop intensity also changes from week 1 to week 5. The first foundation week breaks people in with the work of moving, lifting, rolling and placing rocks and is a new and demanding physical experience for most students. It also includes
the first layers and coat of cob floor. The second week and part of the third week of cob making and building are similar to the rock foundation week in physical demand but are more flowing and active in movement and cardiovascular exercise. On Thursday & Friday of week 3, the workshop takes a turn and slows down and the body can rest as students tap into their creative source now  and design and sculpt the walls and around niches, shelves, windows, etc.  This is a very special rewarding experience and time of the workshop, decorating the walls with visual beauty and meaning as expressed by each unique student.  Usually there is an overarching theme decided on by Host(s).

Plastering follows sculpting and is also an enjoyable more lightweight physical experience that lends itself to talking and sharing at the wall in a meditative rhythm as the students have bonded and shared deeply through a variety of experiences for a month. On day 5 of week 4, the roof begins.  This part is the beginning of a change of pace from the earthen building work to carpentry skills, power tools, drilling, hammering, screwing, trimming, etc. But now the workshop is in its final stretch and there is a boost of energy to wrap up the roof, close the top of the wall, and tend to finishing touches….the grand finale.

For students wanting a more mellow slow-paced cob experience along with time for personal exploration and experimentation, these workshops are not for you. However you can find a more suitable workshop online with other organizations that are usually for a
shorter period building a garden wall, a bench, a compost toilet or some other smaller scale project.

Students are required to read “The Hand-Sculpted House” before the workshop begins and any other books they find or listed on our Resources page, ideally on plastering and reciprocal roof building, as well as watching our “International Cob Workshop” videos on Claudine’s YouTube channel, the new educational YouTube series “Building a Mud Home” by Cooper Green, posted by Natural Buildings and created from our North Carolina workshop footage, and the ones posted on CruzinCobGlobal’s website under Gallery, to get an idea of what is expected. Also it is a great idea to watch as many other videos on cob and reciprocal roofs as you can to come mentally prepared. Please bring your book(s).

Students must tend to their own personal needs, drink alot of water, rest when needed and exert themselves at a steady pace. Students who cannot do the strenuous physical work should let us know when registering so we can make sure the workshop is a good fit. If approved before the workshop begins, we can adjust appropriately. It is totally OK to come for the lecture/theory part, and sometimes help the building part in less physically
 demanding ways if you have physical limitations, ie cutting straw, sifting for plaster, hammering nails into frames or shelves, sculpting, plastering, cutting bottles. There is alot to do to support making and building with cob!!!!

Finally, please bring a watch or use your phone to be prompt and ready for each part of the Course including meals. Please make sure you share your dietary restrictions/allergies with CCG in your registration form. Note that very demanding dietary needs will not be
 able to be met (vegan & non-gluten ok) and those students may be recommended not to participate unless they are willing to meet their special needs on their own, which will not include kitchen access on weekdays. Please discuss with Claudine at time of desire to register. Also please bring your essential snacks and foods, pillow and whatever you NEED to be comfortable and happy. Feel free to also bring playlists, speaker, slides, videos,
movies and books to share, as well as a sample of your soil to test.

We look forward to opening you to a whole new world of experience, skill, growth and transformation as you bond with your new COB family for life!

 

INSTRUCTORS

 

Josh Burg

Josh is a natural builder and carpenter, originally from New Mexico and now living in Portland, OR, with a background in conventional construction and DJing large events before he followed his heart’s call into Earthen Building in 2018. Growing up in an adobe home in central New Mexico, earthen architecture has always held a special place in Josh’s soul. A landscaper since the age of 15, Josh studied Environmental Science at the University of New Mexico, and was always drawn back to working with his hands as a builder. Years of conventional building convinced him that the way forward is really to look backwards…to our collective heritage as humans creating homes from the natural materials that surround us. As a teaching assistant in 2022, Josh brought his carpentry experience to help build a community space at CruzinCobGlobal European headquarters in the Azores.

In May of 2023, Josh joined fellow Brazilian Cobber and Instructor Paula Carneiro to co-teach a 5-week full build in North Carolina, where the 12 students completed a beautiful 175 sq ft Cob Home for hosts Molly and Daniel.  This was Josh’s first Instructor position and it opened him to an even greater passion for teaching and leading these workshops.  He learned alot in this first workshop about teaching and managing within a tight schedule and was able to take this experience to lead the next workshop just three months later with an even greater level of confidence and success.  Assisted by Sara Crippen in Tennessee, their group of students completed one of the most beautiful and extensive cob bungalows ever finished in a 5-week workshop!  You can see these builds on the Insta pages for “cruzincobglobal” and “theburglr” Merging the worlds of carpentry, earthen materials, music, and clay-therapy, Josh is excited to be assisted by Valerie, who promises to be an equally fantastic Instructor herself one day!

 

Valerie Østvik

Location: RoundHouse Retreat