Flyers to print: 2015 Schedule 2014 Schedule
JANUARY, FEBRUARY & MARCH 2014
January 3, 2014 First Friday VOLUNTEER DAY. 10a – 3p Help needed on data input, beautification of the Strawbale Studio, and more. RSVP to Deanne Limited to 12 participants. RSVP now !
Jan 5 – Feb 5, 2014 WINTER INTERNSHIP & Worktrade Opportunity! Filled Participate in all workshops during this time : Rocket Stove, Round Pole framing, Reed Collection & Thatching demo, while helping with sustainable living projects at the Strawbale Studio.
Internship $650 or $500 prepaid 1 month in advance. Several Worktrade positions available : help out with infrastructure 10 – 15 per week ( firewood and grounds, cooking & cleaning, office work & publicity). Participate in all other activities.
Christina Keegan writes: “I highly recommend this natural building internship opportunity to anyone. I did this last year and am so grateful for the experience. It’s only one month, very affordable, and you get to live with and learn from one of the best natural builders around. In addition, the activities are chosen based on the interests and learning goals of the participants, and Deanne makes sure to create an egalitarian environment in which everyone learns from and supports each other. “ See Christina’s memories of her experience ’12 – WOOFing at the Strawbale Studio (72 photos).
January 8, 2014 Permaculture Meetup Oakland Co. 6:30p Wednesday evening in Clarkston. Our regional Oakland County Permaculture Meetup will feature a presentation by Emily Eisele who will be covering bulk food buying and establishing a larder/pantry. We’ll follow her discussion with food and conversation! Click link for details.
January 11, 2014 Class Filled – get on a list for next time. ROUND POLE Framing Workshop. Saturday 10a – 5p Learn principles & hands-on basics of round pole framing for small structures. Includes a tour of natural buildings with round poles on site. $45 with RSVP or $25 prepaid 2 weeks in advance. Bring a bag lunch. Limited to 12 students. Click link to Register.
January 15, 2014 FULL MOON Potluck & Bonfire Wednesday 6-10 pm Free Community Event. Tour available. RSVP now !
January 18, 2014 REED COLLECTION & THATCHING DEMO. Saturday 10a – 5p Learn about the basics of thatching a roof, harvest materials, tour thatched buildings, see a demo an video on thatching. Bring a bag lunch. $40 with RSVP or $25 prepaid 2 weeks in advance. Limited to 12 students. Register
January 25, 2014 FIRE & HEAT ! ROCKET STOVES, EARTH OVENS & more. Saturday 10a – 5p Energy efficiency from local materials ! See & experience a Rocket Mass Heater, Rocket Mass Cooker, Hay Box Cooker, Earth Oven & more. Learn the principles of construction. Q & A. Also a tour of the thatched buildings on site. Bring a bag lunch and sample the food we cook together. $40 with RSVP or $25 prepaid 2 weeks in advance. Limited to 12 students. Register now.
February 2, 2014 EARTH PLASTER & SCULPTING. Sunday 10a – 5p Using natural and local soil, we will do earth plaster and sculpting in an conventional home. Make your existing home more natural, or apply these skills to a future natural building or earth oven you construct. Bring a bag lunch. $40 with RSVP or $25 prepaid 2 weeks in advance. Limited to 12 students. Register now !
February 14, 2014 FULL MOON Potluck and Bonfire Friday, 6-10 pm. Click on link for details. Tour available. RSVP !
March 7, 2014 First Friday Activities ! (Cancelled due to weather)
VOLUNTEER Time 1 – 4:30 p . Help the Strawbale Studio serve by assisting on current projects, grounds or data entry. No charge. Click link to Register.
TOUR: Natural Building & Sustainable Living 4:30 – 6:30 p New Monthly Program ! See the Strawbale Studio, Oxford Kids’ Cottage, Smiling Face Earth Oven, Totem Rocket Stove Mass Heater and more. Bring your friends and family. $10/person suggested donation/ group & family rates. Click link to Register.
CRAFT Night 7p – 9:30p Bring your own handiwork to do…whatever ~ mending, fixing, knitting, whittling … plus a snack to share if you wish. No charge. Click link to Register.
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| April 15, 2014 FULL MOON Potluck & Bonfire |
 April 19, 2014 MUSHROOM GROWING Workshop. Sat 9:30a- 3p Instructor Paul Angelini. Learn what you need to know to get started in growing your own mushrooms. In this unique class, participants will learn the history and basics of mushroom cultivation, with a focus on using fresh-cut hardwood logs to grow premium gourmet mushrooms. Learn about what types of logs to use, how to inoculate them with mushroom seeds or spores, and how to care for them, and where to get spores for future mushroom adventures. During this indoor & outdoor class, participants will inoculate a shiitake log to take home (a $35 value), including instructions for basic care and maintenance, and there will be both lecture & hands-on time, including a tour of two mushroom “gardens’ located on the Strawbale Studio property. There will also be spore plugs and growing kits available for sale from Easy Grow Mushrooms, a Michigan-based company. Bring your own bag lunch. FEE $75 “early-bird” by April 10 or $85 thereafter/at the door with RSVP (make sure there’s room in the class!) Class limit of 15 so Register now. |
MAY 2014
– May 2, 2014 FIRST FRIDAY ACTIVITIES at the Strawbale Studio. Registration
May 14, 2014 Oakland County Permaculture Meetup Wednesday 6p. Free community event.
May 15, 2014 FULL MOON Potluck & Bonfire RSVP
May 17, 2014 FORAGED BRUNCH 10a – 1:30 p Learn about an d harvest Wild Plants that you can eat, and experience a Rocket Cook Stove in action as we cook up a brunch of local eggs & add our wild-harvested plants for an omelet! Wrap it all in Injira Sponge Bread… made from local grains and local yeast (home-made sourdough starter). (brown rice or quinoa available as an option.) Tour available. Rain or shine. Limit 12, so Register now. $25 prepaid 2 weeks or $35 with RSVP .Foraged Brunch – video by Justin Holmes
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May 17, 2014 LIVING ROOF WORKSHOP Saturday 2 -5p Come spend some time at the  Strawbale Studio and explore this beautiful roofing option. Learn the principles of construction, see one “wildly successful” living roof on the Wood Shelter, and help plant the roof of the Hobbit Sauna with plants that are foraged from the surrounding land ! Families are welcome. A nice outing ! $20 if prepaid 2 weeks in advance. $30 thereafter with RSVP ! |
May 24, 2014 FIRE & HEAT ! ROCKET STOVE Workshop ! Saturday 10 a to 5p.  Energy efficiency from local materials ! See & experience a Rocket Mass Heater, learn the principles of construction, build a mockup of the Rocket Stove combustion chamber and then mix and apply Cob to an existing Rocket Stove under construction ! You will also see and learn the principles of a Rocket Mass Cooker, Earth Oven, Hay Box Cooker & Solar Cooker. Q & A. Tour the thatched buildings on site. Bring a bag lunch and sample the food we cook together. $25 prepaid 2 weeks in advance or $40 thereafter with RSVP . Limited to 12 students. Register now. |
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JUNE 2014
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June 6, 2014 FIRST FRIDAY ACTIVITIES
1-4:30p Volunteer. 5-6:30p Tour, 7- 9 Craft Evening (see details above) Register now.
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June 7, 2014 THATCHING – An Introduction. Saturday 10a – 5p Learn the principles of thatching a roof, harvesting materials, tour thatched buildings, see a demonstration and try your hand at the basics. We will also watch a video on thatching. Bring a bag lunch. $40 with RSVP or $25 prepaid 2 wks inadvance. Limited to 12 students. Click on link for Registration or any questions.
June 11, 2014 Oakland County Permaculture Meetup
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June 14 (& 15), 2014 EARTH PLASTER & SCULPTING Sat 9a– 6p (Sun. June 15th  10a -3p ~ continue to practice with supervision if you wish.) Try your hand at using natural and local soil to make earth plaster and sculpting. Make your existing home more natural by applying earth over existing walls, or apply these skills to a future natural building or earth oven you construct. You will learn to identify and mix plaster, prep walls and apply, make sculptures & model. Bring a bag lunch. $60 with RSVP or $45 prepaid 1 month in advance. Limited to 12 students. Register now !Instructor, Deanne Bednar is the illustrator of the Natural Plaster Book and The Hand-Sculpted House, and has a background as an art teacher. |
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July 4, 2014 FIRST FRIDAY ACTIVITIES
1 – 4:30p Volunteer. 5 – 6:30p Tour, 7- 9 Craft Evening (see details above).
Let Deanne know you are coming by phone or email and include your name & phone number.
This July 4th we will be preparing the site of Hobbit Sauna addition and starting to dig the foundation trench. Other tasks available, too. We would love your help. Afterwards harvest June Berries and Mulberries, and stay if you wish for the other activities (tour, supper and craft nite). How to get here. Register now. Report on this activity: We had a great time and got a lot done ! Thanks all you volunteers: Micah, Cliff, Serena,Carolyn, Alex, Julia, Sheryl, Sharon, Angela, Sharon (yes, 2), and Pauline !
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July 19-August 1, 2014 The Strawbale & Cob Sauna
Hands-on training includes stone foundations, round pole framing, cob and straw bale, windows and doors, earthen plasters, earthen floors, living roofs, thatching and more. Shade-tree lectures include building code, harvesting materials, natural design, passive heating and cooling. The workshop is being held outside Oxford, Michigan about an hour north of Detroit, on beautiful wooded rural land. Click Here for more details. Sketch of the project.
Register now to save your place and get early bird discounts ! Contact Chris McClellan, Natural Cottage Project, 1-440-221-6609 or email: service@maplecom.com www.naturalcottageproject.com |
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AUGUST 2014
Internship opportunities & Workshops and Intensive Weeksare available and are being planned to teach Thatching, Earth Plaster & Cob and other skills! Call if you know of something you would like to learn, and at this point, a workshop might be able to be arranged around your schedule ! August 8, 2014 FIRST FRIDAY ACTIVITIES 1 – 4:30p Vo – August 10, 2014 FULL MOON Potluck & Bonfire RSVP !
6:00p arrive and tour of grounds. 7:30 Potluck. 8:30 bonfire. Bring musical instruments if you wish. Click on link for details. RSVP
–August 23rd, 2014 HAND PAPER-MAKING & Berry Inks Class with Dana Driscoll Saturday 10a – 4p. (RAIN DATE Please bring a bag lunch. Payment co Discount: $35 prepaid 1 month in advance or $45 thereafter with RSVP. Class limit 15, so Register now. – – August 29 -31 2014 VOLUNTEER WEEKEND ~ Earth Plaster, Cob +Learn and help – |
nfirms your place. Early Bird
for part or all of the weekend Friday 1p – 6p, evening bonfire. Saturday 9 – 6p, evening bonfire, Sunday 9 – 4p. Join with others to help finish the Addition to the Hobbit Sauna and other projects on the land! Camping & indoor space available. Families welcome. Share cooking, bring some food to share if you can. Instructor: Deanne Bednar Worktrade. Donations welcome, but not expected.–
SEPTEMBER 2014
September Internship & Woofing opportunitiesLearn Thatching, Earth Plaster & Cob and other skills while helping to create sustainable projects! Contact Deanne for details. ecoartdb@gmail.com or 248 628 1887. – VOLUNTEER DAYS in SEPTEMBER |
Folks with previous experience are welcome to come free & volunteer. Tour the house & Strawbale Studio, and learn all you need to know to locate, assess and make earthen mixes for plaster & cob. Then enjoy applying hands – on plastering over strawbales on the Hobbit Sauna, and forming a Cob Garden Wall ! Fun and useful in many applications. $20 prepaid or $30 at the door with 
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OCTOBER 2014
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ure Meetupdings and rocket stoves on site, for those who wish ! NOTE: from 1 – 5P there is a SPECIAL ACTIVITY – A PERMABLITZ Help construct a COMPOST FURNACE to heat the STRAWBALE STUDIO ! RSVP –
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NOVEMBER 2014
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 MAY & JUNE INTERNSHIPS 2014 We will finish buildings and a rocket stove, use earthen plasters, cob and thatch ~ as well as maintaining the permaculture-inspired gardens: sheet mulching (lazangna gardening)planting seeds and the Living Roof of the Hobbit Sauna. |
 JULY INTERNSHIP 2014Participate in a very comprehensive and intensive 2 week building course July 18 – August 1 and help prepare for that event the first part of the month (full internship price) or come on a few days before and after the July intensive workshop and pay 1/2 the workshop price (see naturalcottageproject.com) |
 AUGUST through OCTOBER INTERNSHIPS 2014 Earth plastering, cob, round pole construction, thatching and other aspects of natural and sustainable living. Finish current projects. |
 WINTERNSHIP ! Jan 4 – Feb 4, 2015. Participate in all workshops: Rocket Stove, Round Pole framing, Reed Collection, Earth Plaster, Thatching demo, and also harvest reed and participate in sustainable living projects. |
DECEMBER 2014
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–  December 6, 2014 FULL MOON Potluck & Bonfire Saturday day, 6-10 pm 1 – 5p Volunteer afternoon. Help with projects as needed & prep for Potluck ! 6:00p tour of grounds – or come early and relax – read, walk, socialize. 7:30 Potluck. 8:30 bonfire. Bring musical instruments if you wish. Click on link for details. RSVP –
Decem
December 7, 13 & 14 CANDLE & Gift-making ~ classes filled |
ber 7, 2014 class filled as of 11/23 
