Earthship Pomonal - Building Opportunity

12 Apr - 16 May 2026, Pomonal VIC (Grampians Region)

UPDATED INFO 3 APRIL 2026

In response to a directive from local council regarding the proposed "workshop", it has been necessary to make the following important changes.
  1. This is no longer offered as a structured workshop. It is now a live construction project delivered under the control of a licensed builder. All activities on site relate directly to construction tasks, with participants assisting in the build process. Tasks vary depending on construction requirements, site conditions and builder direction.
  2. Participants assist with hands-on construction tasks under the supervision of the licensed builder. All participants are required to hold a White Card and comply with site safety requirements.
  3. Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation in the surrounding area. No accommodation is provided on site.
  4. The format involves participation in a live construction project under the supervision of a licensed builder. This is no longer a workshop.
  5. Participants will be required to confirm their agreement to this revised format by email. A portion of the original payment will be refunded to account for accommodation and food, which are no longer provided. The remaining amount will be retained as a contribution toward project costs, including insurance required to enable participation in construction activities on site.
  6. A full refund is available if this new format is not suitable. We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

SHEDULE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS

All activities occur as part of a live construction project under the control of the licensed builder, with tasks varying according to construction requirements.

ESTIMATED ORDER OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Week 1: Mon 13 April - Sat 18 April - tyre walls, earth roof construction
Week 2: 20 April - 25 April - tyre walls, earth roof construction, bottle brick making
Week 3: 27 April - 2 May - bond beam, tyre wall rendering, bottle walls, earth roof construction
Week 4: 4 May - 9 May - bottle walls and rendering, start earth floor, plumbing and elec, start greywater planter construction
Week 5: 11 May - 16 May - final render coats, earth floor completion, earth roof completion, greywater planter completion.

Typical Daily Activities may include
8:00-8:30 Check-in re safety
8:30-12:30 Construction
12:30-1:30 Lunch break
1:30-4:30 Construction
4:30-5:00 End of day
NOTE: Activities vary depending on construction progress and builder direction.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. You must work under the direction of the licensed builder.

2. You must present a valid White Card to the builder before you commence work.

3. You must follow the sign-in protocols everyday before entering the site.
EARTHSHIPS
  • Earthships are super energy and water efficient homes that are typically off-grid but can also be grid connected. This means minimal (or zero!) water and electricity bills plus the empowering feeling of self-sufficiency. Due to their energy and water efficiency these buildings require much smaller off-grid systems than comparable off-grid homes. Earthships are ideal for off-grid locations.
  • Earthships are made with natural materials such as earth and straw and up-cycled materials such as tyres and bottles. Other conventional materials as used too: steel, timber, glass, concrete etc - you will learn about all of them.
  • An array of amazing and beautiful design features (sunroom, berm and earthtubes) are integrated ingeniously to ensure that winter sun gets in and summer sun stays out, resulting in glorious indoor living conditions without the need for an air-conditioner.
  • A beautiful indoor food producing garden is also part of the typical (non-tropical) Earthship design.
  • Earthship construction methods are easy to learn so you can save money by putting in your own labour and only pay the builder to do the stuff you can't do. It is ideal for owner-builders.

For more information about Earthships go to:
Amy's Earthship Goolwa - photo credits Amy Mackenzie and Martin Freney
Photos from Earthship Inman Valley Workshop 2020 (photo credits: Luke Marshall, Elliott Clarke, Amy Mackenzie, Kim Kamo
Workshop photos from Earthship Ironbank over the years 2013-2017
Licensed Builder, Eco Building Designer and Eco Tradies
The design and construction team is outlined below. The licensed builder will be directing all works and you will be able to work under his direction and supervision.
Licensed Builder, Jerrard Byrne (Jez), of Creations in Parallel has experience with Earthship construction and a wide range of natural building methods such as strawbale and rammed earth walls. Check out the Creations in Parallel website to get an idea of his previous projects. Jez will be controlling all activity on the construction site and you will need to follow his directions.
Dr Martin Freney is one of world's most enthusiastic and prolific Earthship builders, designers and researchers. Marty is the designer and owner-builder of Earthship Ironbank, Australia’s first council approved Earthship which is a wildly popular BnB. He has designed numerous Earthships throughout Australia via his sustainable design consultancy Earthship Eco Homes. He has visited Taos, New Mexico, USA - home of the Earthship - twice, once as an intern in 2008 and a second time in 2011 as part of his PhD which investigated the thermal performance of Earthships and their eco footprint compared to other types of housing. He has built Earthships with Earthship Biotecture in the USA, Indonesia and Australia.
Jason and Kate from the GhipShip project. What a team! Jason and Kate have been building their Earthship in Mollongghip VIC and have agreed to take a break from it and come and help build Dee's Earthship. Jason and Kate are graduates of the Earthship Biotecture Academy in Taos New Mexico and they have been on other builds including East Augusta WA, and Willunga SA.
Naomi Campell will be masterminding the design and construction of the bottle walls. She has worked on Earthship Inman Valley SA, Earthship Goolwa SA, Earthship Willunga SA, and will be heading to Earthship Burundi (Africa) this year.  She is a passionate and skillful "bottle brick mason" aka "Bottle Queen".
Tommy Dodd is no stranger to a natural building worksite, Tommy has completed the Earthship Academy Course with Earthship Biotecture in Taos, New Mexico, and 3 Permaculture Design Courses in Aus. Worked on Earthship Ironbank in South Australia, 2 Earthships in Tasmania, 1 in NSW, 1 in Victoria. Pounded many a tyre, cobbed many a wall. Run cob oven building workshops in NT, NSW, VIC. Volunteered and worked on some fantastic Natural and Alternative building workshops with really innovative, boundary-pushing, interesting designs. Jan 2026 crewed at Redbank Strawbale Workshop in Vic. Loves a healthy compost dunny and now lives and works (mostly) in Melbourne as a certified carpenter, always striving where possible to practice regenerative, planet-A-friendly ethics in a more mainstream construction environment. Which isn't easy! But is definitely worth trying, and encouraging. Tommy also loves his music, and dabbles in a few projects with talented Melbourne friends including his own Tommy D Tommee D.Tommy Dodd 
Earl (Dirty Earl the Muddy Māori) is a natural building artisan, educator and Earthship specialist who quite literally “lives, breathes, sleeps and eats natural building.” With over 15 years of hands-on experience across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, Earl describes her path as a “journey-man style natural building apprenticeship,” shaped by working alongside leading earth builders, travelling from project to project, and responding to diverse conditions including bushfire, floods, earthquakes and termites.
Earl has been involved in numerous Earthship projects as a specialist contractor, consultant, workshop facilitator and owner-builder support person, including builds such as Candy's Earthship in the Narara Eco Village NSW, the Cygnet Earthship in Tasmania, and Earthship Te Timatanga in New Zealand. Her work spans earthen floors, clay plaster, traditional lime renders, cob, light earth and bottle walls, always grounded in best practice and time-honoured methods.
At Earthship Pomonal, Earl will be constructing earthen floors, earth renders and lime renders.
HOST & OWNER BUILDER
Dee Kelly is the intrepid owner builder embarking on this voyage. Dee's home burnt down in the Pomonal bushfire in early 2024 and she is rebuilding with a bushfire resilient Earthship plus some outbuildings made from shipping containers. Dee is a dedicated and active member of the Pomonal community, driving a sustainable future through her gutsy yet nonchalant leadership. Just do it. Way to go Dee!

DESIGN
Dee's Earthship is based on the EarthBnB design that was built in Willunga SA in 2023 but with a few differences to suit Dee's situation and preferences. Read more about the EarthBnB design on the EarthBnB webpage. 
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