WEEKEND WORKSHOP
GOOLWA & IRONBANK SA
SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2024
Earthship Workshop
Discover Earthships – sustainable homes built with friends, using repurposed materials like car tyres and bottles. These homes heat and cool naturally, grow food with greywater, and operate off-grid with independent power, water, and sewer systems. Earthships are bushfire-resilient, beautiful, and perfect for owner-builders seeking sustainable solutions.
Join Martin Freney, one of Australia’s leading Earthship experts, with a PhD in Earthship design and builder of the nation’s first council-approved Earthship, and Amy Mackenzie, owner builder of Earthship Goolwa. Amy and Martin will guide you through hands-on construction techniques and answer your questions about making Earthships a reality.
Workshop Details
This immersive 1-day course in South Australia includes tours of two Earthships and practical experience with rendering techniques.
Itinerary
Tickets
Discover Earthships – sustainable homes built with friends, using repurposed materials like car tyres and bottles. These homes heat and cool naturally, grow food with greywater, and operate off-grid with independent power, water, and sewer systems. Earthships are bushfire-resilient, beautiful, and perfect for owner-builders seeking sustainable solutions.
Join Martin Freney, one of Australia’s leading Earthship experts, with a PhD in Earthship design and builder of the nation’s first council-approved Earthship, and Amy Mackenzie, owner builder of Earthship Goolwa. Amy and Martin will guide you through hands-on construction techniques and answer your questions about making Earthships a reality.
Workshop Details
This immersive 1-day course in South Australia includes tours of two Earthships and practical experience with rendering techniques.
Itinerary
- 8:30am – Meet at Earthship Goolwa
- 8:45am - 9:30am - tour of Earthship
- 9:30am - 12:30pm – Rendering workshop
- 12:30pm - 1:30pm – Lunch (included)
- 1:30pm - 4:30pm – Continue rendering
- 5:00pm – Depart for Earthship Ironbank
- 6:00pm - 7:30pm – Ironbank tour + tyre pounding & bottle brick demo
Tickets
- Early Bird, Mighty Network Members: $99
- Early Bird, Non-Members: $119
Sign up for free on Mighty Networks to access the member discount! CLICK HERE - Early Bird deadline: Midnight, Saturday 16 Nov
- After Early Bird:
- Members: $119
- Non-Members: $139
- Half-Price Discount: Available for attendees of previous 4-week workshops (Inman Valley, Goolwa, Ironbank, Willunga) - please get in touch with Marty directly.
STUDENTS
We’re looking for energetic, open-minded people ready to get their hands dirty! Building an Earthship is about teamwork and creativity, using "people power" alongside simple tools. Sure, machines can do the job, but working with others brings more joy (and fewer fumes!). After all, people run on food – the ultimate renewable fuel – while fossil-fuelled machines just can’t match the fun or sustainability of good old human effort.
We’re looking for energetic, open-minded people ready to get their hands dirty! Building an Earthship is about teamwork and creativity, using "people power" alongside simple tools. Sure, machines can do the job, but working with others brings more joy (and fewer fumes!). After all, people run on food – the ultimate renewable fuel – while fossil-fuelled machines just can’t match the fun or sustainability of good old human effort.
EDUCATORS
Martin Freney is one of world's most enthusiastic and prolific Earthship builders, designers and researchers. In fact the inventor of Earthships, Michael Reynolds, refers to him as "the data guy" because of Marty's research that involves monitoring the thermal performance (temperature, humidity) of Earthships. Marty is the designer and owner-builder of Earthship Ironbank, Australia’s first council approved Earthship which is a 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. He recently appeared on the Channel 7 News talking about his research team's latest research on tyre walls - WATCH HERE.
Martin Freney is one of world's most enthusiastic and prolific Earthship builders, designers and researchers. In fact the inventor of Earthships, Michael Reynolds, refers to him as "the data guy" because of Marty's research that involves monitoring the thermal performance (temperature, humidity) of Earthships. Marty is the designer and owner-builder of Earthship Ironbank, Australia’s first council approved Earthship which is a 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. He recently appeared on the Channel 7 News talking about his research team's latest research on tyre walls - WATCH HERE.
Amy first learnt about Earthships when she was working as a Volunteer coordinator for a program in Nicaragua, where they built a school out of plastic bottles filled with sand. She loved that a building could be made from recycled materials and also that the whole community could be part of the build as the process was achievable by all generations. After this project was completed she just googled “trash houses”, discovered Earthships and had a dream to build one of her very own one day!!! She has attended the Earthship Academy in Taos, New Mexico and loved learning more about how Earthships worked, while being surrounded by passionate and like-minded people. When back in her home town of Adelaide, she discovered how lucky she was to have Australia’s “guru” on Earthships, Martin Freney, in South Australia to help her build, and purchased a north facing block of land in Goolwa in 2020. Amy feels so lucky to have been able to action her dream and surrounded by an AMAZING community, completed her Earthship in 2022. Amy loves meeting new people who are excited about sustainable building, and feels excited to share Earthship Goolwa with you!
WHAT TO BRING
SAFETY GEAR, WORK CLOTHES & TOOLS
SAFETY GEAR, WORK CLOTHES & TOOLS
- Work shoes
- Work gloves (leather riggers or latex dipped gardening gloves, whatever you prefer)
- Work clothes
- Sun screen
- Sun glasses (and/or safety glasses)
- Hat
- Water bottle
- pencil
- notebook
- Change of clothes/shoes
- NOTE: Any other PPE that you need will be supplied
TERMS AND CONDITIONS - PLEASE READ!
- No refunds, except in exceptional circumstances (see below). Please be sure you have made all the necessary arrangements to your life before you apply and make payment. If you can't make it to this event for some reason you can use your ticket as credit toward a future Earthship Eco Homes event. Your money won't be wasted!
- In the event of lack of interest, bushfire, extreme weather event, pandemic shut-down/border closures/quarantine, or other calamitous event, the workshop will be postponed or cancelled. If the organisers postpone the event, you can decide to receive a 90% refund (10% is retained to cover administration expenses), or you can keep your ticket and attend on the new (postponed) dates. If the organisers cancel the event, you will receive a full refund.
- Under no circumstances will your travel expenses be refunded.
- Your place in the workshop is finalised on receipt of full payment.
- Participants who are unable to comply with instructions regarding the safe and the orderly running of the workshop will NOT be allowed to participate any further in the activities (including camping) and will forfeit their payment for the workshop.
- Sexual, racial or any type of harassment will not be tolerated.
- If you are under 18 years of age, you must have your parent/guardian's permission (ask them to send an email).
- All participants must complete the online application form and agree to these terms and conditions.
REGISTRATION AND TICKETS
STEP 1 - REGISTRATION
Use this LINK to register and let us know why you want to come and what you like to eat!
Use this LINK to register and let us know why you want to come and what you like to eat!
STEP 2 - PURCHASE TICKET
Buy a non-refundable ticket via the link at the end of the Registration form (step 1). If you can't make it to this event for some reason you can use your ticket as credit toward a future Earthship Eco Homes event. Your money won't be wasted!
Here is the handy LINK to purchase tickets (but please fill out the rego form in step 1)
Buy a non-refundable ticket via the link at the end of the Registration form (step 1). If you can't make it to this event for some reason you can use your ticket as credit toward a future Earthship Eco Homes event. Your money won't be wasted!
Here is the handy LINK to purchase tickets (but please fill out the rego form in step 1)
STEP 3 - GET READY
Put those dates in the diary, get some PPE, and get in touch with Martin if you have any questions. And please, help us spread the word about this workshop - tell your friends!
Put those dates in the diary, get some PPE, and get in touch with Martin if you have any questions. And please, help us spread the word about this workshop - tell your friends!