EARTHSHIP WORKSHOPS IN GOOLWA SA, 29 JAN - 24 FEB 2021
Earthship Goolwa (this is what we are building!)
Goolwa, South Australia
2 week option: Friday 29th January – Wednesday 10th February 2021
2 week option: Friday 12th February - Wednesday 24th February 2021
4 week option: Friday 29th January - Wednesday 24th February 2021
Weekend Warrior Options:
Friday 29th January – Sunday 31st January 2021
Friday 5th February – Sunday 7th February 2021
Friday 12th February – Sunday 15th February 2021
Friday 19th February – Sunday 21st February 2021
2 week option: Friday 29th January – Wednesday 10th February 2021
2 week option: Friday 12th February - Wednesday 24th February 2021
4 week option: Friday 29th January - Wednesday 24th February 2021
Weekend Warrior Options:
Friday 29th January – Sunday 31st January 2021
Friday 5th February – Sunday 7th February 2021
Friday 12th February – Sunday 15th February 2021
Friday 19th February – Sunday 21st February 2021
- Experienced instructors
- Tyre wall building
- Earthtubes (the zero energy, natural air conditioning system)
- Bottle brick making
- Cob stomping
- Learn about Earthships and have a go!
- Food, water and campsite provided
- Participate and contribute to community life
- Earthship tour (at Earthship Ironbank)
- The workshops focus on practical, hands-on exercises but there is also theory and information sessions and discussions.
EARTHSHIPS
Earthships are super energy and water efficient homes that are typically off-grid but can also be grid connected. This means little to no water and electricity bills plus the empowering feeling of self-sufficiency!
They are made with natural materials such as earth and straw and up-cycled materials such as tyres and bottles.
An array of amazing and beautiful design features integrate 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 do yourself 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:
Earthship Biotecture USA official website: www.earthshipglobal.com/
Earthship Eco Homes official website: www.earthshipecohomes.com.au/
Earthship Ironbank official website: www.earthshipironbank.com.au/
Earthship Australia (community group based in VIC): www.earthshipaustralia.org.au/
Earthships are super energy and water efficient homes that are typically off-grid but can also be grid connected. This means little to no water and electricity bills plus the empowering feeling of self-sufficiency!
They are made with natural materials such as earth and straw and up-cycled materials such as tyres and bottles.
An array of amazing and beautiful design features integrate 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 do yourself 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:
Earthship Biotecture USA official website: www.earthshipglobal.com/
Earthship Eco Homes official website: www.earthshipecohomes.com.au/
Earthship Ironbank official website: www.earthshipironbank.com.au/
Earthship Australia (community group based in VIC): www.earthshipaustralia.org.au/
THE PROMO VIDEO!
COPYRIGHT – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Music: Jiffy Robertson, Lyrics: Jiffy Robertson & Amy Mackenzie, Video production: Jord Edmeades.
Why Earthships? Why a workshop? Suburban Earthships! The video below explains...
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
THE WORKSHOP
This workshop is designed to introduce you to the Earthship concept and give you some hands-on experience so that you can evaluate how an Earthship may be appropriate for you - if you are thinking of doing something similar one day, or just interested in learning more about the movement, this workshop will be a great way to understand what is involved with owner-building a super sustainable home and running an Earthship workshop.
It will also introduce you to like minded souls and be an entry point into the wonderful world of natural building!
The workshop is intended for reasonably fit and healthy people capable of getting physical on a construction site.
If this is not your cup of tea then please consider booking in for a guided tour of Earthship Ironbank or a BnB stay.
Gain hands-on experience with a range of Earthship construction techniques including:
Opportunities to ask all your Earthship questions and contribute to energising discussions related to the movement with like minded individuals.
Free Camping
Free camping is included to help participants who are not within easy driving distance although you are very welcome to camp even if you are local and we would love to have you in our camping community space! As a “Weekend Warrior” you are welcome to camp at our community campsite space for the Friday and Saturday evenings.
Food
All food and water will be provided on work days. The majority of the meals will be nourishing vegan and vegetarian food. On rest days (see THE SCHEDULE below) you are welcome to use the camp kitchen but will need to provide your own food. During the rest days we would encourage you to explore the area and support local businesses and cafes.
Drinking water will always be available.
All meals will be orchestrated by our amazing Master Chef who will teach YOU how to make the kitchen hum! There will be a roster for either food preparation or cleaning duties (your choice). Expect to be on "kitchen duty" a couple of times a week as a means of contributing to the community rhythm and flow.
Transport
You will need to provide your own transport to Goolwa, although you may be able to share rides via some organising - a Facebook page will be setup to facilitate this. There will be limited camping space for vans, buses, caravans etc so please indicate if this is your preferred method of camping on your application form. We will fit in as many as possible! We encourage you to bring your bike/skateboard/unicycle to get between the community campsite and the Earthship construction site, as they are about a 10minute cycle, or a 4 minute drive away from each other. It will also be possible to walk/cycle/skate into the main street from our campsite and the build site.
THE VENUE(S)
The construction site is in Goolwa, South Australia, a 1hr drive south of Adelaide, right next to the Coorong. The word ‘Goolwa’ means “elbow” in the Indigenous Ngarrindjeri language, and refers to a bend in the Murray river near to where the Murray mouth is located. The Earthship will be built on a level, suburban block, opposite a green space and with the wetlands just around the corner. The block is next to some friendly neighbours and is walking distance to the river.
The camp site is nearby with basic camp kitchen, portable toilets and shower stalls and a hang out space which will double as a classroom for presentations on all things Earthship, natural building, permaculture, community building etc. We will enjoy creating our own mini community in this space, and look forward to it becoming home for us all!
The Tour will be at Earthship Ironbank which is a bed and breakfast in Ironbank in the Adelaide Hills, 40min drive from the CBD and airport, co-located with Marty and Zoe Freney’s strawbale home on 4 acres where they have established a permaculture property. This pioneering project has broken new ground in Australia, inspiring many other similar projects. It demonstrates that you can get council approval for an “Earthship”, it shows how the Earthship can be adapted to suit local conditions (and regulations) and it enables people to experience off-grid Earthship living. The tours will happen during the rest days on Friday’s of the workshop. Weekend Warriors are welcome to meet at Ironbank earlier in the day on Friday and then continue down to Goolwa to set up camp in the evening.
THE STUDENTS
We are looking for open-mined, fun-loving people with the desire (and the capability) for some hard physical labour. Earthships can be built with machines or with people power. There is no right or wrong way to do it, but one great advantage of people power is that they are powered by a renewable fuel (called food) rather thank stinky, dangerous, non-renewable fossil fuels.
THE TUTORS
Martin Freney is one of world's most enthusiastic and prolific Earthship builders, designers and researchers. In fact Michael Reynolds, Earthship god-father, 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 wildly popular BnB. When he is not teaching product design and sustainable design at the University of South Australia (part time) he is designing, building and researching Earthships. 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.
Charles Swain has engaged in the University of life completing multiple phds with many high distinctions (self marked). He has spent the better part of the last five years travelling Australia in a troopy with a dingo, building Earthships, cooking on a fire and living under the stars. The five years before that were not much more stable either, travelling the world, living in strange places and shaping perspectives from even stranger strangers. The most important developmental time perhaps spent in the shadows of South Africa. In 2015 after flying into Vancouver, buying a van to live in and driving the 10,000kms to New Mexico. He attended the Earthship Academy in Taos, New Mexico and has worked on a variety of Australian Earthship projects throughout Australia (SA, NSW, TAS). To say he enjoys a challenge is simply a way to cover up the fact that he downright refuses to take the paths already well travelled. He and his partner are currently living near Willunga, in a 40 foot school bus, with four dogs and a beautiful baby boy!
Jim Martin completed the Earthship Academy in Taos, New Mexico in 2015 and has been involved with the construction of Earthship Ironbank, Well-grounded Earthship in Marulan NSW, and a tonne of other natural builds throughout Australia. He enjoys exploring methods of learning, and creatively conveying the lessons country, and its custodians, have to share in his artistic endeavours. He has been a part of group exhibitions in Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania and completed his first portrait for the Archibald Prize this year.
Bryan Carman is a designer and project facilitator with a focus on sustainability. He has led a number of creative builds/fit-outs around Adelaide including: Ancient World Bar, Tuxedo Cat, Degroot Coffee and Arthur Arthouse. Bryan started his Earthship journey in 2009 volunteering for month build in Texas. Since then he’s graduated from the Earthship Academy and worked on Earthships in Colorado, Adelaide and NSW. Other sustainable projects include: building water treatment for a home in Kadita Eco village Israel, running geodesic dome building workshops, working for EcoShelta Sydney, and assisting sustainable pioneer Art Ludwig prototype an earthquake-resistant mud home. Bryan recently completed a Permaculture Design Course with Jeff Lawton at his ‘Greening the Desert’ site in Jordan.
Jack Hillman is chief of food, our master chef. He has lots of experience with catering at music festivals and other events and is keen to pass on his skills to you. We met Jack on the Earthship Inman Valley project and, although he pounds a mean tyre, he also magics a mouth watering pizza! So you will meet Jack on the tyre wall and in the kitchen too!
ANNOUNCING NEW "COMMUNITY CREW" MEMBERS!!!
These new crew members have attended past Earthship workshops and are now volunteering their time to step into leadership roles, both on the worksite and around the campsite by facilitating the daily rhythms and flows of community life.
Ellen Clements is one of the wonderful Earthship Inman Valley Earthshippers. She masterminded the camp kitchen and was a keen construction worker too, but perhaps her greatest contribution was her gorgeous laugh and the energy she brought to the Inman Valley workshop. Ell is studying architecture and will no doubt become a wonderful architect (or biotect!). Welcome to the team Ell!
Luke Marshall is an amazing musician (check out his new Album here), a civil engineer, and has building experience through working as a concreter and earthship construction experience via the recent Earthship Inman Valley workshop. He was recently awarded the Level Devil award for his fiendish attention to detail when it comes to getting the levels on the construction site right! He levels a sweet tune on the guitar too!
Brooklyn Mabbott is a passionate horticulturist and crafty-creative who has demonstrated that she has the vigor and strength for Earthship construction and education at Earthship Inman Valley - welcome to the crew Brooklyn! She is also the pioneer of an amazing new fashion: cob moccasins! (see photo above - first photo in the Inman Valley slide show).
THE HOST & ORGANISER
Amy Mackenzie is our super energetic, up-beat, and visionary host. She is the inspiration and star of the "Come To Amy's" YouTube video (credit also to Jiffy Robertson who is the musical genius and Jord Edmeades who is the cinematographer genius). Amy wants to help mainstream Earthships, especially in the suburbs and her project will be a wonderful, pioneering example of what can be done on a residentially zoned block. Amy has been to the Earthship Biotecture training in Taos New Mexico, USA and has worked with GIVE Volunteers in Nicaragua building a school from plastic bottles, and in Nepal rebuilding homes after earthquakes. She is super excited to be breathing life into her personal dream and cannot wait to meet other like minded, passionate and up-lifiting individuals who want to journey with her on the adventure!
THE DESIGN
Earthship Goolwa is essentially an "open-ended" Earthship floor plan with strawbale walls at each end of the building. This design was developed to suit this small suburban block. In what is potentially a world first (!) the berm of the Earthship has been reimagined as a wastewater disposal area that will turbo charge the cooling tubes! It follows all the usual Earthship design principles. It is off grid for power and sewage and an existing mains water supply can be used in an emergency to top up the rainwater tanks. Council approval is in progress and we are confident this will be in place any day now! See the floor plan and images below.
This workshop is designed to introduce you to the Earthship concept and give you some hands-on experience so that you can evaluate how an Earthship may be appropriate for you - if you are thinking of doing something similar one day, or just interested in learning more about the movement, this workshop will be a great way to understand what is involved with owner-building a super sustainable home and running an Earthship workshop.
It will also introduce you to like minded souls and be an entry point into the wonderful world of natural building!
The workshop is intended for reasonably fit and healthy people capable of getting physical on a construction site.
If this is not your cup of tea then please consider booking in for a guided tour of Earthship Ironbank or a BnB stay.
Gain hands-on experience with a range of Earthship construction techniques including:
- Learn the art of “tyre pounding” using tyres and earth as inexpensive, sustainable building materials!
- Learn how to make beautiful bottle bricks from "waste" materials which bring colour and light into your home!
- Learn how to evaluate soil type and then mix it up with sand and straw to make super sustainable and versatile cob and adobe (a special type of mud!)
- Learn how to install earth-tubes.
- Learn how to do some basic carpentry by making a picket fence from old pallets
- Have a chance to be creative with tiles and mosaics
- Cooking in a camp kitchen
- Organising a workshop
- Creating a positive community
- The chance to offer your own mini workshop session in an area you are passionate about (eg: dance, yoga, art, music, skills etc)
- Experience and explore the local surrounding areas
- Natural & up-cycled construction materials
- Passive/natural heating and cooling
- Off-grid power, water and sewage treatment
- Food production
- Council approval
- Design
- Structural engineering
- Energy assessment
- Construction timeline
- Costs
Opportunities to ask all your Earthship questions and contribute to energising discussions related to the movement with like minded individuals.
Free Camping
Free camping is included to help participants who are not within easy driving distance although you are very welcome to camp even if you are local and we would love to have you in our camping community space! As a “Weekend Warrior” you are welcome to camp at our community campsite space for the Friday and Saturday evenings.
Food
All food and water will be provided on work days. The majority of the meals will be nourishing vegan and vegetarian food. On rest days (see THE SCHEDULE below) you are welcome to use the camp kitchen but will need to provide your own food. During the rest days we would encourage you to explore the area and support local businesses and cafes.
Drinking water will always be available.
All meals will be orchestrated by our amazing Master Chef who will teach YOU how to make the kitchen hum! There will be a roster for either food preparation or cleaning duties (your choice). Expect to be on "kitchen duty" a couple of times a week as a means of contributing to the community rhythm and flow.
Transport
You will need to provide your own transport to Goolwa, although you may be able to share rides via some organising - a Facebook page will be setup to facilitate this. There will be limited camping space for vans, buses, caravans etc so please indicate if this is your preferred method of camping on your application form. We will fit in as many as possible! We encourage you to bring your bike/skateboard/unicycle to get between the community campsite and the Earthship construction site, as they are about a 10minute cycle, or a 4 minute drive away from each other. It will also be possible to walk/cycle/skate into the main street from our campsite and the build site.
THE VENUE(S)
The construction site is in Goolwa, South Australia, a 1hr drive south of Adelaide, right next to the Coorong. The word ‘Goolwa’ means “elbow” in the Indigenous Ngarrindjeri language, and refers to a bend in the Murray river near to where the Murray mouth is located. The Earthship will be built on a level, suburban block, opposite a green space and with the wetlands just around the corner. The block is next to some friendly neighbours and is walking distance to the river.
The camp site is nearby with basic camp kitchen, portable toilets and shower stalls and a hang out space which will double as a classroom for presentations on all things Earthship, natural building, permaculture, community building etc. We will enjoy creating our own mini community in this space, and look forward to it becoming home for us all!
The Tour will be at Earthship Ironbank which is a bed and breakfast in Ironbank in the Adelaide Hills, 40min drive from the CBD and airport, co-located with Marty and Zoe Freney’s strawbale home on 4 acres where they have established a permaculture property. This pioneering project has broken new ground in Australia, inspiring many other similar projects. It demonstrates that you can get council approval for an “Earthship”, it shows how the Earthship can be adapted to suit local conditions (and regulations) and it enables people to experience off-grid Earthship living. The tours will happen during the rest days on Friday’s of the workshop. Weekend Warriors are welcome to meet at Ironbank earlier in the day on Friday and then continue down to Goolwa to set up camp in the evening.
THE STUDENTS
We are looking for open-mined, fun-loving people with the desire (and the capability) for some hard physical labour. Earthships can be built with machines or with people power. There is no right or wrong way to do it, but one great advantage of people power is that they are powered by a renewable fuel (called food) rather thank stinky, dangerous, non-renewable fossil fuels.
THE TUTORS
Martin Freney is one of world's most enthusiastic and prolific Earthship builders, designers and researchers. In fact Michael Reynolds, Earthship god-father, 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 wildly popular BnB. When he is not teaching product design and sustainable design at the University of South Australia (part time) he is designing, building and researching Earthships. 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.
Charles Swain has engaged in the University of life completing multiple phds with many high distinctions (self marked). He has spent the better part of the last five years travelling Australia in a troopy with a dingo, building Earthships, cooking on a fire and living under the stars. The five years before that were not much more stable either, travelling the world, living in strange places and shaping perspectives from even stranger strangers. The most important developmental time perhaps spent in the shadows of South Africa. In 2015 after flying into Vancouver, buying a van to live in and driving the 10,000kms to New Mexico. He attended the Earthship Academy in Taos, New Mexico and has worked on a variety of Australian Earthship projects throughout Australia (SA, NSW, TAS). To say he enjoys a challenge is simply a way to cover up the fact that he downright refuses to take the paths already well travelled. He and his partner are currently living near Willunga, in a 40 foot school bus, with four dogs and a beautiful baby boy!
Jim Martin completed the Earthship Academy in Taos, New Mexico in 2015 and has been involved with the construction of Earthship Ironbank, Well-grounded Earthship in Marulan NSW, and a tonne of other natural builds throughout Australia. He enjoys exploring methods of learning, and creatively conveying the lessons country, and its custodians, have to share in his artistic endeavours. He has been a part of group exhibitions in Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania and completed his first portrait for the Archibald Prize this year.
Bryan Carman is a designer and project facilitator with a focus on sustainability. He has led a number of creative builds/fit-outs around Adelaide including: Ancient World Bar, Tuxedo Cat, Degroot Coffee and Arthur Arthouse. Bryan started his Earthship journey in 2009 volunteering for month build in Texas. Since then he’s graduated from the Earthship Academy and worked on Earthships in Colorado, Adelaide and NSW. Other sustainable projects include: building water treatment for a home in Kadita Eco village Israel, running geodesic dome building workshops, working for EcoShelta Sydney, and assisting sustainable pioneer Art Ludwig prototype an earthquake-resistant mud home. Bryan recently completed a Permaculture Design Course with Jeff Lawton at his ‘Greening the Desert’ site in Jordan.
Jack Hillman is chief of food, our master chef. He has lots of experience with catering at music festivals and other events and is keen to pass on his skills to you. We met Jack on the Earthship Inman Valley project and, although he pounds a mean tyre, he also magics a mouth watering pizza! So you will meet Jack on the tyre wall and in the kitchen too!
ANNOUNCING NEW "COMMUNITY CREW" MEMBERS!!!
These new crew members have attended past Earthship workshops and are now volunteering their time to step into leadership roles, both on the worksite and around the campsite by facilitating the daily rhythms and flows of community life.
Ellen Clements is one of the wonderful Earthship Inman Valley Earthshippers. She masterminded the camp kitchen and was a keen construction worker too, but perhaps her greatest contribution was her gorgeous laugh and the energy she brought to the Inman Valley workshop. Ell is studying architecture and will no doubt become a wonderful architect (or biotect!). Welcome to the team Ell!
Luke Marshall is an amazing musician (check out his new Album here), a civil engineer, and has building experience through working as a concreter and earthship construction experience via the recent Earthship Inman Valley workshop. He was recently awarded the Level Devil award for his fiendish attention to detail when it comes to getting the levels on the construction site right! He levels a sweet tune on the guitar too!
Brooklyn Mabbott is a passionate horticulturist and crafty-creative who has demonstrated that she has the vigor and strength for Earthship construction and education at Earthship Inman Valley - welcome to the crew Brooklyn! She is also the pioneer of an amazing new fashion: cob moccasins! (see photo above - first photo in the Inman Valley slide show).
THE HOST & ORGANISER
Amy Mackenzie is our super energetic, up-beat, and visionary host. She is the inspiration and star of the "Come To Amy's" YouTube video (credit also to Jiffy Robertson who is the musical genius and Jord Edmeades who is the cinematographer genius). Amy wants to help mainstream Earthships, especially in the suburbs and her project will be a wonderful, pioneering example of what can be done on a residentially zoned block. Amy has been to the Earthship Biotecture training in Taos New Mexico, USA and has worked with GIVE Volunteers in Nicaragua building a school from plastic bottles, and in Nepal rebuilding homes after earthquakes. She is super excited to be breathing life into her personal dream and cannot wait to meet other like minded, passionate and up-lifiting individuals who want to journey with her on the adventure!
THE DESIGN
Earthship Goolwa is essentially an "open-ended" Earthship floor plan with strawbale walls at each end of the building. This design was developed to suit this small suburban block. In what is potentially a world first (!) the berm of the Earthship has been reimagined as a wastewater disposal area that will turbo charge the cooling tubes! It follows all the usual Earthship design principles. It is off grid for power and sewage and an existing mains water supply can be used in an emergency to top up the rainwater tanks. Council approval is in progress and we are confident this will be in place any day now! See the floor plan and images below.
LOGISTICS
Ideally there will be 30 students supervised by 5 instructors. With 35 people onsite we will get a lot done!
The minimum for the workshop to run is 20 students.
More students = more instructors = more fun! Please enroll early (and get the Early Bird discount!)
See the Terms and Conditions below for further info.
SAFETY
It is very important we all stay safe and have a great workshop. Safety is everyone's responsibility! We all need to have a "White Card". This is the minimum safety training for working on a construction site.
If you already have a White Card - great! You can claim a $110 discount on your workshop ticket.
If you don't have a White Card yet, we are trying to make it as easy as possible for you to get one and have organised face to face White Card training on Friday 29 Jan 9am-5pm. The cost of your workshop ticket includes the White Card training with a local training organisation.
We encourage you to investigate the various options that are available for both online White Cards and face to face training - typically half a day of training. If you decide to organise your own White Card training, make sure the training is offered by a legitimate registered training organisation "RTO".
White Cards obtained from interstate are valid in South Australia! Hooray!
More info about White Cards from SafeWorkSA www.safework.sa.gov.au/licence-and-registration/apply-renew/white-card
WHAT TO BRING
SAFETY GEAR, WORK CLOTHES & TOOLS
CAMPING
Camping facilities include:
OTHER THINGS TO BRING
*optional
THE SCHEDULE
Typical Work Day
7:00am - Wake Up
7:30 am - BREAKFAST and Travel to Earthship build site
8:30am - Morning Meeting and Safety Talk. Yoga and Stretches
9:00am - Begin Earthship construction
12:00pm - LUNCH at the worksite
1:00pm - Earthship construction
3:30pm - Worksite clean up
4:00 pm - Free time for beach swims, exploration, rest, showers etc
6:00pm – Opportunity Space for offering personal workshop sessions (Dance/art/music etc)
7:00pm – DINNER at the campsite
8:30pm – Varied and optional evening activities including Q&A sessions, quiz nights, party nights, movie nights etc.
Rest Days
There will be two opportunities for a tour of Earthship Ironbank during the rest days to ensure you get a chance to see Australia's first council approved Earthship. On rest days you can also go and explore the beautiful Fleurieu south coast (great surf beaches, the Coorong, Lake Alexandrina, Victor Harbour, Middleton, Port Elliot, Deep Creek Conservation Park, The Heysen Trail, etc), or hang out at the camp site or explore Goolwa.
Dealing with Hot Weather
Due to the potential for very hot days we will play it by the weather so the actual days worked may vary; however, we will aim for what is shown in the calendar below.
- Working days shown in red.
- Resting days shown in green.
- White Card training day for those who need it shown in black.
Ideally there will be 30 students supervised by 5 instructors. With 35 people onsite we will get a lot done!
The minimum for the workshop to run is 20 students.
More students = more instructors = more fun! Please enroll early (and get the Early Bird discount!)
See the Terms and Conditions below for further info.
SAFETY
It is very important we all stay safe and have a great workshop. Safety is everyone's responsibility! We all need to have a "White Card". This is the minimum safety training for working on a construction site.
If you already have a White Card - great! You can claim a $110 discount on your workshop ticket.
If you don't have a White Card yet, we are trying to make it as easy as possible for you to get one and have organised face to face White Card training on Friday 29 Jan 9am-5pm. The cost of your workshop ticket includes the White Card training with a local training organisation.
We encourage you to investigate the various options that are available for both online White Cards and face to face training - typically half a day of training. If you decide to organise your own White Card training, make sure the training is offered by a legitimate registered training organisation "RTO".
White Cards obtained from interstate are valid in South Australia! Hooray!
More info about White Cards from SafeWorkSA www.safework.sa.gov.au/licence-and-registration/apply-renew/white-card
WHAT TO BRING
SAFETY GEAR, WORK CLOTHES & TOOLS
- Work boots - preferably steel cap safety boots
- Gloves (ninja gloves AND rubber safety gloves are recommended)
- Work clothes
- Sun screen
- Sun glasses (and/or safety glasses)
- Hat
- Water bottle
- Change of clothes/shoes
- Camping gear (see below)
- High-vis vest or shirt.
- NOTE: Any other PPE that you need will be supplied
- tape measure***
- sharpie pen***
- pencil***
- notebook***
- tool belt***
- multi tool***
- knife***
CAMPING
Camping facilities include:
- toilets
- outdoor, covered, kitchen with water and electricity for phone charging
- 4G phone services
- shower stalls for hanging solar shower bags in (BYO solar shower bag)
- beach and river is close for a cleansing plunge
- Community space for facilitating Q&A sessions and offering creative workshops
OTHER THINGS TO BRING
- tent or swag
- ground sheet (tarp to go under swag or tent)***
- tent pegs and hammer
- warm sleeping bag
- warm clothes
- beach stuff (bathers, beach towel, Frisbee)
- air mattress***
- pillow
- towel
- toiletries
- torch and/or head torch
- solar phone charger***
- mosquito repellent***
- solar shower bag***
- teddy bear*
- midnight snacks*
- drum, guitar, didgeridoo, flute...*
- camping chair*
- any other glamping essentials such as coffee tables and LED lights*
- dress-up costume for a “Jungle-themed ” party night and a “Tie-Dye/Fluro” Fiesta ***
*optional
THE SCHEDULE
Typical Work Day
7:00am - Wake Up
7:30 am - BREAKFAST and Travel to Earthship build site
8:30am - Morning Meeting and Safety Talk. Yoga and Stretches
9:00am - Begin Earthship construction
12:00pm - LUNCH at the worksite
1:00pm - Earthship construction
3:30pm - Worksite clean up
4:00 pm - Free time for beach swims, exploration, rest, showers etc
6:00pm – Opportunity Space for offering personal workshop sessions (Dance/art/music etc)
7:00pm – DINNER at the campsite
8:30pm – Varied and optional evening activities including Q&A sessions, quiz nights, party nights, movie nights etc.
Rest Days
There will be two opportunities for a tour of Earthship Ironbank during the rest days to ensure you get a chance to see Australia's first council approved Earthship. On rest days you can also go and explore the beautiful Fleurieu south coast (great surf beaches, the Coorong, Lake Alexandrina, Victor Harbour, Middleton, Port Elliot, Deep Creek Conservation Park, The Heysen Trail, etc), or hang out at the camp site or explore Goolwa.
Dealing with Hot Weather
Due to the potential for very hot days we will play it by the weather so the actual days worked may vary; however, we will aim for what is shown in the calendar below.
- Working days shown in red.
- Resting days shown in green.
- White Card training day for those who need it shown in black.
THE PLAN
We are aiming to complete the tyre wall and the "capping beam" (or "bond beam") on top of the tyre wall which involves bottle wall construction, steel reinforcing and concrete. We will be making bottle bricks but may not make enough progress to build actual bottle walls - this might have to wait until a subsequent workshop. We plan to do some pre-fabrication of some carpentry elements as part of the workshop. Time and weather permitting we will also prepare for the floor slab which involves a STRAWBALE "waffle pod" method which will be very interesting (and unusual). Other hopes for the workshop will be to construct a picket fence from recycled pallets, creatively mosaic tiles for around the planter beds, design a unique and Earthship inspired letter box and build a composting system.
A workshop planned for Easter 2021 will follow on with strawbale walls, bottle walls, internal light earth walls, planter construction and more!
A workshop planned for Easter 2021 will follow on with strawbale walls, bottle walls, internal light earth walls, planter construction and more!
THE TICKET PRICES
Early birds - book early and get a 10% discount
Purchase your ticket before 15 Jan 2021 to receive the Early bird discount.
Concession & Student Price - 10% discount
If you have a Student or Concession Card you get a 10% discount - you will need to send a photo of your student/concession card.
20% DISCOUNT!
Early Bird PLUS Concession/Student discount = 20% discount!
White Card Discount
If you have (or will soon have) a valid White Card - save $110 (subtract this from the fees below).
Master Chef's Helper Discount 100% discount (FREE!) - THESE POSITIONS HAVE BEEN FILLED - NO LONGER AVAILABLE - SORRY! These are intended for people who are a) financially not able to pay the full fee and b) willing to help out in the camp kitchen on a daily basis, however there will still get plenty of time on the construction site. Only two tickets available.
2 Week Workshop
Regular Price $900
10% Discount $810
20% Discount $720
4 Week Workshop
Regular Price $1400
10% Discount $1260
20% Discount $1120
Weekend Warrior
(Saturday and Sunday work days with optional camping Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights)
1 weekend = $320
2 weekends = $490
3 weekends = $660
4 weekends = $820
(Please be aware that Weekend Warriors must also have their White Card to be able to attend any weekend workshop”)
Discounts apply to Weekend Warriors too!
TERMS AND CONDITIONS - PLEASE READ!
REGISTRATION AND TICKETS
Step 1 Fill Out Online Application Form
Step 2 Purchase Ticket Online - YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1 - ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
Please fill out the online application form by clicking on the REGO FORM button below. We need your contact details and would like to understand a little bit about who are, what you like to eat, why you want to attend the workshop etc. You also need to accept the terms and conditions.
Early birds - book early and get a 10% discount
Purchase your ticket before 15 Jan 2021 to receive the Early bird discount.
Concession & Student Price - 10% discount
If you have a Student or Concession Card you get a 10% discount - you will need to send a photo of your student/concession card.
20% DISCOUNT!
Early Bird PLUS Concession/Student discount = 20% discount!
White Card Discount
If you have (or will soon have) a valid White Card - save $110 (subtract this from the fees below).
Master Chef's Helper Discount 100% discount (FREE!) - THESE POSITIONS HAVE BEEN FILLED - NO LONGER AVAILABLE - SORRY! These are intended for people who are a) financially not able to pay the full fee and b) willing to help out in the camp kitchen on a daily basis, however there will still get plenty of time on the construction site. Only two tickets available.
2 Week Workshop
Regular Price $900
10% Discount $810
20% Discount $720
4 Week Workshop
Regular Price $1400
10% Discount $1260
20% Discount $1120
Weekend Warrior
(Saturday and Sunday work days with optional camping Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights)
1 weekend = $320
2 weekends = $490
3 weekends = $660
4 weekends = $820
(Please be aware that Weekend Warriors must also have their White Card to be able to attend any weekend workshop”)
Discounts apply to Weekend Warriors too!
TERMS AND CONDITIONS - PLEASE READ!
- No refunds (with the exception of the organisers postponing or COVID related issues - see point 2 below). Please be sure you have made all the necessary arrangements before you apply and make payment. If necessary, you may transfer your place in the workshop to another suitable person (who has been accepted via the online application system) but your payment is non-refundable.
- In the event of lack of interest (less than 20 enrolments), mishap with council approval, bushfire, extended heat-wave, pandemic shut-down/border closures/quarantine, or other calamitous event, the workshop will be postponed in which case you can decide to receive a 95% refund (5% is retained to cover administration expenses), or you can hold onto your ticket and attend the workshop on the new (postponed) dates.
- In no circumstances will your travel expenses be refunded.
- You have 48hr to make payment after you receive the email confirming that your application was successful. After that, your place in the workshop may be offered to someone else. Please pay promptly.
- 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 workshop activities (including camping) and will forfeit their payment for the workshop.
- Sexual or racial harassment will not be tolerated.
- If you are under 18 years of age you must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who has also purchased a ticket to the workshop.
- All participants must complete the online application form and agree to these terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are duplicated in the online application form.
REGISTRATION AND TICKETS
Step 1 Fill Out Online Application Form
Step 2 Purchase Ticket Online - YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1 - ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
Please fill out the online application form by clicking on the REGO FORM button below. We need your contact details and would like to understand a little bit about who are, what you like to eat, why you want to attend the workshop etc. You also need to accept the terms and conditions.
STEP 2 - PURCHASE TICKET
If your application is successful, you will receive payment instructions via email. You will know if your application is accepted within 7 days.
If your application is successful, you will receive payment instructions via email. You will know if your application is accepted within 7 days.