I signed up for the Natural Building Workshop at Dancing Rabbit with my younger sister, Lisa. When she was introduced to the workshop by my son, she was so excited that she invited me to join her. I had had the privilege of living in a strawbale home in the Colorado mountains, so I had familiarity with the numerous benefits, although had not participated in its construction. 

Dancing Rabbit is the perfect place to host this type of workshop as it boasts so many examples of naturally built homes. Some examples worked out better than others, but it’s all part of the learning process. The village is an excellent example of what living sustainably and in community can look like. We all slept so well as we weren’t disturbed by light pollution, human noises, blue lights or Wi-Fi connections. Our meals were shared with other members of Dancing Rabbit, and they were delicious. We felt very welcomed and appreciated.

The workshop itself gave us ample opportunity to learn different methods of natural building, mostly with hands-on experiences. Our group started a straw bale garden wall, added onto an existing cob garden wall and did some final plastering on an interior strawbale wall of a community member’s home. We got to witness first-hand that this type of building is available to all of us. I feel we left with enough skills and knowledge to start a small project at our own homes, like an outdoor clay oven or short wall.

I envision living in another strawbale home. Going forward, I won’t feel intimidated by the construction, but hope to be an active participant in the design and build. I was a big fan of natural building coming to this workshop but feel that I’m now better informed and ready to tackle my next project with more confidence. 
 

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There is still one more Natural Building workshop and another Visitor Program coming up this fall! Our fifth visitor program starts October 9 for two weeks and a three-day natural building workshop starts September 15.

Visit the www.dancingrabbit.org website for more information and to register.