Kick start Natural Building in Sweden!

This summer we are offering a 10-day natural building intensive in Gnesta, Sweden. During the workshop we will build a timber frame straw bale construction with a reciprocal turf roof. We will be using wood and clay harvested and processed on site, as well as straw bales from local farmers. The course is going to be focused primarily on building but also including community building exercises, classroom study and the opportunity to learn about Permaculture design from a permaculture expert.

We will be transforming our old run-down pump house into a beautiful, hand sculpted sauna/wash room that will greatly improve the quality of life on our farm and improve our ability to host more workshops, courses, and community building events. Whilst this building will eventually be utilized as a multi functional utility room, this practicum will empower participants with an interest to build their own home in the local and traditional vernaculars that sit lightly in the landscape with deep respect for human needs and ecological impact.

Sauna Layout :

We plan to get all building permissions and lay the foundation before the course begins. In order to do this we estimate we will need 3500 dollars. The planning permission alone will cost 700 dollars and the remaining 2800 will be used to lay the foundation and improve the water system. The number of participants in the build will be limited for quality assurance, and income from this is projected to cover the cost of the main build. By having this foundational part of the project funded we will be able to ensure that the course participants are getting the full benefit of their building experience and the opportunity to learn in way that is most effective. By funding this campaign you are also funding all of them!

By gaining building permission for this type of structure in Sweden we hope to pave the way for other natural builders in our extended local green-community. We are engaging in active dialogues with the city about this build specifically and our sites full development plans. We have a good relationship with the commune, especially since our extended community opened a thriving shop to act as a hub for local ecological producers. We would also be the first project in Sweden to get approval for building a reciprocal roof, and the impact of this build will have beneficial affects for many others in the locality. To set such a paradigm of possibility for our neighbors, and ourselves and allow for natural building methods to be used legally, would further the already emerging permaculture movement in our region.

More information about the Natural Building course can be found here:
http://www.integralpermanence.org/natbuildinfo.html

Funding this building project also has some remarkable long-term benefits. The sauna-building project is a kick-start to our sites Permaculture master plan. We are developing our farm with the goal of being a living example of ecological living, sustainability and permaculture education.