Want to Help Build an Earthship? (December 7 – 13, 2013, Victoria, Australia)

A couple of months ago I wrote about the ecovillage project that I am involved in, a project that is based on the vision of radical simplicity expressed in Entropia. I am uber excited to announce that our first build for the ecovillage is going to be an Earthship-inspired ‘mini-ship’, taking place this December in Victoria, Australia. Want to be involved? Read on!

Earthships and other natural building methods are capturing the world’s imagination. Earthships Australia – a group of highly skilled and experienced Earthship builders – is offering an Earthship-inspired workshop this December in Victoria, Australia. Applications have just opened, so if you want to be a part of this exciting adventure, inspired by Earthship Biotecture, here’s your chance! No experience necessary.

This workshop will teach you practical skills, such as building with natural and recycled materials, including tyre, bottle and can walls, and you’ll also learn about thermal/solar heating and cooling, and natural plastering. You will be learning from a team of facilitators who have built many Earthships between them. There’ll be some hard work involved, but it’ll be mighty good fun, and the end product promises to be something special.

This workshop will be based on the ‘mini-ship’ Earthship model (see photos, sourced from here), which is one of the smaller models, ideal for demonstration and teaching purposes.

When and Where

The build is going to take place over seven days from December 7 – December 13. This should be enough time to complete the build, or get very close.

The build is going to take place on a property just outside of Moe, Victoria, about 1hr 30mins from Melbourne by car. It is also along a regular train line. Participants are expected to arrange their own transport. The exact location of the build will be provided in due course.

Costs

The seven-day workshop will cost $300 per person (which includes three meals per day). These fees go toward paying the facilitators, sourcing the building materials, and providing food. All food will be vegetarian, however we will not have the resources to accommodate special dietary requirements. Limited concession positions available.

Accommodation and facilities

All participants will be camping for the duration of the workshop. You’re expected to bring all your own camping materials. Basic facilities, including drinking water, solar showers, and composting toilets, will be available on the property.

Application

In other builds like this, there have been more applicants than there have been spaces, so some selection process will probably be required. Everyone interested in being part of this build is asked to fill in the application form linked here as soon as possible. The applications will be assessed and outcomes will be confirmed by 7 November.

And please share with interested parties.