Building with Straw Workshop
Kingston, NM

This 6-and-half day workshop will be hosted in Kingston, New Mexico, where students will participate in building a 350sqft strawbale structure on our friends Mike and Rachel’s property. Kingston is a small mountain town near the Gila National Forest and is a natural building hub with many residents having built strawbale homes. The Black Range Lodge in Kingston was the site of the first Natural Building Colloquium in the Southwest. 

This workshop will teach our unique hybrid system of integrating straw bale walls with clay and lime plasters. It combines the best of what were called “load-bearing” walls and other “in-fill” methods where different types of structural supports are used.  It is a very effective and practical utilization of the best of both worlds.  At the same time, the same components can be utilized in combination with any “in-fill” wall system.  It is highly flexible in all respects.

This course is intended for anyone considering a straw bale house that incorporates a large percentage of clay in the building process. The course is well suited to beginners but also owner-builders, professionals or those who would like to supervise the construction of their home so that they can be well informed to make good decisions during the design and build process. The course will help each person define a practical and realistic approach that is uniquely based on his or her skill level, available time and resources. Participants are welcome to bring their floor plans for group design discussions and comments.

We encourage small, handcrafted and artistic buildings that are uniquely personal in character and at the same time, energy efficient and matched to local climatic conditions primarily through passive conditioning.

For examples see our many strawbale buildings at Canelo.

• Meals: Lunches, coffee and tea are provided and served on site. Note – Dining options in Kingston are somewhat limited, the closest restaurants are 9 miles away in Hillsboro
• Accommodations: Only off-site options available. There is Forest Service camping and the Black Range Lodge in Kingston. The lodge provides breakfast and access to their kitchen for cooking meals.
• Getting there: The closest airport is Las Cruces, 1hr 30min away. Alternatively a larger airport is in El Paso, 2hrs away.