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 Congratulations to DBL Board member Effie Brunson for being elected Vice Chair of the Central Texas – Balcones Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for 2010 – 2011! Both organizations are fortunate to have Effie on their team.
May 8-15, 2010, Dripping Springs, TX
Natural Building
Humanity has used clay from the earth to create shelter for thousands of years. Yet our rush for modern, industrialized building materials leaves behind toxic structures devoid of natural beauty and soul. Natural buildings emphasize use of local, raw materials, grounding them in place, their design responding to seasons, sunlight and living. Rustic materials create a healthier environment for builders and occupants. Beauty emerges as willing hands shape materials harvested directly from the earth into the living soul of an earthen building. Cob, also known as “puddled adobe”, describes an easy-to-learn technique using clay, sand and straw to form walls, ovens, fireplaces and more.
Join us for a week of natural building construction and education in the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country. The workshop will cover cob construction from start to finish including: siting, design, budgeting, foundation, wall construction, windows/doors, swimming hole selection, roof, plasters, arches, niches and relief sculpture. Families welcome!
 A Design~Build~Live Monthly Presentation – Free and Open to the Public
Wednesday, April 21, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Lance Armstrong Foundation, 2201 East 6th Street, Austin, TX (Map)
Nature has been ‘treating’ water and wastewater for millions of years. This presentation will discuss the various ways the ecological tools of Nature can assist in remediating ponds/ wetlands/ lakes and other bodies of water more swiftly and economically than ‘traditional’ engineering approaches.
Our presenter will be Michele Hallahan of Eco-Logic. Michele’s extensive experience in the environmental arena include a position as Environmental Specialist at the University of Texas, work with internationally renowned ecological designer Dr. John Todd and his Living MachineTM technology, and contract work with the environmental certification group Green Seal. Michele is also a DBL board member.
This presentation is free and open to the public. No reservation required. For more information contact Gayle through “Contact Us” or 512-478-9033.
 A One-Day Design~Build~Live Workshop
Saturday, March 27, 2010, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Instructors: Kirby Fry, Southern Exposure and Gayle Borst, Stewardship, Inc.
Location: North Central Austin, Texas
Fee: $75 ($67.50 for DBL Partners) – Register HERE; Limited spaces
Experience Level: Beginner to Intermediate
For those seeking a more sustainable solution for foundations, high-embodied energy concrete can be minimized or even eliminated through use of a rubble trench foundation. This low-impact technique, used extensively by Frank Lloyd Wright, uses rock (rubble) to support the building above.
Continue reading Rubble Trench Foundation Workshop
This series of free presentations is brought to you by the Austin Permaculture Guild (APG), www.austinperm.com. All presentations are 7:00 pm at Habitat Suites Hotel, 500 Highland Mall Blvd., Austin, Texas.
March 25 -“Eco-Villages, Co-Housing, Intentional Communities – In the US and Around the World.” Slides and video clips of Earthaven, NC, Findhorn, Scotland, etc., and [soon] in Austin TX. Great info, experience, ideas whether you are thinking of changing your venue and lifestyle or just a few new ideas for your family and neighborhood.
April 1 -”The Science & Spirituality [& Religious] Sides of Permaculture” A slide talk by Dick Pierce – The objective is to see the need and look for ways to put these 3-4 major world forces together to work for ways that we and our grandchildren will be allowed to live in sustainably, along side our fellow creatures and God’s creations.
Thanks to our hosts, Habitat Suites – 500 Highland Blvd. – Austin’s Only Permaculture Hotel
Schedule is firm, but all topics/speakers are tentative; please check with www.austinperm.com to confirm individual topics and speakers – there may be some shifting around.
Hempstead natural builder David Reed is now taking registrations for two workshops:
 Sunday, March 28, 2010
Cob Oven Workshop @ The Bone House in Huntsville, Texas
October 01 – 10, 2010
Owner Builder Cob Workshop in Hempstead, Texas
For details, go to http://newjurabuilding.info/ and select the “Upcoming Events” tab. Or call David at 713-314-6145.
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