House + Earth, 1214 West 6th Street, Austin, Texas, Suite 120, 78703 (map) (Note slightly different address. H+E has moved to the eastern side of the retail center. Turn right one driveway sooner than previously – At the big Julian Gold sign.)

Guest presenters: Daniel Baugh and Matthew Baugh, Urban Sawyers

Did one of your big trees come down in your front yard in the last windstorm? Did the drought kill trees on your country property? These trees can be given a new life in a new form.

1. Our guest presenters will explain how his portable saw mill will spare felled trees from central Texas landfills and deliver unique and responsible wood alternatives for generations to come. 

DBL is a volunteer-run educational organization providing valuable information, and optional donations at the door are always appreciated.  No RSVP required. For more details, email us via “Contact Us” or call Scott Clay at 512-689-1149.

A 2-Day Design~Build~Live Workshop

Saturday May 18th & 25th, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Location: East Central Austin, Zilker Neighborhood
Fee: $125 for non-members, $100 for DBL members; Limited enrollment
Experience Level: Beginner to Advanced

During this 2-day hands-on workshop, instructor Dani Slabaugh will introduce you to the various steps of BUILDING A FERROCEMENT THAI RAIN JAR, a gorgeous rainwater cistern that you’ll WANT in your front yard.  Ferrocement is a low tech, DIY-friendly, very inert medium for cisterns that keeps the water of the highest quality.  Dani Slabaugh, a local cistern builder, will take us through her process step by step, and share the techniques used to build a shapely 850 gallon cistern from the ground-up, by creating the foundation, mixing the plaster, and topping the jar with a mosquito proof cover.

Register Here!

You will be asked to log into your account or, if you have not already done so, create an account. Select “Current Events” from the drop-down menu on the right.

If you are not yet a member, JOIN DBL HERE to receive the discounted workshop price.  A healthy vegetarian lunch, water, tea and snacks are included with the workshop.  Contact info@designbuildlive.org for general workshop questions and information regarding work-trade opportunities.  Enrollment is limited.

The spring 2013 crop of wheat and barley straw bales is starting to come in.

We just got word from Ken Richter, our bale friend near Taylor, Texas (less than an hour north of Austin) that straw will start being baled the week of May 13. For the best price ($4/bale), go pick up your bales right out of the field. If you can’t pick them up, Ken and other regional farmers can deliver. Not near Austin or Taylor? Check around for growers in your area. Try StrawLocator.com or email us if you have trouble locating bales near you.

Parts of our 2012 straw bale post deserve repeating:

Need bales but not quite yet? Ken can store your purchased bales. Remember: The more times a bale is handled (picked up out of the field, put into storage, loaded onto a trailer, etc.), the more expensive it gets. So getting your bales right out of the field is the most cost effective way to do it.

In addition to the usual checks for quality (density of the bale, dryness, color, strength of the fibers, mold-free, etc.), Ken offers these cautions when selecting bales:

• For structural bales (wall construction), do not use bales made by a rotary combine. A rotary combine chops the straw into short pieces and the bales are not as sound.

• Ask your bale source if he/she has baled for construction before. If not, be careful.

• Make sure the cut straw was baled before being rained on in the field.

• Beware of bales offered on CraigsList. Do your research and inspection.

To inquire further or purchase bales from Ken Richter in Taylor, Texas, call him at 512-963-5807.

June 7, 8 & 9, 2013

Bastrop Convention and Exhibit Center, 1408 Chestnut Street, Bastrop, Texas 78602

After last year’s success, Keep Bastrop Beautiful is hosting their second Green Expo at the Convention Center. This year’s event will feature educational speakers, health and eco-oriented exhibitors, demonstrations, music, food, kid’s activities and more. The Green Expo will energize individuals, business and organizations seeking information, inspiration and innovation. Best of all, it will serve as a stimulus to move us in the direction of a culture that is both economically viable and ecologically sound. For details, visit the Heart of Texas Green Expo website.

Design~Build~Live will have a booth at the Expo and will be doing demonstrations of natural building materials and systems. Please come and join us – Bastrop is only about 45 minutes from Austin. Carpool if you can.

Saturday, April 13, 2013, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Downtown Belton, TX & Yetti Polk Park

AWARE of Central Texas and the Belton Chamber of Commerce are holding the first annual Belton Earth Day Festival on April 13^th, 2013.  The focus will be on healthy families, healthy communities and a healthy environment.

The Festival will be held in historical downtown Belton and nearby Yettie Polk Park.  There will be vendor booths, live music, and informative presentations on natural building, sustainable gardening, renewable energy, healthy living and more.

Please see the website for information on the festival events or contact us if you are interested in being a sponsor, vendor or presenter.  www.beltonearthday.com

Belton is just an hour up IH35 from Austin. Design~Build~Live will be there as an exhibitor and presenter. Come and visit us and help celebrate Belton’s first big Earth Day festival.

Saturday, April 20, noon to 7pm

4550 Mueller Central Drive, Austin Texas

Put this date on your calendar, as you will not want to miss this event. Last year’s Earth Day Festival drew 4,000 people, and this year promises to be even bigger. Exhibits, workshops, special guest speakers, local food, kids activities and more! Once again, Jim Hightower will be bringing his inimitable style and philosophy to the main stage. Watch the Austin Earth Day Festival 2013 website for ongoing updates of activities.

Visit the Design~Build~Live booth, and attend our natural building presentation.

Rain Garden – Cross Section

Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm (Note earlier time)

 House + Earth, 1214 West 6th Street, Austin, Texas, 78703 (map)

Guest presenter: Paige Hill, Urban Patchwork

Learn about some of the most water conservative ways to grow food in Central Texas from the Director of Urban Patchwork Neighborhood Farms. Urban Patchwork believes that we can meet a majority of our food needs by growing food close to home in community and in partnership with nature.

Paige Hill, founder of Urban Patchwork Neighborhood Farms, has combined her background in community advocacy and urban design with her lifelong experience in environmental stewardship to create a stable, community-based food system that’s renewable and fits in every nook and cranny that an urban environment provides – at the same time making food production “doable” for all of us.

DBL is a volunteer-run educational organization providing valuable information, and optional donations at the door are always appreciated.  No RSVP required. For more details, email us via “Contact Us” or call Scott Clay at 512-689-1149.

Palmer Events Center

Join Design~Build~Live and scores of other Makers for this wonderful event celebrating the Do-It-Yourself spirit. This is an annual festival for people of all ages to make, create, learn, invent, craft, hack, recycle, build, think, play, and be inspired by science, technology, engineering, arts, music, and crafts.

Visit DBL in the “Sustainable Village” section, where you can get some hands-on experience laying a compressed earth block (CEB) wall and applying earthen plaster.

Maker Faire offers lots of fun for kids and adults. For details and tickets visit the Austin Mini Maker Faire website.

 House + Earth, 1214 West 6th Street, Austin, Texas, 78703 (map)

Guest presenter: Lester Germanio, Germanio Engineering

Are you interested in sustainable and independent living in urban and suburban areas? Do topics such as the following pique your interest?

Homesteading ~ Intentional Communities ~  Gardens and Food Storage 

Permaculture ~ Rainwater harvesting ~ Alternative energy

Low energy and off grid life style ~ Alternative home building

FoodWaterShelter is a near-sustainable, functional off grid urban homestead being developed by innovator Lester Germanio in Westlake Hills. Lester has been creating this one-acre hillside property to provide most to all of the family’s needs with respect to food, water and shelter. The limestone and concrete home will be powered by solar panels, huge cisterns will provide all domestic and garden water, comfort will be supported by natural ventilation and shade, and gardens will be fertilized with fish droppings.

This FoodWaterShelter project is an amazing and beautiful example of a sustainable homestead. You will not want to miss this presentation.

DBL is a volunteer-run educational organization providing valuable information, and optional donations at the door are always appreciated.  No RSVP required. For more details, email us via “Contact Us” or call Scott Clay at 512-689-1149.

March 11 – 16, 2013

Learn how to build an energy-efficient,  healthful, natural home using compressed earth blocks (CEB). Our friends at Urban Earth will take you through all the steps from rubble trench foundation to earth block vault roof in this hands on workshop. For more details and registration, visit Urban Earth.

A Design~Build~Live Monthly Presentation

Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

 House + Earth, 1214 West 6th Street, Austin, Texas, 78703 (map)

Please bring a camp chair or folding chair, if possible.

We are still in the clutches of a deep drought in Central Texas. Harvesting rainwater is and will always be an excellent way to not only battle the drought but to provide good quality water to your garden and landscape.

Join us to learn how you can build ferro-cement cisterns of various sizes and shapes appropriate for your needs. These rainwater vessels can be simple or sculptural, large or small, and do-it-yourself or professionally built. Learn from various local cistern builders who have constructed ferro-cement cisterns for their own use and/or professionally.

DBL is a volunteer-run educational organization providing valuable information, and optional donations at the door are always appreciated.  No RSVP required. For more details, email us via “Contact Us” or call Scott Clay at 512-689-1149.

A One Day Design~Build~Live Workshop

Saturday, February 16, 2011, 9:00 – 5:00 pm

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. TO REGISTER UNTIL 6PM TODAY (2/15), CALL GAYLE AT 512-350-0001

Location: Between Bastrop and Smithville, Texas
Fee: $75 for nonmembers, $60 for DBL members; Limited enrollment
Experience Level: Beginner to intermediate

Instructor: Jim Hallock of Urban Earth LLC and Instituto Tierra y Cal

Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) are machine-made, adobe-like building blocks that can be used to create beautiful, durable, fire-resistant, energy-efficient, comfortable homes. CEBs are an excellent choice for Texas, including fire-ravaged and fire-prone areas.

During this hands-on workshop you will be introduced to the various steps of building with CEBs,  through discussion and hands on participation, including:

≈ Properties and advantages of CEB construction; Good design practices

≈ Selecting and acquiring materials; Deciding whether to stabilize or not

≈  Making blocks

≈  Preparations prior to setting blocks

≈  Building CEB walls

≈  Dealing with windows, doors, electrical and plumbing

The project: During this workshop we will be building parts of the walls of a new residence for one of the survivors of the Bastrop County fire of 2011. The day will consist of both instruction / information and hands-on building. The CEBs are heavy (40 lb. +/-), so participants can choose their level of involvement in the hands-on portion. NOTE: The project may have progressed to a stage that we may be working from scaffolding. Contact us if you have concerns.