| Related Pages: |
|
RESOURCES - Learn about
Straw Bale Construction and Green Building CURRENT PROJECTS - Keep up to date with our latest jobs and progress on each one |
Workshops
Paja Construction, Inc. offers three kinds of opportunities to learn about straw bale construction and ‘green’ building:
- Friday night through Saturday afternoon mini-workshops. Typically,
we hold these 3–4 times a year at our hometown of Albuquerque. The first
evening is taken up with the theory of building green; we give an
extended slide show, do black-board demonstrations, have a
question-and-answer session, and generally introduce people to the
concepts we are building with. The following day is spent at a work
site, stacking bales and fleshing out those concept from the evening’s
session. Although not a comprehensive over-view, such mini-workshops
usually give the uninitiated a good introduction to ‘green’ building.
- Week-long events, usually held once a year. Here, we can take our
time: we’ll start out with the same theory, slide show and
question/answer, then go out in the field to do what we’ve been talking
about. But we will spend much more time doing, and much more time
talking as well. Such workshops are centered around a specific building
project that is in the right phase to allow participants to get a much
better idea of the over-all building. We’ll work on alternative
foundations that use a tiny fraction of concrete. We’ll raise the straw
bale walls and carefully install doors and windows. We’ll demonstrate
how to make the ceiling very airtight while allowing for natural
ventilation of the house. We’ll take you on a tour of different home
designs. And ... we’ll feed and house you, then at the end of the week
we’ll send you off with your head spinning in new ideas!
- Knowing that most people’s schedules are supremely busy and that organized workshops aren’t necessarily doable for everyone, we offer individuals the option of simply coming and working/observing our Paja Construction crew. A couple of hours, a day, two days, one day a week for a month; whatever works out for you! We will not charge for our time and do not pay for your time - but so far, without exception both we and you have been satisfied. We’ll provide the tools and all you need is transportation, a good pair of gloves, and a delicious lunch.