Building in Community Work-Trade 2009:

We have filled our 2009 building work trade positions. Let us know if you would like to join us in 2010 when our common house project will be continuing.

After years of planning, Emerald Earth has begun construction of a new community house. It will provide a comfortable shared living space and operations center for residents and guests, including kitchen, dining, and meeting areas, an office, guest room, playroom, bathroom and indoor composting toilet. The building will be built to code, passively heated and cooled, and will showcase local natural building materials and high-quality construction and finishes. In 2008, we laid the groundwork by grading the site, pouring the concrete foundation, and milling local trees for lumber.

During the 2009 season, we intend to build a large part of the structure, including framing, natural wall systems, and roofing. We are gathering a team of committed builders to join our crew for the season. Ideally we are looking for people with previous experience either in conventional or natural building, who want to expand their skill set by working on a large, complex, to-code structure that integrates both natural and conventional materials.

We would like about 3 people to join us starting in early April and another 3 to arrive in early June. Ideally the whole crew would remain through late September or early October. The average week will include about 30 hours of hands-on building, one half day of non-building work together with the rest of the community, some time devoted to yoga and other body care practices, and some meeting time devoted to both the building process and the experience of working and living in community, adding up to a total of about 40 hours. Work traders will also assist with meal preparation and clean up a couple of times each week. Wholesome, delicious meals will be prepared at least twice a day and shared by the entire community. Accommodations will be tent camping, with a couple of trailers available for early arrivals.

Emerald Earth also hosts a variety of events throughout the summer, including weekend work parties and longer workshops. We will offer a week-long Carpentry workshop in early June which will be required for building work-traders without substantial previous carpentry experience. We will also offer 2 week-long Natural Building Intensives later in the summer, in which work-traders will be encouraged to participate as students, support staff, and/or assistant instructors. The weekly schedule will be adjusted around these public events to allow everyone to take time off. Some longer periods of time off may be scheduled in advance or may be arranged individually.

What you will learn

Work-traders will have the opportunity to participate in many of the following hands-on building activities. Individuals will probably concentrate on some areas more than others, so not everyone will do every task. Also, some parts of the building will be begun only if progress on other areas permits. Everyone should have ample opportunity to work on both more conventional aspects of the building (framing, roofing, wiring, etc.) and the earth and straw wall systems, floors and finishes.

Framing, including post-and-beam, stud framing, and some round pole
Slip-straw or light straw-clay wall infill
Straw bale walls
Other earthen infill wall systems (clay-wattle, slip-chip, etc.)
Cob walls
Earthen base coat plasters
Earthen floors
Structural stone masonry
Earthbag retaining walls
Ferrocement
Plywood and steel shear walls
Electrical circuit design and wiring
Rough plumbing
Greywater system design
Windows and doors
Ceilings and insulation
Roofing – both metal and living roofs

Financial Exchange

It costs Emerald Earth about $225 to feed and accommodate a work-trader for a month. We would like to make it as affordable as possible for those joining the building team in 2009. In the past, work traders have covered half of their food costs while Emerald Earth has covered the other half. We may stick with that system for 2009, but we are also considering a graduated scale in which work traders pay their expenses for the first 2 months, and then Emerald Earth covers all of their costs starting in the third month. Basically this is a budgetary issue for us; we are hoping to resolve it soon.

Application Process

We’d like to start filling our 6 positions immediately. To apply, please request an application form. Answer the questions in detail; we’d like to know a lot about you. We also strongly encourage a visit so you can get to know the community and the project.