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Over the past several years, as a result of the growing media coverage of our work, we have received hundreds of inquiries throughout North America from prospective homeowners wanting to own an EcoNest®. Until recently we have had to turn most of these people away. Now with the completion of our book, "EcoNest, Creating Sustainable Sanctuaries of Clay, Straw and Timber," we are turning our attention to training professional builders. We envision a network of like-minded, top-notch, artisan affiliates, trained in the EcoNest Building System around the U.S. and Canada answering to the growing demand for this ecological and health based building system.
The EcoNest Affiliate Program has been created for the professional builder who wants to grow the ecological, handcrafted and healthy aspects of his/her career. Through rigorous training and affiliation with nationally recognized experts and leaders in the field, the Affiliate will qualify to offer the EcoNest design and clay/fiber building system to clients.
As a professional builder wishing to become an Affiliate, your first step is to attend the EcoNest Intensive, where you will be trained in the specialized knowledge necessary to build an EcoNest. The EcoNest staff will work closely with you to assure that you are exposed to all of the aspects of EcoNest building from foundation to rooftop during the course of the intensive. As your skills with the process increase, you will have the opportunity to take a leadership role. You will receive an assessment by EcoNest as to whether you qualify to proceed, require more specialized training, or need more general construction experience. Further intensives may be audited by candidates. Affiliate status will be awarded upon completion of an EcoNest project under your management in your area with an EcoNest team on-hand to support you during your first "solo flight."
Once a year, Affiliates will be required to participate in a Continuing Education Seminar in order to maintain affiliate status. The purpose of these seminars will be to update EcoNest Affiliates in the latest innovations in the clay/straw wall building process and in other aspects of EcoNest Building that take the building from the shell to the finished product. Topics will include:
You will also have the opportunity to share your experience with other Affiliates nation-wide at these continuing education seminars.
As a EcoNest Affiliate you will receive the following benefits:
We realize that, as a professional builder, the greatest cost to you is in taking the time from your work required to do the training program. With respect to this and to the skills you have already mastered, we will offer several training sessions each year and strive to maximize your full capacity to learn these new skills thus giving you the greatest return on the investment of your time. You will be required to pay the cost of the EcoNest Intensive Training Program, the cost of the yearly Affiliates' Continuing Education Seminar, and website postings.
Professional builders run the gamut from mastery to minimal competency. The EcoNest Company reserves the right to certify those builders whose quality of work reflects our own. At the end of each training workshop you will meet with one of the EcoNest senior staff for an assessment. If, in our assessment, you are not on track to qualify as an affiliate, or will require additional training, you will be advised.
No. Not all EcoNests are timber frame structures. In the course of your training you will learn how to do load bearing truss walls with clay/fiber infill. However, most of the published examples of EcoNests show timber frame structures and the majority of clients who contact us for an EcoNest also want to incorporate timber-framing. The EcoNest Building Company is available to construct timber frames for Affiliates. The EcoNest Company also teaches several timber frame workshops each year for builders wishing to learn this craft. Many regions already have experienced timber framers available. Should you decide to incorporate timber framing but do not have the skills with in your organization, this part of the building process can be sub-contracted to others.
No, we do not require you to hold workshops with each EcoNest that you build; however, you will acquire the leadership skills required to deliver a successful workshop during your training. Should you choose to carry on this tradition, we will strongly support your efforts. We have witnessed over and over again the power of the workshop. It is a way of bringing people together in your region and sharing the experience of ecological building with them. As a workshop leader, you would be a recognized authority for this form of construction. The workshop is a strong advertising tool; it is a way to let people in your vicinity know that you are offering these special homes.
You are free to use all of the building techniques learned in the EcoNest workshops. However, the name EcoNest is a trademark of our organization and you would not be allowed to use this name on your product without our written permission.
You are free to use local design professionals to work directly with your clients and our architectural team is happy to counsel your architects as required in design with timber-frame/clay-straw and in the specification of healthy building materials. However, only buildings designed by EcoNest Design in Tesuque, NM, may bear the name EcoNest.
The EcoNest Architectural Office has produced 10 stock plans ranging in size from 700 sq. ft. to 1900 sq. ft. These plans will eventually, when there are a sufficient number of Affiliates, be offered to EcoNest clients only through EcoNest Affiliates. Currently clients who take our training have access to purchasing stock plans. This provides a valuable design service to our affiliates and their clients while assuring that the quality of the built plans meets our standards. The Architectural Office will also provide minor modifications and mirror images of these plans for individual clients. The cost of plans ranges from $3,500 to $5,000 for the one-time use of plans. Modifications will be performed at an hourly rate. All architectural costs will be incurred by the client and passed through the EcoNest Affiliate to the EcoNest Company. Local engineering, arranged by the Affiliate will be required on all stock plans. Other local permitting requirements may result in the need for additional time and charges to the client.
EcoNest Design has highly qualified architects on staff who are available to create custom designs for your clients. In some jurisdictions, in order to obtain permitting a local Architectural Firm of Record may be required in addition. In every case a local engineer will be required for structural review. A member of the design team will need to visit the site and meet with your clients prior to commencement of design. The client would enter into a design contract directly with the EcoNest Architectural Office and we would work closely with the EcoNest Affiliate during the design process.
Creating a home from scratch is one of the most rewarding things a family can do. Engage in the process of creating your home.
WorkshopsThe EcoNest team holds regularly scheduled workshops all over the United States and Canada. Find one near you and become part of a team.
CalendarThe EcoNest Co. has been published in a wide variety of publications. Read our articles to find out more.
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