Our Natural Building Workshops

With nature as our gold standard the EcoNest natural building training awakens craftsmanship, builds teamwork and inspires leadership.

"I am not the workshop teacher. I only facilitate the introduction. Wood, clay, fiber and stone are your teachers."
- Robert Laporte

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• The Meditative Craft of Timber Framing Retreat

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• Sharpen Your Chisel and Sharpen Your Mind.  (Click photo to see a timber frame workshop video.)

  Our Timber Framing Workshops give you hands-on experience in timber framing – a true craft. It offers you a unique opportunity to work with timbers as well as with others of like mind. For some, this experience could be a doorway into the rich world of wooden architecture and perhaps the beginnings of a career in timber framing. Regardless of your intent, the process of transforming a tree into one of the “bones” of a home is magical.

   

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• Homing In- Building your Dreams from the Ground Up

  Building your Dreams from the Ground Up

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• Are you contemplating building a home? If you dream of living an authentic home...a legacy of beauty, health and environmental stewardship that reflects your deepest values then this seminar is for you. Prepare to embark on your journey home. Gather in our EcoNest home with an intimate group for a deep exploration of all that a home can be.  Learn more here. 

   

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• Timber Frame Joinery

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• In this introductory training you will learn how to professionally craft the most common timber frame joint…the mortise and tenon and partake in a timeless way of building.

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• Natural Walls and Roof

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• Although this is a healthy, natural building workshop for an actual Tiny House, the theory and skills learned are invaluable to any building project regardless of size. The beauty of this size project is you get to fast track and experience all aspects of a completed insulated shell of a structure in just 5 days - not 5 weeks or months.  This is very practical and empowering training.

  Learn more about Natural Walls and Roof here.

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• Timber Framing Intensive

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• A progressive new offering available to students with prior timber framing experience ready to take their timber framing to the next level of confidence and competency.  This program is an excellent opportunity to work hand in hand with timber framing professionals to cut, assemble, and erect a timber frame.

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• EcoNest Intensive

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• The EcoNest intensive is an accelerated learning experience in the philosophy and specialized techniques of EcoNest construction. For those desiring the efficiency of time, the EcoNest Intensive is a package of consecutive workshops and seminars offered by EcoNest. This is a very full and challenging hands-on training that will totally change the way you think about shelter and our impact on the planet. This package is well-suited to general contractors and owner-builders and is the core training for future EcoNest Affiliates.

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• EcoNest Four-Week Apprenticeship

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• This four-week apprenticeship will develop and hone building skills from foundation to roof framing, completing the shell of an EcoNest under the direct guidance of Robert Laporte. The course is structured for those wishing to immerse themselves in natural building, expanding both skill and knowledge base. A copy of our book, "The EcoNest Home" will be provided to Apprentices. This opportunity will be physically and mentally challenging and is not designed for casual learning.

  Learn more about this apprenticeship.

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• Mastering Straw Clay Walls

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• Ancient Materials - Modern Techniques

  The straw clay wall is the core of the EcoNest building system. In this extended ten day mastery workshop learn how to efficiently wrap a building with a 12” thick blanket of "dynamic" insulation for health, comfort and building longevity.

   

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• BEN Builder Intensive

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• The BEN Builder Intensive is an accelerated learning experience in the philosophy and specialized techniques of EcoNest construction, specifically our new line of Backyard EcoNests, or BEN.  (Learn more about BEN here.) For those desiring the efficiency of time and a discounted price, the EcoNest Intensive is a package of consecutive workshops and seminars offered by EcoNest. This is a very full and challenging hands-on training that will totally change the way you think about shelter and our impact on the planet. This package is well-suited to general contractors and owner-builders and is the core training for future EcoNest Affiliates.

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• Japanese Tools & Joinery

  with Dale Brotherton

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• No other culture brings the forest element home as does the Japanese. We are proud to host Renowned Japanese Woodworker Dale Brotherton (http://www.japanesecarpentry.com). Dale, together with Robert Laporte, will lead a maximum of eight students in this rare opportunity to bring together tools, trees and tradition for an intensive woodworker’s experience.

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