NATURAL BUILDING/STRAW BALE APPRENTICESHIP - 

July 16 – Fall 2010


Location: Clemson, South Carolina
Instructor: Matthew Nistico
Paid stipend of $200/week

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I have room for several apprentices who are serious about learning and practicing straw bale, cob, and natural plastering techniques in the context of a real job setting.

The owner-builder, Matthew Nistico, has designed the home and site and thus far seen the project successfully through 2/3 of construction, together with input and occasional consultation from some of the best natural builders in the east.  We will be covering all of the techniques associated with bale wall assembly, including basic framing; stacking, retying, shaping, external pinning, and prepping bales for plaster; mixing cob and cob chinking; window and door details; mixing earth plaster, and applying earth plasters by hand over straw and lathe (both wood and metal).  Depending on timing, there may be opportunities for experiencing both lime and earthen finish plastering techniques by trowel, concrete staining, insulating, and tile work.

You will be working with the owner-builder and occasionally my framer 40 hours/week on the completion of a lime-plastered, post-&-beam, straw bale homestead.  The foundation, exterior walls, and roof are complete and the structure is dried in, yet most phases of construction are still visible, from finished exterior plaster to yet-to-be-framed interior walls.  We will be employing an innovative "split-bale" method to create nine-inch-thick, straw bale, interior partition walls, which will then be finished and plastered along with the inside surfaces of the exterior walls.  As such, much of the work (but not all) will be indoors.

The design incorporates other green features, such as passive solar orientation and layout, extensive use of salvaged and reclaimed building materials, passive cooling and ventilation strategies (as opposed to air conditioning), extensive daylighting, and rain water harvesting.

There will be semi-primitive accommodations for apprentices to live on site, sleeping in their own tent, and sharing an outdoor shower, portable toilet, and small refrigerator.  The owner-builder also lives on site, and apprentices may have occasional access to indoor shower and limited cooking facilities.  There is also an option of inexpensive, extended-stay motel accommodations 5 minutes away by car.  This is a relatively secluded and private, partially-wooded property located on a quiet country road at the edge of a small university town, set in rural South Carolina in the foothills of the Appalachians.  The site is located 45 minutes from the city of Greenville, and 2 hours from both Asheville, NC, and Atlanta, GA.

The apprenticeship includes a $200/week paid stipend.  Apprentices are expected to be strong workers committed to learning about natural, innovative, and low-impact building techniques. This will be an on-the-job learning experience, working approximately 40 hours per week for the duration of the apprenticeship.  Lengths of apprenticeship are negotiable.

Please contact Matthew Nistico at elessarrex@hotmail.com to set up a telephone interview.