Hosting an Earthbag Workshop

Hosting an earthbag workshop requires a considerable amount of dedication and physical involvement from providing infrastructure, meals, advertising, organizing, attending to the needs of participants and presenters, preparing specialized earthbag tools and forms, and a general amount of blood, sweat, tears and above all, a sense of humor. When properly prepared for, hosting an earthbag workshop is a fulfilling experience with the added bonus of getting a beautiful earthbag structure.

Ideally we should have at least 12-16 participants.

We have also learned from experience to set a registration deadline with a set minimum of 10 participants signed up by a date two-three weeks prior to the start date of the workshop. If the workshop is being hosted in a location where many participants may need to travel long distances we tell participants to hold off on buying their tickets until the minimum amount of students have signed up (two to three weeks prior to the start date) in order to guarantee sufficient enrollment. Otherwise the workshop may have to be canceled. This of course depends on whether or not the host is relying on the student tuition to cover our fees and the general costs of the workshop.

We have had hosts that have charged tuition anywhere from $450-$750 a week depending on what is provided to the participants in the form of accommodations, meals and the length and complexity of the project. Usually, the longer the workshop is the lower the price.

In the US we charge $200.00 per day each during the workshop plus accommodations and meals, travel expenses and a $100.00 a day fee each during travel. Sounds like a lot but the tuitions cover our costs, the entire workshop meals and usually the basic materials for the earthbag building project. If the project meets our criteria as an educational/cultural worthy cause we offer a sliding scale fee but we won't know that until the project unfolds.

In some cases we may agree to do a one third split of the total tuition fees with the hosts provided the tuition is sufficient and enrollment meets a 12 student minimum.

More details; materials list, tools, prep and other requirements will need to be discussed specifically to the particular location of the workshop and the design of the structure.

Earthbags can be designed to adapt to a wide range of climates and situations. They can be designed for dry desert, wet tropical, cold rainy and cold snowy climates with proper attention to detail.

We would love to see earthbags take off in the tropics. The Mayan's that we had the wonderful opportunity to work with in Belize really "got it".

Thank you for considering hosting an earthbag workshop. We will do our best to help you prepare for hosting a workshop in any way we can. We are dedicated to providing the best possible experience for learning to build with earthbags. We love the camaraderie and adventuresome spirit and lasting friendships that are an intrinsic part of natural building.

Enjoy thy doing!

Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer