Join us March 23-24, 2024 for a Clay Plaster Brown Coat and Hempcrete Work Party in San Rafael, CA! In this two day event we will be applying a clay plaster brown coat to a yurt-style straw bale ADU for the Ngongoseke-Von Family and additionally will continue to form Hempcrete around the exterior of the structure. This unique round home with bales on end between studs (the BOEBS method) will feature a clay interior and a hempcrete exterior layer for additional insulation and fire resistance. The work party will run from 9-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday.

We will shape and smooth the interior of the straw bale walls with a brown coat (also called the second coat) of clay plaster. This very important step takes the rough and lumpy scratch coat wall and brings them out to a smooth uniform surface in preparation to receive the very thin finish coat.  In addition, we will be applying Hempcrete to the exterior of the building, continuing the work begun during the previous work party. Hempcrete is primarily made of hemp hurds - the chopped up woody stalk of the hemp plant that is leftover after removing the long bast fibers used for making linen cloth and hemp rope. Lime is added as a binder. It creates a lightweight, moldable, non-load bearing product. It will be used to make the walls thicker, more insulated, more fire resistant, and more water resistant. 

There are a wide variety of tasks to accomplish and we will attempt to accommodate every participant’s interest and skill level. Each participant will have the opportunity to participate in the various aspects of the plastering and hempcrete process suited to their interests. The work party will be led by Bob Theis, an architect in the East Bay specializing in straw bale projects, Nate Brown, a natural builder in Santa Cruz, and Aaron Grail, a contractor specializing in sustainable buildings.

The project is the fruition of a long-standing dream of Dotto Ngongoseke to create a home for his family reminiscent of the traditional round thatched houses of his native tribe in Tanzania. They call it "Bayegu" which means "happy place" in his native language Sukuma. Dotto, his wife Ina, and their children Nyanz, Lyuba, and Sonda have all attended various CASBA workshops as they prepared to build their home over the last several years. Sadly, Dotto passed away this past fall. His family continues to work to complete this project in his absence. 

Saturday lunch and Sunday lunch provided as well as snacks. Please register at https://www.strawbuilding.org/event-5620656.

Cost:  Pay what you like: $0 - $100.  

We ask you attend for at least a half day if you cannot attend the entire workparty. Please indicate on your registration form which days you will attend so we can plan work flow and meals accordingly.

Please do not come if you are feeling sick.

For additional workshop info contact Allison Arnold at allisonannearnold@gmail.com or 301-357-0582.