Join us on a two day workshop as we come together and complete a small section of the house whilst learning about the light-straw-clay building technique which is a low-cost, safe to install, non-toxic and sustainable building solution. Apart from enjoying the work and camaraderie, there will be opportunities to discuss and learn about other aspects of the build such as building with recycled materials, solar-passive design, water saving and healthy home design choices.

This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in a project with other natural-building enthusiasts and learn how to do it yourself. There is also the possibility to stay in the Ecovillage and experience the social gatherings coinciding with that weekend.

The Hosts: Benjamin is the owner-builder for the project, whose professional skills are completely unrelated to building and believes just about anyone with enough perseverance can build a house. Carly is a holistic health and nutritional practitioner with a background as a medical doctor specialising in psychiatry. Will Eastlake (along with Kenney Le Mire of Integrated Biotecture Design) is the building designer of this special home and also a talented natural builder.

Cost is $25/day ($20 for NEV or NELN members) helps to cover a generous morning tea, shared lunch, snacks, coffee, a selection of foraged and normali’tea(s) and some safety equipment. Lunch will be vegetarian and gluten free (but ask us if you need any special arrangements, if too niche we might ask you to BYO). Some safety equipment will be provided but we ask you to bring appropriate footwear, gloves and hearing protection/glasses if you have them.

Dates: Saturday 28 March until Sunday 29 March, 2026. The working day starts at 8:30am and finishes about 4:30pm. This can be flexible to your needs, but otherwise we appreciate you being on time. If you’d like to arrive on the Friday you are more than welcome – it looks like there will be some events on in the Ecovillage on the Friday and Saturday nights you may like to join (TBC) or there’s always the option to gather around the fire.

Where to stay: There are local accommodation possibilities including home-stays, hotels and camping at the village. Please let us know if you’d be interested in any of these these options and we’ll put you in touch to arrange. Sorry, but we cannot accommodate dogs or other pets.

Registration either via this link (https://events.humanitix.com/2-day-natural-building-light…) or direct contact with Benjamin (details below)

Contact Benjamin on 0490 537 598 or via email [email protected] for further information.