[Humanpowered] A Reminder about our 2024 Fast Cob Workshops

[Dave Olsen]

Welcome to the World of Realistic Natural Building!

Did you know that Fast Cob is now even Faster and, more importantly, easier?  
It's /at least/ 30x faster, for both mixing and building, compared to 
"traditional" west coast cob.  That's not an exaggeration either!  It took 
*almost 100 person-hours LESS* to build a 900 round.ft. split level home than a 
64 round.ft. utility shed with a sleeping loft.  Yes, the building that is 
1/14th the size of the larger, more complex one, took 20% MORE effort to 
build...and this ONLY because of the techniques involved: "traditional" vs. Fast 
Cob.

I'm convinced that Fast Cob is _the_ fastest building technique on the planet!  
Without power, expensive tools or crews of workers.

Big statement.  But we have proof.  Hard proof.  Proof that will last hundreds 
of years!

And with that, I'd like to announcement our 2024 Fast Cob Workshop 
<https://cob.lasqueti.ca/workshops.html> Dates:

  * *Thursday May 16 to Monday May 20 (over the Canadian Victoria Day Long
    Weekend) - Focus on Finishing**
    *
  * ** *Thursday June 20 to Monday June 24 - All the Basics of Building (only 3
    spots left)
    *
  * *Thursday July 11 to Monday July 15 - Advanced Cob (Prerequisite: All the
    Basics)
    *
  * *Thursday August 8 to Monday August 12 - NEW! - Roofing for Cobbers
    *

Thursdays and Mondays are travel days with a Welcome Dinner and Farewell 
Breakfast included.

This year we can welcome 7 people to each workshop, thanks to our amazing chef, 
but beware that space is obviously limited; once we are full, we are truly full 
and no other workshops will be offered in 2024.

(Please note that time is running out on our annual discounts...scroll down for 
those details)

Our *Focus on Finishing* 3 day intensive workshop 
<https://cob.lasqueti.ca/workshops.html> will do exactly that: we show you our 
"first layer" of plastering (which nobody else has done), the finish layer with 
two different aggregates (sand and lime), and natural pigment paints (with a DIY 
recipe).  If the energy level holds up, we'll also pour a cob floor (you will 
see the beautiful floor that was poured last year)!

We've made finishing not only gorgeous, but very easy.  Our lime plaster is 
perfect for areas subjected to water spray (like showers and sinks and 
weather-facing walls).  The sand plaster is limit-less in its applications and 
making.  The natural paints are completely non-toxic at every stage and as 
vibrant as any other pigment, ranging from bright white, to yellows, oranges, 
reds, greens, deep blue, purple and black.  All from Mother Earth.

Our *All the Basics of Building* 3 day intensive workshop 
<https://cob.lasqueti.ca/workshops.html> will focus on our mixing and building 
technique so that you can develop muscle memory that you will never lose.  In 
between hands-on sessions, we'll do talking tours of actual foundations, roofs, 
and plumbing and electrical installations.

This year, we'll finish a 200 round ft. shed that is anything but rectilinear; 
although our workshops are all about learning (these are work_shops_ not 
work_camps_!), the technique makes building so fast and fun that I'll be 
surprised if we don't get to put on a rafter or two at the end of the workshop.

If you've been wanting to break away from the chains of civilized life and build 
your own home that is fire-proof, insect-proof, rodent-proof, and possibly 
earthquake-proof (we'll see how big the next one is), this is the technique that 
will revolutionize your life, and you won't create an ounce of garbage in the 
process.  But you will create buildings that your descendants will cherish and 
utilize for generations.

The *Advanced Cob *3 day intensive workshop 
<https://cob.lasqueti.ca/workshops.html> debuted last year.  We will take your 
skill to the next level.  Your mixing will not only speed up noticeably, the 
ease will surprise you.  And we'll immerse you in the intimidating step of 
attaching rafters to cob walls.  This involves cobbing the rafters into place 
after determining the height and pitch of the roof...easily the most complicated 
task of building any building, regardless of material.

Please note: _only_ people who have completed an All the Basics Workshop will be 
invited to attend the Advanced Cob Workshop.  The mixing and building aspects of 
Fast Cob will be enhanced, so at least the basic understanding that everyone 
gains during our All the Basics Workshops is required to ensure that this 
workshop can focus on the technical challenges of adding a roof to cob.

The *Roofing for Cobbers* 3 day intensive workshop 
<https://cob.lasqueti.ca/workshops.html> is new for 2024!  After building almost 
20 roofs of 5 different materials, including Lasqueti's Arts Centre, it's time 
to share these skills with you.  I've delayed this offering because being off 
the ground is inherently dangerous, but this year we'll have a roof design that 
uses two different "shed" styles that will be easily accessible from low, stable 
scaffolding.  Of course, safety will be foremost in our minds at all times.

The roof itself will be made of metal, the longest-lasting (other than slate) 
and lowest cost (over its lifespan) material currently available.  We'll see and 
examine liquid membrane roofs, hand-split cedar shake roofs, and many other 
metal roof examples in between our workshop sessions.

Every roof has multiple layers, and we'll experience installing all the standard 
ones: the main decking, tar paper, and then the metal itself.  We'll also 
install a glass skylight that is far from standard but has proven to work like a 
charm without the exorbitant cost of building in and buying commercial skylights.

And if you're curious about why the Finishing workshop is scheduled before the 
Building workshop, I had an intuitive thought in 2018 that was confirmed by the 
professional carpenter who attended that year: by seeing how to finish a cob 
building first, it allows you relax and build with even more ease, overcoming 
the common tendency to be a perfectionist when building.  That tendency makes 
perfect sense when building with wood (mistakes are expensive!), but Fast Cob is 
the ultimate in forgiving.  I even call Fast Cob the "Art of Imperfection!"

I'm also pleased to offer *a $100 discount per workshop* to anyone who registers 
for more than one at the same time.  We also continue to offer *$200 discounts* 
($100 to each person) for any two people that register for the same workshop 
together.  Please know that these discounts can not be combined; this means that 
the maximum discount per workshop per person is $100.

The same professional carpenter who attended two of our workshops in 2018 
compared the output in a day and he was certain that Fast Cob was as fast as 
wood-frame construction (that requires $10,000s of tools).  Since then, we've 
made the mixing twice as fast and much easier...I'm 60 now and can mix all day 
while my daughter doesn't even get tired!

If you're worried about our workshops getting cancelled, in 18 years we haven't 
even delayed one, much less cancelled any.  They can make up anything they want, 
but we'll keep hosting our workshops according to our schedule.  If YOU can't 
make it, then your deposit can be applied to _any_ workshop you can make, with 
no expiry date.

Please see our Workshop page online <https://cob.lasqueti.ca/workshops.html> for 
all the details about all of our workshops.

For me, the best aspect of living in a cob building is that they act like a 
thermal battery.  When they turn up the heat (via HAARP or in China or from the 
10,000s of satellites), our home is still cool enough to sleep comfortably - 
upstairs!  When the snow falls, the floor that is heated from the Rocket Mass 
Heater is bare-foot warm when we get up after a long sleep.

If there was any sense to the civilization that engulfs us, cob buildings would 
be the norm and the forests would be safe and plentiful again.  I will not 
comply with their plan to denude the planet.  And if you empower yourself 
through our workshops, you'll be amazed at the world you can create, affordably 
and without dependence on anything but yourself.  How's that for a revolution in 
building!
-- 


Dave Olsen

web: cob.lasqueti.ca <http://cob.lasqueti.ca/>email: cob at lasqueti.ca 
<mailto:cob at lasqueti.ca>phone: 877.873.1797 or 604.216.6700


Build your dream...easier, faster, and more affordably with Fast Cob!


PS. Masks may NOT be worn at our workshops (they really do harm you) and if you 
choose or are coerced into being injected with any of their genetic/control 
experiments, please allow for a minimum of 60 days before attending any workshop 
(I've been infected through shedding and it was not fun, to say the least).  
Thank you for understanding and never hesitate to ask for clarification about 
anything!
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