Natural Building

Before there was conventional building methods, humans only built with materials locally available to them. Natural building fundamentally starts with the use of local and land based materials and local experiential knowledge. From adobe huts to luxurious straw bale homes, and from lime and clay plasters to high performance natural building methods.

 

Here at Craft Well, Natural Building simply means using local or earth-based materials with a low carbon footprint that work with a design that balances local culture, geography or place with local knowledge, and the local ecological environment. Natural building was once the only building around. 

 

Our aim is to engage our hands, hearts and minds in the application of natural building methods, and merge that with modern building and ecological sciences. This means that we will focus on materials, methods and skills that work in our specific cultural, economic and ecological contexts. We will derive inspiration from the world over, with a specific interest in natural building histories from the African, East Asian and North American context.

 

With us, you will learn; strawbale building to natural plastering; stone masonry to rainwater catching and filtration; natural building foundations to passive solar integration and more. These skills can be used by the experienced builder, architect, DIY enthusiast, home owner and artists - anyone!