Bamboo Workshop...

Hello everyone,

I hope this finds you all happy and healthy.
I am forwarding this from a relative of mine who leads this worshop which may be of interest to some:

This is to announce that the second in a series of workshops will be
held in
Obregon, Sonora Mexico to finsih the bamboo casita that was started
there
with this past springs workshop.

For those of you unfamiliar with this project, it started when Bill
and
Athena Steen, authors of the Straw Bale House, asked me to accompany
them on
one of thier trips to Obregon, "to see if bamboo would grow
there". "There"
is the 12 acre property of the Save the Children Foundation of Mexcio
whom
the Steens had been working with. They designed and supervised
contruction
of a 5,000 square foot office building for the Foundation there. I
went
along with them on one of thier trips and was taken by the work they
were
doing building low income straw bale houses. I was president of the
Tierra
Seca Chapter of the American Bamboo Society at the time and so I
wrote a
proposal to the Society for bamboo plants to begin a project in
Obregon
growing and using bamboo as a locally availble, sustainable housing
material. The plants came in and the Chapter facilitated thier
delivery to
Obregon where we planted them on the property around the rising walls
of the
office building.

That was nearly 8 years ago. The 20 species of tropical bamboo
(about 40
plants) are now mature and this past spring we harvested poles and
used them
to get the main part of the structure up. There is still much work
to be
done.
This fall well be harvesting poles and using them to finsih walls and
an
entry as well as the interior.

The date is Saturday, November 13. The workshop will go to the
following
Saturday. Free camping is available on the grounds around the bamboo
plants
and there is a full kitchen available in the office buiding for
cooking
meals. There are bathroom facilities in the straw bale office
building and
in a straw bale house on the property. Food will not be served.
There are
several inexpensive resturants within walking distance and motels and
higher
end resturants within miutes by car. Well stocked grocery stores are
nearby.
Since the program is non-profit the cost is being kept low to
reflect
this. The cost is $250. The hope is to have enough participants to
cover
the cost of material expensis for the project.

You will learn proper harvesting techniques, bamboo joinery for
construction, and how to use bamboo in concert with a cob like mix
that
makes efficient use of not only the bamboo but the clay and straw as
well.
The result is and incredibly strong building system that is easily
accomplished and requires much less labor than many other natural
approaches. The casita is architecturally unique in many respects.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
520-398-3034
mornings and evenings. Im rarely near the phone and I dont have an
answering
machine. Your best bet for communicating with me is to send me an
email.
Klyle
katbambu@...