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Schumacher at Sharpham - Green Design in Practice: Building an Earthship
Dates to be confirmed
We are currently working with the Environment Agency towards acquiring the appropriate permissions, and anticipate scheduling this course for late September or early October 2010. However, only when this process has been completed and logistics have been finalised will we be able to fully confirm that this course will run.
Kevan Trott
Two week course
We are planning for this course to take place on the Sharpham Estate, a few miles south of Dartington and Totnes. Like Dartington, Sharpham is bounded by the River Dart. The two estates also share a similar history, in that the Sharpham Trust was founded in 1984 by one of the daughters of Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst, who were the founders, half a century before, of the Dartington Hall Trust. Sharpham currently offers a range of educational activities, as well as having in its grounds a vineyard, winery, dairy herd, cheesemaker, and biodynamic farm.
“Imagine a home that heats itself, provides its own water, and grows its own food… It needs no expensive technology, recycles its own waste, and has its own power source. And it can be built anywhere, by anyone, out of the things that society throws away.” The words of US architect Michael Reynolds (star of the film Garbage Warrior) sum up the unique features of earthship homes. They are constructed out of natural and recycled materials such as earth-filled tyres, reclaimed timber, and used cans and bottles, and the passive solar design (glass on the south-facing side, thick walls with high thermal mass) means that no extra heating or air-conditioning is required. Water is collected, used and reclaimed using plants and filtration.
On this course, participants will work on the construction of a small earthship structure – a greenhouse – enabling them to learn the theory and experience the practice of most parts of the construction process. Each day will involve the equivalent of about an hour of theoretical input on various aspects of earthship construction, with the remainder of the morning and the afternoon devoted to the actual building tasks. The timetable will be somewhat weather-dependent – on very wet days there will be more talking and discussion, in fine weather more time outside. (In the event of lots of rain, work will have to be continued regardless with weather-proofing over the site.)
The philosophy underpinning this course will mirror that used for short courses at Schumacher College. There will be a daily timetable with a dedicated facilitator, with participants organised into community activities. The food will be similar to that served at Schumacher, cooked by Schumacher staff and helpers who will also be present throughout the course to see to people’s needs, reinforcing the sense of community so intrinsic to Schumacher College courses. Participants will be accommodated in single or double rooms in Sharpham House, a beautiful Georgian property set high on a hill overlooking the Dart. The earthship itself will be built in the grounds of the Barn, a Buddhist meditation retreat centre located on the estate. Morning and evening activities will take place at Sharpham House, where there are a range of rooms for meeting and socialising. Participants will spend the day at the Barn working on the construction, and lunch will be served there.
We are excited by the possibility of working together with our neighbours at Sharpham on a course which brings together holistic thinking and practical skills to create a work of beauty and utility.
To view drawings of the Earthship, click here
Teacher
Kevan Trott is a Chartered Surveyor and Chartered Environmentalist who owns the first Earthship home in Europe with official planning commission approval. It was built in Normandy, France in April 2007 by Kevan, Mike Reynolds and an Earthship Crew from Taos. The design was modified for a European climate and is seen as the Euro Model which has been used in Holland and Scotland. The French earthship is being used as a rental property http://www.earthship-france.com Kevan runs Earthships Europe, http://www.earthshipseurope.com/, a design and consultancy service. He has supervised the construction of a number of earthships in Europe and provided consultancy on projects throughout Europe.
Register your interest in this course
If you are interested in taking this course please e-mail us
As soon as we are able to confirm that the course is running and have dates, we will publish the Course Fees on this web page, and contact you to invite you to make a booking. The booking facility will also be made available on this web page.
For further information about Schumacher College please see About the College
Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.