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 NEW Internship Program

                Oxford, Michigan 1 hour north of Detroit on wooded rural land. 

Immerse yourself in an intensive, hands-on learning experience. The new internship program will provide a good variety of natural building experiences during your stay of one to several months. During your program participate in all workshops, as well as building projects & sustainable living activities on site, which will vary by season.  Be a part of a living, building community!     

Internship: $625 per month (or early-bird discount of $500 prepaid 1 month in advance) includes room & board plus all training and workshops at the Strawbale Studio land with Deanne Bednar and invited guest teachers during the time of your stay.  

Intern Scholarship (WorkTrade)  For those who cannot support the program financially, several Intern Scholarships are offered to help support the Strawbale Studio. To fulfill a worktrade position 15 hours would be applied toward a given area: Outreach/ Office, Building & Grounds, Gardening or Cooking/Household. The rest of the time you would join in the learning and activities of the Internship Program. 

                          Below find an application form as well as information on Programs, Projects, What to Expect.

We are co-creating with the natural world and learning to come together in community ...

joyfully becoming more skillful in living & building in deeper harmony with the greater whole (and having fun!).

The Internship is an immersion into Natural Building and Community Living open to students 18 and over with all experience levels.  A one or several month stay will give Interns a variety of hands-on learning and building opportunities with the goal that graduates leave with skills and passion to help build a more restorative future.                

Skill Development:  Interns will participate in all aspects of building projects and workshops scheduled for the month.  Activities will vary by season.  More program details at the bottom of this page.

• Fall 2011-  Sept 11 through Nov 11, 2011.  Rocket Stove, Rumford fireplace, living roof, wattle and daub, earth plasters and thatching.
• Winter Jan 8 through Feb 8, 2012- Hands-on Thatching and reed harvesting,  interior earthen plasters, food fermentation, round-pole framing, info on composting systems, fruit tree pruning, foundations, framing & wall systems.  Help with wood harvesting.  
• Spring 2012 - "Education & Community Outreach" includes Earthday festival, Green events and community projects, re-localization, earth oven, plasters, thatching, foraging and a permaculture class with Jared Bogdonov-Hanna. Hands-on construction of the Kids Cottage on site: stone knee wall, rocket stove heated bench, earthen floor & plastering, natural wall system construction and window framing & door building.  Join in projects with a highschool group who will be camping here for 5 days.  
• Summer 2012 - Introductory building skills: foundation framing, natural walls systems, plasters, thatching, permaculture, foraging.
• Fall 2012 - Get hands-on experiences on our current building projects and sustainable skills.  Experiences Earth plastering. thatching, round pole framing skills and more. 
• Winter 2013 - Reed collection, basics of thatching, exploration into pocket rocket stoves, using natural materials to retrofit exiting structures.  

Workshops:  One day or two day workshops are offered to the public throughout the internship. See the current calendar.  Workshops range from Earthen Plasters, Strawbale Constructions, Permaculture, Earth oven, Rocket Stoves, Thatching, Round Pole Framing, Living Roof Systems and more.  Interns will help with preparations and will participate in all workshops during their stay.

Weekly schedule:  Five day work week includes hands-on building and learning experiences, workshop preparation, long term project planning and time for ground/house maintenance.  There will be two days off throughout the week determined by the weekend workshop schedule.  Interns are expected to participate in all aspects of community living throughout their stay.  There are acres of woodlands to explore on the property as we as a town and parks with swimming within biking distance.

Lodging and Meals:  Food, primarily local & organic, is included.  Interns share in cooking/household responsibilities.  Lodging options include shared rooms & rustic cabin, camping and the Strawbale Studio.  First applicants receive first choices on lodging options. 

Application:

Please email your responds to the following questions to Deanne at ecoartdb@gmail.com  

Feel free to contact Deanne by phone as well: 248 628 1887

1. Your name, address, phone and email.
2. Why do you want to take this training and how do you plan to integrate or use these skills? 
3. What length of time, and which time period (dates) might you be interested in / which program?
4. Your age  
5. Mode of transportation (car? bus/train, etc)
6. A formal or informal resume
7. Three references (at least one of them, a "work" reference from an employer, teacher or internship host)

          Please include 

                Name of reference:

                Your relationship to the reference:

                Their phone:                          Email: 

      If you are accepted in the program you will be asked to sign an emergency form & waiver.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Deanne Bednar
248 628 1887  ecoartdb@gmail.com

PO Box 733, Oxford, MI 48371

More about the PROGRAM & PROJECTS.

Work hours 

Interns will be provided with the programing, workshops and classes outlined for that session.  There will be other enriching experiences and opportunity to work on your own projects during your own time.  All will help with sharing household duties.   After filling our internship openings, individuals would be considered for  worktrade wwoofing positions.  Wwoofers would contribute significantly more to the maintenance and backup work for the Strawbale Studio grounds and program. 

Interns will be actively involved in hands-on and classroom learning 40 hours per week - which would include hands-on natural building on our current projects, classes and presentations, and some contribution to helping things run here.  You will have time off when you can pursue your own studies & projects as you wish

Wwoofers would contribute at least 10 hours a week to helping this place to function as a center where people can visit and learn.  These kinds of activities might include helping with the grounds, repairs, office work, organizational work and the like. Interns also help with presentations, exhibits and demonstrations. Wwoofers will also take part in activities & classes as a learner and helper.

We usually take 2 days off a week for personal time, although sometimes there are "weather" & other demands that bend this rule a bit.  There is currently no stipend available, and although some interns have had outside part-time jobs, it is a challenge to have enough time to work here, have an outside job, and also have enough time for oneself and personal balance and development.

Work Ethics

We value good communication and the joy of working as a team, as well as the ability to do some activities on your own. Previous experience working with your hands, farming, and other skills where you are used to working physically hard is appreciated.  It is hope that you are an eager learner, and a collaborative worker, and love to say "What's next?"

Daily Living
Interns share in the cooking, dishes and other regular household chores that a person would regularly do as part of daily living.  These activities are in addition to the 30 hrs of work discussed above. It is expected that interns able to be neat, as this is a place that functions as a center with guests who come by to tour.

Expectations 
This is a healthy environment and a smoke-free, drug-free space. There are several cats and dust environments, so it is not a healthy space for those with allergies. 

Conserving Resources
We value (and enjoy!) living lightly on the earth, so we compost our kitchen waste (food), try to buy in bulk, and if not, recycle our glass, plastic, paper, etc. We consciously conserve on burning fossil fuels, finding ways to meet our needs while reducing our use of propane & wood. We insulate ourselves, rather than turning the heat up high. For campfires we try to use wood gathered from the woods, and enjoy a smaller fire. We hang our clothes outdoors to dry when possible, minimize water usage and cook with solar or insulating boxes when possible. 

 Gardens
Permaculture gardens and greenhouse and paths will be further developed and maintained. 

Lodging:
There is a main house that has a kitchen, 3 bathrooms, places to sleep in a dorm setting, and possibly a bed room, an intern cabin and plenty of place to camp.  Lodging will be worked out when you arrive. For people with allergies: Cats and dust are part of life here. 

Meeting people:
There are a number of gatherings, presentations and classes at which you can learn as well as meet many like-minded people, network and share information. 

Library:
Access to Natural Building and Sustainability books, videos and resources.


Goals for the full 2011 & 2012 season: 

• Kid's Cottage ~ finish rocket stove heated bench construction, stone foundation wall, natural insulated floor,  construction of 2 doors, installation of windows, east wall construction & earth plasters.
• Lean-to Wood Shed: finish thatching.
• Sauna Cabin:  roof, hybrid wall systems, install windows, wood stove. 
• Summer - Cob Cottage course to build a small structure with round pole/timber framing.
• Hand-harvesting & preparing building materials is always part of our creative process.
• Living roof on Wood Shelter
• Harvesting & processing firewood and wood for construction projects. 
• Strawbale Studio ~ finish plaster on benches, seal with linseed oil, make a finished earthen floor. 
• Workshops:  see the Calendar on the website. 
• Monthly Full Moon Potluck & Bonfire.  Firing up the earth oven and making pizza.  Wish: create a regular "Foraging & Breakfast" event, Medieval Garden Party.  Musical evening in the Strawbale Studio
• Provide natural building exhibits and demonstrations for several eco-events.
• Roofing - finish a living roof on the wood shelter, thatched roof demo/designing. Possibly a magazine roof. 
• Rebuilding the strawbale storage shed (with a living roof?)
• Permaculture Projects ~ sheet mulching garden beds, cover crops, planting & tending the Mandalla Garden & Herb Spiral. Foraging for plants and herbs, preservation (drying, tinctures, vinegars). 
• Fermentation ~ continue with sourdough projects, kombucha, keifer, viilli, krauts and other lively possibilities. 
• Reskilling ~ construct a solar dryer, home-made ceramic water filter.  Perhaps: cover drums with rawhide we made , experiment with brain tanning.
• Outreach and Education:  data entry, website update, weekly blog, educational game and class development.  Metro-Detroit Green Map project: collect & input data.
• Wishes ~  time to build a little tree house. 

Natural Building Outcomes: Depending on the timing and length of your stay, you will

• find, and test the qualities of clay, sand and fiber
• create the following materials: "Cob" (clay/sand/straw) earthen mix for building and sculpting, Earthen plasters for covering strawbales, Finish plasters for natural or conventional walls
• apply Cob and Earthen Plaster
• understand basic construction techniques for Cob Buildings, Strawbale Buildings, Light Clay, wattle & daub
• design with the sun and with nature.
•  understand the basic principles of thatching:  designing/building a roof structure for thatching, collection and application of reed grass.
• understand the principles of rubble trenches, stone knee-walls, and round pole framing.  

 References from past participants.        2009 REVIEW and PHOTOS  2010 Blog   See the Front Page  for the 2011 Report/Pictures.