Join CASBA and the Feather River Land Trust for a Lime Plaster Scratch Coat Work Party at the Sierra Valley Preserve Nature Center near Beckwourth, CA, October 21st and 22nd.  Instruction and direction provided by Myles Danforth, of Healthy Home Artisans in Nevada City, and Darles Eaton, an expert natural builder in the East Bay. They will instruct in the basics of applying a lime plaster scratch coat to straw bale walls. This project will use Type S lime with Metakaolin and Lincoln clay, applied to rice straw bales set on edge, for the interior finish on this unique 'straw-cell' wall system. This system uses bales stacked on edge to the interior of a cellulose insulated 2 x 4 wall, combining conventional framing methods with a super efficient bale stacking process. They will also discuss and the brown coat and finish coat (using EcoStucco NHL) for those who are interested in more information. All participants are additionally invited to attend the brown coat work party November 18-19.

This building will house an event and exhibition space, an educational center, and maintenance facilities for the Feather River Land Trust who owns and manages the 2500 acre preserve. More information about the Preserve available at https://www.frlt.org/outdoor-adventures-lost-sierra/sierra-valley-preserve/

The goal of the Work Party is to accommodate every participant’s interest and skill level while having a fun weekend supporting the Feather River Land Trust. Evenings and meal times will allow for additional question/answer time. Breakfast at 9 am, plastering begins at 10am each day and ends at 4pm with a break for lunch. There is room for camping outside (both tent and car camping welcome) or staying in a very limited number of guest beds on-site in their rv. There are a number of hotels, motels, and BnBs in the area, as well as Sierra Hot Springs, as nearby alternative accommodations. Meals will be provided from Saturday breakfast through Sunday lunch. Please register in advance at https://www.strawbuilding.org/event-5449113

For additional workshop info contact Allison Arnold at allisonannearnold@gmail.com or 301-357-0582.