September 12-13, 2026: Bio-Based Building with Mike DeSorgher

Description

Instructor: Mike DeSorgher

Pronouns: he/him/his

Date: Saturday, September 12 & Sunday, September 13, 2026

Duration: 2 days

Time: 9:00AM to 4:00PM EST

Location: 80 Bassett Road, Shelburne MA 01370

Cost: sliding scale of $300-500

Experience Level: All are welcome.

Program Description

This two day workshop will serve as an introduction in Natural Building Systems.

Building with straw, earth, and wood can create highly efficient homes that are healthy for their inhabitants, resilient shelters, and sustainable to construct. During this course we will discuss the structural and hygrothermal dynamics of natural wall systems as well as the skills and techniques to build with these materials and how to work with current building codes. The course will focus on strawbale and straw-clay walls, but concepts will apply to most natural walls like hempcrete, and straw-panels. We will also touch on various other aspects of building a natural home including foundations, roofing, interior and exterior finishes, passive solar design and more. Students will work hands on with two different wall assemblies: a traditional timberframe straw-bale wall and hybrid wall system using light straw-clay and woodfiber insulation. We will put together the components of these walls during the weekend course and apply a basecoat of earthen plaster to the walls on Sunday. The finish coat of plaster will be applied during Barnfest on October 10th for anyone interested in seeing the wall thru to its final finish.

We hope this course will be an excellent primer and skill builder for both professionals and DIYers looking into straw-bale or straw-clay construction and earthen plasters. We will have space available to answer specific questions related to people’s individual projects.

Limited on-site lodging is available. Please contact us to make arrangements.

No experience necessary.

About Mike DeSorgher

Mike DeSorgher is a local design builder and licensed construction supervisor. He is the Owner of Yeoman Design Build, a firm committed to environmental stewardship, sustainable building, and innovative construction methods. Mike has over 25 years of construction experience building natural and high performance buildings in the Pioneer Valley Including straw-bale, light straw-clay, cob, cordwood, earth and lime plasters, and more.

Learn more about Mike on his website: Yeoman Design Build

Please contact us with any questions at [email protected].

Our sliding scale fee allows us to keep our programming accessible to a wide range of individuals through the generosity of our community. Please select the option that feels the most comfortable for you.