The group
Dear Diary…
Natural Building Workshop was a highlight during my internship at Acarbio.
The workshop lasted for 4 days, from the 2nd to the 5th of June, but a few participants came here earlier to help the preparation, while some stayed here longer to explore this mountainous area.
We built an outdoor kitchen and a bathroom from cob, mud, adobe bricks, straws, bamboos, soil, sand, and clay. The participants are a multinational, multicultural group of more than 30 unprofessional builders, at the age from 18 to 54, from America, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland.
Amongst the activities were collecting bamboos and stones, fining sands, moulding adobe bricks, mixing mud from soil, sand, and water with our bare feet, painting, decorating, etc. The result is a stunning outdoor kitchen with an oven for pizza, a fireplace, and a BBQ.
Minh at work
That was my first time working on something like this, so the experience was amazing. I had the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures, improving teamwork skills, gaining some knowledge of building techniques, and having fun together.
We also had a pizza party in the last evening.
(Minh Tran)