LEARN HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN YURT DREAM!
WORKSHOP ON BUILDING A DO-IT-YOURSELF,
CODE COMPLIANT, SNOW AND WIND REINFORCED, 24 FOOT YURT
AT TWO RIVERS CENTER, MONTPELEIER, VT
FRIDAY 6 PM TO SUNDAY 4:30 PM, SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2011
$200 Total, Group discount 10% for 5 or More
To Register Leave Message of Interest with
Martin Kemple martin@tworiverscenter.org 802-223-1515
or
Bruce Sargent forloveofyurts@gmail.com 802-839-8497
Register Early, Limited Class Size
See details at www.forloveofyurts.blogspot.com
Build a 24 foot yurt like this one in two days, from lumber yard wood and ordered canvas to frame and covering and set up
Food Works at Two Rivers Center was founded in 1987 to address the root causes of childhood hunger by returning students and their communities back to the land through hands-on food and gardening educational opportunities.
Food Works lost their 24 foot Pacific Yurt in last spring’s flood. Our workshop will help them replace the loss with a similar DIY yurt. After working to help students learn to make the most affordable yurt at Yestermorrow and Spirit Hollow, Bruce Sargent is taking a new direction in helping students make the most affordable code compliant, diy yurt kit, like those produced in the US yurt industry.
Yurts have sheltered people since Heradotus wrote histories 2000 years ago. With minimal woodworking skills, a home of complex and magical beauty can be made at an amazingly modest cost, (roughly one fifth of the cost of a Yurt kit). In this workshop, you will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt of any size and any design. This course will lead you through building walls, door frames, rafters, roof rings, domes, tension bands and coverings. You will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt that meets your needs and matches your dreams.
Bruce Sargent, workshop leader, has built yurts and authored books and articles on yurt building and led workshops and classes about building your own do-it-yourself yurt. He has sought the simplest and most direct methods of yurt construction to create designs that anyone can build. He has shared his studies in workshops in Vermont at Spirit Hollow, Yestermorrow, and Hunger Mountain Food Coop and at his blog http://www.forloveofyurts.blogspot.com. The workshop will build a yurt in a magical two days, course work developed at Yestermorrow in two workshops last summer. Bruce has authored a book on yurt building, For Love of Yurts, Building an Ultra Simple Yurt for Under $1000, published by Shires Press in Manchester VT, a book that some reviewers have felt inspires those who long for a yurt to build one.
Workshop Objectives
To learn how to build a simple, green, sustainable, DIY, code compliant, snow and wind reinforced, 24 foot yurt
To learn simple power and hand woodworking skills necessary to build a yurt
To experience the magic of wall rods, under tension, shaping walls
To experience the joy of lifting the roof ring skyward and fitting rafters to ring and wall
To gain a knowledge that allows you to create your own yurt
Suggested Reading
King, Paul. The Complete Yurt Handbook. Eco-Logic Books, www.eco-logicbooks.com
Mulberry House. Maple Grove, Bath BA2 3AF, UK, 2007
Kuehn, Dan Frank, Mongolian Cloud Houses. How to Make a Yurt and Live
Comfortably. Shelter Publications, PO Box 279, Bolinas, California 94924, 2006
Lokey, Charles. Practical Mathematics in Yurt Design; A Detailed Discussion Following
Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, Summer Learning Institute, www.math.montana.edu/~lokey/YurtMath.pdf, 2004
Sargent, Bruce W. For Love of Yurts, Building an Ultra Simple Yurt for Under $1000, Shires Press, 2009 www.forloveofyurts.com. Stronach, David. On the Antiquity of the Yurt: Evidence from Arjan and Elsewhere. University of California, Berkeley. http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/2004vol2num1/yurt.htm
Materials to Bring
- Hearing and eye protection
- Hard hat, bike helmet or climbing helmet
- Protective shoes
- Tape measure
- Hand drill, bits or cordless drill
- Pencils
- Note book
- Calculator
- Sleeping bag and mattress pad
- Cup, bowl and spoon
- Pot luck food
There are motels and restaurants in Montpelier a short drive from Two Rivers should you prefer more comfortable accommodations.
Course Outline
Friday evening check-in 6-6:30 PM
Friday Evening Class 6:30-8:30 PM
- Sharing hopes and dreams, discussing the history of yurt designs, looking at the math behind the plans, learning of traditional practices, viewing the weekend schedule and considering safety demanded by the project.
Saturday Morning
- Constructing wall rods, assembling into V's, and assembling V’s into wall sections
- Constructing door framing and window framing
Saturday Afternoon
- Constructing rafters
- Constructing rafter supports
- Constructing roof ring
- Constructing dome fitting
Saturday Evening
- Questions and answers discussion. A time for expanding individual experience that will lead to building one’s own yurt.
Sunday Morning
- Cutting and joining covering materials
- Raising the yurt frame
Sunday Afternoon
- Covering the framework
- Reflecting on that we have accomplished: the nearly impossible feat of making and putting up a yurt in two days, and the wonderful knowledge that hands-on, materials based education has provided for you. Finish at 4 PM
To save on costs meals (Breakfast 8-8:45, Lunch 12-12:45, Supper 5:30-6:15) are pot-luck, so plan accordingly. Simple is good here. Coolers are available. Classes are Mornings 9-12, Afternoons 1-4:30, Evenings 7:00-8:30. Overnight by camping in communal spaces, or in your own tent or by staying in nearby motels.
Register Early. Limited Class Size
To Register Leave Message of Interest with
Martin Kemple martin@tworiverscenter.org 802-223-1515
or
Bruce Sargent forloveofyurts@gmail.com 802-839-8497
