Through our demonstrations and question/answer hands-on sessions you will learn how to build basic earth plastered straw bale walls and earthen floors for your future Natural Home or garden wall/landscaping project.

Combining Tom's 14 years of involvement in the Straw Bale/Natural Building movement along with a craftsman's knowledge of conventional building and fabrication experience and Satomi's earthen plaster magic, you will leave Kingston full of ideas and enthusiastic inspiration to build your own fantasy land.

Our workshops begin with a tour of our site. Here you will see first hand our various buildings under construction depicting numerous methods and materials, both conventional and alternative. Straw Bale, Earthbag, Pumice Crete, Timber Frame, Bamboo, Steel, Cement Stucco, Earth Plaster, Masonry, and Landscaping.

From here we work our way down to our Straw Bale pillar work site. Depending on which workshop you are attending we will either begin working with bales or start mixing "mud".

By the time the weekend is over you will have learned the basics of how to work with bales: stacking, making custom bales, sewing, and pinning. Plaster wise, we will apply the initial clay slip and the heavy clay straw fill coat before moving into mixing, applying and finishing the basic LanderLand Earth Plaster mix.

We always recommend bringing work gloves and rubber gloves for mixing and applying the clay slips and fill coats. Safety glasses and a dust mask are recommended when working with straw, mixing clay or applying straw clay materials. Plan on getting dusty, wet and muddy, remember though, it's really fun.

Prior to attending we always recommend doing your homework and read a few books. Many are in the libraries or available through www.strawbalecentral.com or other book stores. Our all time favorite is Build it with Bales by Matts Myhrman and S. O. MacDonald. Unfortunately it is out of print. Rumor has it that the rights might be purchased. Another timeless classic and a must read is The Straw Bale House by Steen, Steen and Bainbridge. Of course there are numerous more books not just on natural building but conventional construction as well.

Please feel welcome to e-mail or phone with any specific questions you might have.
We are looking forward to seeing you in one of the workshops.

Location:
Kingston, New Mexico

Workshop fee: *Tax included.
$230/person - Lunch included.
$420/couple - Lunch included.
10% discount for prior participant.

Recommended items to bring:
Work gloves, rubber gloves, safety glasses and a dust mask are recommended when working with strawbale, mixing clay and straw and applying straw clay materials.

Contact / Registration:
Tom and Satomi Lander
Ph: 575-895-5029
E-mail: Tom@LanderLand.com

Accommodations:
Two free campgrounds in town. Limited facilities.
The Black Range Lodge B&B next door www.blackrangelodge.com
Enchanted Villa B&B and Barbershop Plaza Motel are in Hillsboro (9miles)
Restaurants in Hillsboro are open limited hours. No grocery stores.
www.HillsboroNM.com

Directions:

Remember to gas up in Truth or Consequences, Deming or Silver City. There is no gas station in Hillsboro.

From the East
To get to Kingston take Interstate-25 and exit at the Hillsboro exit #63, twelve miles south of Truth or Consequences or 63 miles North of Las Cruces. At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn west and go 27 miles (on NM152) to the town of Hillsboro -- Kingston is only nine miles further.... At the edge of Kingston bear right off the highway onto “ Main Street”. If you miss that turn, you will find yourself climbing up a steep curvy hill, then you will see a sign that announces the Gila National Forest. Turn around and head back. LanderLand is up Main Street on the left about 1/4 mile at the Bamboo Gate.

From the West
To get to the Kingston drive east on I-10 and exit at Lordsburg or Deming, NM, depending on which way you want to go.

The Lordsburg route will take you through Silver City (Hwy 90) where you catch Hwy 180 for about 5 miles then take a left turn onto Hwy 152. This is where you will see the first sign to Kingston (about 45 miles, and about an hour and twenty minutes). This is a beautiful drive, but not recommend at night or if the weather is questionable. Stay on Hwy 152, which winds its way past a big copper mine, down into the Mimbres valley, then up through the Gila National
Forest and over the Black Range Mountains. You will crest the Black Range at Emory Pass, at the top there is a great vista point (left about 100 yards on a paved access road), Here you can see 100+ miles and overlook Kingston, the closest community. (There's a rest room here, too.) Back on Hwy 152, you will descend 9 miles and make a sharp left-turn into Kingston. LanderLand is up Main Street on the left about 1/4 mile at the Bamboo Gate.

If you exit I-10 at Deming follow the signs to Hatch. Basically you turn left under the freeway onto Hwy 180 and go about a mile, then yield right onto Hwy 26. This is a straight, fast road, with an occasional patrol car. Go 30 miles, and turn Left onto Hwy 27. This turn comes up fast at highway speeds -- there is a bar/restaurant called "The Middle of Nowhere Cafe." You'll also see a joke sign for the "Nutt Shopping Mall," but not until you slow down and turn left. Hwy 27 is a little-traveled road through ranch country. It goes from straight to rolling hills, and you may see cattle on the road. Antelope are also sighted along here. The road passes by the ghost town of Lake Valley and ends at Hillsboro, where you will turn Left -- Kingston is nine miles further.