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January 2012 Volume IX 2011: A Year in ReviewA Note From Dastan Khalili & Sheefteh Khalili
It has been nearly four years since the passing of our father, Nader Khalili. We have carried forward his mission at Cal-Earth with our amazing team of instructors and apprentices, and have followed the vision that he shared with all of us over the years. One of the last ideas our father was cultivating was that of distance teaching; he wanted more than anything to be able to spread his teachings far and wide to those who could not make the long and often expensive journey to California. He was adamant that this work be accessible to people around the world and was determined to find a solution to teach them everything he could. As such, we decided that in 2011 we would venture out into the development of an international workshop program, organized by Cal-Earth and an alumni in the host country, and taught by Cal-Earth instructors covering all material that we teach on-site in California. To our amazement, and as a true testament to the amazing work our father left behind, we conducted not one but SEVEN workshops abroad in 2011 in Australia, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia. We trained 100+ students from all over the world and were able to overcome all the challenges presented to provide an authentic Cal-Earth experience. We must thank our skilled instructors and organizers who represent some of the finest alumni Cal-Earth has ever seen: Heather Carragher, Mystee Unwin, Nicholas Jouin, Minna Seppala, Kate Fleischhacker, Peter Fleischhacker, Marina Medialdea, Marco Cervantes, Aaron Musicant, Lilly Wolfensberger, Mark Harmon, Ana Maria Gutierrez, Fox McBride, and J Roberts, we could not have done it without all of your hard work and commitment to Cal-Earth and its mission.
Sincerely, Sheefteh Khalili, CFO |
We have many workshops planned for 2012 and are looking forward to seeing this program continue to grow and develop. In addition to the workshops, we are currently working on translating the Emergency Shelter Book into Spanish (and hopefully other languages in the future) and converting our books to digital downloads to make it simpler for our international students to be able to access all the same materials that our on-site students have available to them. Cal-Earth celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011 and we are extremely proud that in the 20th year we were able to bring another one of our fathers' dreams to fruition. Without a doubt Nader Khalili would have taken this opportunity to remind you, his students and supporters, that this work moves forward and spreads throughout the world because of all of you, and we are grateful that since his passing your support has continued to grow stronger. We look forward to what 2012 will bring and invited all of you to be a part of this amazing and exciting journey.Girona, Spain Workshop Report: Aaron Musicant, Instructor
Because of the soil's high clay content (not to mention roots and boulders), we stabilized the dome with lime and began plastering the outside with an earth-sand-lime plaster. It was a joy to work with such a wonderful building material that is so little used in the United States despite so many of its beneficial properties, from its breatheability and water-wicking capabilities to its reduced environmental impact. Along with the workshop participants, we learned a great number of tricks for building with lime instead of cement as a stabilizer. Given that the dome was built in a region that gets very cold during the winter, we are curious to see whether the lime stabilization, which will tend to wick moisture away (unlike cement), will help in reducing cracking from freeze-thaw cycles wherein water will enter a wall, freeze and expand, and compromise walls and plasters. Due to constraints based on our location and parameters given to us by the landowners, the scale and complexity of the dome was more than we could handle in the ten-day workshop, despite the Spaniards voluntarily forgoing their Siestas in favor of building and learning. Fortunately, a handful of workshoppers, all of whom left with the tools and skills needed to build a home, stayed after the workshop and completed the rest of the dome. All in all, it was an amazing workshop and an incredible learning experience for all. It is a blessing to see this building technique, this philosophy, which has touched and enriched my life in so many ways, spreading and enriching lives of people all around the world. It is an honor to be a part of Nader Khalili's vision to build a better world. Thank you, Cal-Earth. |
September found Marco Cervantes and I instructing our second Cal-Earth Workshop in stunning setting in the mountains near Girona, Spain. The natural splendor was only matched by the quality of the 31(!) workshop participants, whose enthusiasm, creativity, musical talents, and penchant for good ole Spanish fun, made for an amazing two weeks. We gave complete theoretical lectures and everyday got out hands dirty building an 11ft inner diameter dome from the ground up. With so many workshoppers, Marco and I had our hands full and building became an exercise in beautifully controlled chaos. Days were filled with building and lectures and practicing various superadobe techniques, and evenings were filled with music and singing and dance, which occasionally found their way into the build as well.On Site Happenings: Refinishing the Emergency Shelter Village
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This fall my fellow apprentice Big Tree and I had the pleasure and privilege of working with the Cal-Earth staff, more specifically Ian, Mark and Hooman, in revamping the Eco-Village and Harmony House, an on-site conventional home. I am a 6-day workshop graduate who has completed a 270 sqft dome project at Aquarius Ranch in Hinkley, CA and has worked on the triple Eco-Dome for the Bonita Domes Project in Joshua Tree, CA. Throughout the week I was tasked with plaster and stucco work that helped improve my skills in these areas and also learned new skills such as building a cost effective earthen countertop. The face of the superadobe bench in the village was demolished due to severe cracking caused by weather and had accumulated damage over a 10 year period. We worked to restore the bench using a 15-20% earth/cement plaster mix while Ian and Hooman aided in the finishing of the bench by showing us proper trowelling techniques as well as giving us tips on how to burnish with a cut-up plastic water bottle. We then moved onto the Harmony House, a conventional home used for natural building research, to help Ian and Hooman finish an earthen countertop. The mix used consisted of a 30% white/gray cement blend with earth and was hand trowelled onto the countertop and then mason trowelled into form and burnished with a plastic bottle. We were able to form the mix in order to maximize water flow back into the sink which improved overall value. The monetary cost of this method was pennies compared to many other options plus the flexibility of creativity was endless. All in all the value of these simple and easy building/plastering practices and methods truly define the self-sustaining and environmentally aware culture for this and future generations.2012 Workshop Season | |
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Learn to Build Education and training are essential to Cal-Earth's training and vision. We believe that shelter is a basic human right and that every person should be able to build a home for him or herself. For those interested in learning to build with the earth, Cal-Earth offers intensive workshops throughout the year. Give us a few days of your time and we will teach you hands-on how to build your home, your school, or your community with the earth beneath your feet. One Week Workshops Four Day Workshops
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From One Director to Another: Farewell Mark!
— From Ian Lodge and the entire Cal Earth staff |
Mark Harmon, our technical director, is leaving Cal Earth! We are sad to see him go, of course, but we are happy and joyful for change and evolution into new places and projects. It's not goodbye, really. Mark will be continuing with super-adobe work, design, building, project supervision — as well as overseas training and workshop provision. In addition, Mark is uniquely qualified to do other construction and invention work and we look forward to his continued technical activities and input. Mark has been the first face for many who've come to Cal Earth over the years and Mark has been one of the main instructors going back to when Nader was around. With humor, mad-scientist brilliance — and a wonderful sense of playfulness, Mark has touched many of us. For some it was a scolding for not cleaning tools at the end of the work-day; for others it was his patient and experienced teaching manner where his genuine love for all that he does came across. For me, personally, Mark has been a rock solid technical go-to person and an endless source of knowledge. If we may dare to speculate as to what Nader might have said at this moment, I'd bet that he'd credit Mark with having performed a rather massive service to Cal Earth with incredible dedication and consistency. I could not, possibly, list all of the many things that Mark leaves behind at Cal Earth in terms of direct contributions, but some of the highlights include: All electrical, water and gas lines in Earth One and many other buildings around our site; project leadership on two recent stick-frame renovations; waterproofing; tropical waterproofing and humidity control R & D — resulting in some real tangible steps forward for this work; earthen plaster and arts techniques which have lead to a growth in the palette of skills which can be learned at Cal Earth for future apprentices; (countertops, floors, earthen dividing walls etc), ceramic pyromania and a true passion for clay and the ceramic beginnings of the Cal Earth journey; teaching, teaching and more teaching; and all-round go-to guy for any and all matters whatsoever. Mark, dear friend, we ALL love you greatly and salute your journey forward and your contribution to Cal Earth in the past! We look forward to seeing you out there in the field now lending your expertise to a wider audience still. Be Well, friend!Greenspace: Vaulted Structure in Claremont, CA
Greenspace is the first public building of its kind in the US. As such, hard data regarding carbon dioxide production during the construction of superadobe buildings does not exist. Working with Uncommon Good and CEDG are a number of students from Harvey Mudd and Pomona Colleges in Claremont. The students will measure the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions during the building process — including greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the transportation of builders to the site. This is a study in a quality management with regards to building with onsite materials. Construction of Greenspace began 1 October 2011. The walls were completed in six weeks; currently, the vaults are under construction. A number of Cal-Earth students and instructors compose the construction team. The building is expected to be completed around October 2012. Cal-Earth is excited to be a part of revolutionary building and team. |
Tucked behind the Methodist Church in Claremont, CA the first commercial superadobe building in Los Angeles County is currently under construction. The aptly named "Greenspace" will serve as the staff headquarters for Uncommon Good, a Claremont-based nonprofit dedicated to ending the poverty cycle in low-income families, as well as a community environmental center. The building construction is funded with a grant from the Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund and will be a zero-carbon building. Nancy Mintie, founder and Executive Director of Uncommon Good has worked with Cal-Earth and the Claremont Environmental Design Group (CEDG), a sustainability-driven architectural firm, to modify the residential Earth One plans for use as a public, commercial building. The finished building will include photovoltaic panels for energy production, rainwater catchment, solar thermal systems for hot water, composting toilets, a green roof, passive heating and cooling systems, and a solar chimney. It is anticipated that there will be a net positive energy produced by the building.Featured Product:
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A free event, held the first Saturday of every month (except August and on rainy days), Open House at Cal‐Earth has been a tradition for over a decade. Every year more people come to experience it for themselves and to teach their children how to build a sustainable future. Cal‐Earth associates and apprentices give tours and answer questions throughout the day. Most buildings are wheelchair accessible. Please no pets.
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Poem #45 |
if you don't have if you've lost a hundred times if you're the wounded string if you're that exhausted bird you've carved a wooden horse though only a wooden horse you've never really listened yet you keep hoping | |
| Elements Newsletter | January 2012, Volume IX | |
Continuing in his tradition, Khalili's associates and apprentices are dedicated to research and education of the public in environmentally oriented arts and architecture. Its philosophy is based on the equilibrium of the natural elements of earth, water, air, fire, and their Unity at the service of the arts and humanity. To donate to Cal-Earth, please visit our website: |
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