5 Day Courses

Students will learn exactly what they came to learn. It is extremely rare that participants leave with unanswered questions, despite some of them coming with very long lists! The main benefit to the amount of group learning we offer is that participants leave with answers, even to questions they hadn’t yet thought to ask.

You'll attend daily classroom sessions on rammed earth theory, the SIREWALL system, sustainable design and the SIREWALL Consulting processes. 

Get hands-on experience with all aspects of rammed earth building. Participants are on-site for 8 hours a day, building a rammed earth home. Come expecting to work! 

Meet like-minded doers. Form connections with passionate green thinkers. 

Each  participant will have opportunities during the in-person practicum to consult one-on-one with field experts. Get your rammed earth questions answered, pertaining to YOUR specific project. We have SIREWALL Expert Builders, architects and interior designers available for sessions with you. 

Receive five modules of virtual reading and videos during the month leading up to the course. You'll receive one module per week, each one building on the last. Online pre-course content gives a holistic overview of healthy and responsible building systems. We cover topics such as the history of rammed earth & SIREWALL, North American building standards, and the relationship between health and the built environment. 

Michael Palethorpe (SIREWALL Master Earth Mason and Co-Owner of Sirewall USA, LLC.) hosts this multi-day SIREWALL course, that will change perceptions about building green and inspire new ways of thinking. 

Joss Krayenhoff (SIREWALL Master Earth Mason, Owner of Terra Firma Builders and SIREWALL USA, LLC) offers one-on-one personal project consultation.

Andrea Keller (4D Design, architect specializing in rammed earth design and sacred geometries) offers one-on-one personal project consultation.

The courses are designed for people from all walks of life.

Those who have already benefited from our courses include:

• architects
• building inspectors
• developers
• DIYers
• engineers
• environmental ambassadors
• contractors

What people get out of the course is driven by what they want to learn. For some people, the engineering segment is the most interesting, while others benefit most from touring houses we’ve built.

Some people love networking with like-minded individuals, while others are moved and enlightened by the depth and breadth of our green conversations.

Those who continue on to the practicum gain a deep and tactile understanding of the inherent pleasure in building in a way that not only aligns up with their values but is also a fun team-based endeavor.

What is shared by almost all participants is the realization that what is now possible in building goes far beyond what conventional building offers.

We became disillusioned with conventional homebuilding and made the move to SIREWALL. It is so important that people stop building toxic, disposable homes as such practices wreak havoc on the environment and are largely responsible for climate change. Building with SIREWALL is a sustainable solution that can lead to positive change, and we’re passionate about spreading the word.

Jason McLennan, the creator of The Living Building Challenge, described SIREWALL as "The best wall system on the planet." We want this life-altering technology to become accessible to a greater audience. 

SIREWALL is a proprietary engineered sandstone wall – capable of extremely high strength for nearly any structural or decorative application, with high R-values for superior thermal performance in any climate region. Simply put, it is rammed earth reconsidered and brought into the modern age.

Strength

Insulated Walls

Wall finishes

Suitable for harsh climates

SIREWALL stands apart from other rammed earth in many ways. SIREWALLs are insulated with a fine finish and so not leave dust trails. We achieve consistently high strength mixes across the US (and the world), making it suitable for harsh climates. 

The SIREWALL system relies upon a series of advanced protocols that make rammed earth strong enough to compete with concrete as a structural material and thus make it possible to design anything from a small garden wall to large commercial buildings with the many beneficial qualities of rammed earth, previously only available to residential construction. SIREWALL Inc.’s technology is the only rammed earth system in the world capable of tall, load-bearing commercial applications, and it outperforms other types of rammed earth in many other ways — learn more at SIREWALL.com.

The longest, tallest, and strongest rammed earth walls in the world are all SIREWALL.

Your goal may not be to build a 100-foot tall rammed earth tower, but this technically rigorous course will give you an intimate understanding of how and why rammed earth works—and what it takes to make it great, at any scale!

“Rammed earth is easy to do—but difficult to do well.” –Meror Krayenhoff, SIREWALL inventor

Payment is due upon registration. Full refunds are available up to one month prior to the start of the course, minus a $200 processing fee. If you cancel within the month, there will be no refund given.