Episodes

Rowland Keable of Earth Building UK & Ireland (EBUKI) & Rammed Earth Consulting gives us a byte size delve into the magic that is clay. Clay truly is a magic material and it continues to surprise me all the time. This substance that sticks to the soles of our boots that the peasants used to build with.... Surely we can do better than that as a building material? Well, as it turns out, this hugely versatile material is actually hugely beneficial for our health when we live around it. It's also re...

I'm very pleased to welcome Wibbs Coulson of Mandukya Yoga back on the podcast. This time we are talking about breathing, and how you've probably been breathing wrong your entire life! I occasionally feature episodes on what I call the 'sustainability of self' - I see it again and again, that professionals in the sustainability profession burn out. When you see the need to fix the problem as so crucial that the human race depends on it... you tend to forget about your own needs. So with this in ...

Welcome to this first episode of Byte Size Building Sustainability.... BSBS? I have heard a lot that people sometimes find it hard to find a hour to listen to podcasts, so these byte size episodes will run to a maximum of 10 minutes. It means you can get a little nugget of sustainability ponderings from my wonderful guests. Being as it's the first one, I thought I'd open the proceedings myself, with a little chat based on some advice I received from the Oregon based cob builder , Ianto Evans. I'...

This week I am joined by Ben Kerslake from Carrington Lime . As well as a general geek out about lime, we mostly talk about how to solve damp problems in homes with some simple observation and materials choices. We discuss why the modern conventional approach of 'tanking' a building is usually fixing a symptom, rather than dealing with the problem. ASBP Awards - Register for your free ticket here: https://asbp.org.uk/events/asbp-awards-2021-final Triodos Free £60 - https://join.triodos.co.uk/raf...

Patreon support - https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability This episode I'm talking with Caz Ingall, who is a willow coffin weaver. We talk, not just of the process of weaving a vessel to bury a loved one, but a lot to do with the disconnection our modern culture has with death and the grief surrounding. About Caz: "I started working with willow more than a decade ago and was immediately hooked on both the craftform and the fact that I could be in control of everything along the journey of...

Today I'm talking with Alice and Gavin Munro from Full Grown about their exceptional work growing complete chairs from trees. So the normal procedure is to wait 50 years for a tree to grow, chop it down and begin cutting it into smaller and smaller parts. At some point the parts are small enough and you can now join them back together with glue to make a chair. Depending on the competency of the joinery and strength of the glue, your chair might last 50-100 years? Alice and Gavin Munro have a di...

How can we do the work to look after the planet if we don't look after ourselves? This is the question we are asking Faye Blake of Live Intuitively in Building Sustainability Podcast BS39. Many in our industry burn out, because they are so focussed on doing the much needed work in advancing sustainability in the built environment that don't stop to notice whether they have sustainability within themselves. I know this from personal experience and have observed in in many of my colleagues. This e...

A conversation recorded with Janna Laan Lomas, founding director and designer at Grain Architecture . In this episode we discuss the architecture industry's response to climate change. We also look at Janna's training and how she got into architecture and sustainability. You might also be interested to hear episode 37, also with Janna which focuses more on the nuts and bolts of how to design buildings in a sustainable way. Topics covered in this conversation: Ethics - Turning down work if it's n...

It's a Solstice/Christmas/New Year double episode with Grain Architecture 's founding director and designer Janna Laan Lomas. In this episode we discuss the nuts and bolts of sustainable design from an architect's perspective. I also speak with Janna in episode 38, where we discuss her background and training, and the response from the architecture world in response to the climate emergency. This episode contains discussions on: Her approach to construction Insulation and Mass geek out Designing...

This week I'm joined by Clare Whitney from Clayworks for Building Sustainability Podcast BS36. Clayworks Clay plasters are unique blends of unfired clays mixed with minerals and pigments to provide healthy, breathable finishes for internal walls and ceilings. Manufactured in Cornwall from abundant raw materials, they are amongst the most sustainable and healthy wall finishes available. They are recyclable, compostable, re-useable, and contain no toxic ingredients or VOCs. As well as being 100% n...

Kiran Pereira is the author of the forthcoming book Sand Stories: Surprising truths about the global sand crisis and the quest for sustainable solutions . Kiran was raised in India where she witnessed the impacts of indiscriminate sand mining. Following her Master’s degree at King’s College, London, during which she explored this very topic, Kiran works as a social entrepreneur to find and promote solutions to the global sand crisis. Her work has been featured in the award-winning documentary Sa...

Part 2 of the 2 part episode in partnership with Earth Building United Kingdom and Ireland ( EBUKI.co ) We wanted to find out about the training available to those wanting to get into earth building in the UK and Ireland. All to often this information is provided from the trainers perspective and doesnt show the difficulties of getting into this industry. In this episode I talk to Miki Z and Jamie Ingle. This episode with conversations with and ends with my thoughts on what we can do to better...

Part 1 of a 2 part episode in partnership with Earth Building United Kingdom and Ireland ( EBUKI.co ) We wanted to find out about the training available to those wanting to get into earth building in the UK and Ireland. All to often this information is provided from the trainers perspective and doesnt show the difficulties of getting into this industry. In this episode I talk to Kit Jones and Anna Castilla Vila. Episode 34 will follow straight on from this episode with conversations with Miki Z ...

I'm very pleased to welcome the podcast - builder, photographer, publisher, editor and blogger... Lloyd Kahn! Lloyd is the editor in chief at Shelter Publications, has now published eight books on building; this series is called The Shelter Library Of Building Books. Included are Home Work, the sequel to Shelter, Tiny Homes, and Lloyd’s favorite, Builders of the Pacific Coast. In the mid-‘60s, Lloyd Kahn quit his job in the insurance business and began working as a carpenter, first building post...

This episode we are talking with British folk singer, Jay McAllister AKA Beans on Toast. We began talking about "how the arts, music and storytelling could save the world from climate catastrophe." But, I think what came out of the conversation was that of hope, believing in people and celebrating the good in humanity. The conversation covers the role of the artist, how to have hope, great storytellers, inspirational books, socially distanced gigs.... to name but a few topics... and it ends wit...

This episode we are speaking with Sarah Partridge of Orchard Barn - http://orchardbarn.org.uk/ Orchard barn is an off grid restoration project that is rebuilding a barn and long house using the traditional tools and techniques that were used to build it the first time round. The Mick & Pat Show Join us for informal conversations surrounding beer, film, politics and philosophy. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show Connect with me: IG - @jeffreythenaturalbuilder Twitter - @JNaturalBu...

This episode we talk with Scott McAulay, from the Anthropocene Architecture School. Scott is a part 2 architectural technician who has been making lots of noise to shake up the architectural education model. We discuss Scott's journey to this point and how the anthropocene architecture school has developed and grown into a rebellious voice of common sense - pushing for a change in the education of architects to bring the climate emergency to the forefront of design requirements. Support this Pod...

Full show notes coming soon! Emily's Blog - https://plasterwithwa.wordpress.com/ Japanese Earthen Plaster Exchange - https://thejepe.org/ Japanese Plaster Craft - https://www.facebook.com/groups/japaneseplastercraft 'Mizugone' Plastering Video discussed - https://youtu.be/Mti9FiZha6Q The Mick & Pat Show Join us for informal conversations surrounding beer, film, politics and philosophy. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show Connect with me: IG - @jeffreythenaturalbuilder Twitter - @J...

Today I talk with Emily Reynolds, author of 'Japan's Clay Walls: A Glimpse into their Plaster Craft' - This is part 1 of 2! Today we discuss trowels, bamboo backing, Links Japanese Earthen Plaster Exchange www.righttoroam.org.uk The Mick & Pat Show Join us for informal conversations surrounding beer, film, politics and philosophy. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show Connect with me: IG - @jeffreythenaturalbuilder Twitter - @JNaturalBuilder Facebook - Jeffreythenaturalbuilder Linke...

Something a bit different today. I talk with Wibbs Coulson about how we can look after our bodies to keep us able to build, craft or just stay in good shape! Videos from the podcast Yoga inspired movements for wrists/arms/shoulder health - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDbyFi67fkA Anatomy in motion inspired movement for back pain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_mE9qmTPss Box breathing technique - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG48FfT3Qno Movnat inspired Combo work out - https://www.youtu...

Show notes available at: http://jeffreythenaturalbuilder.com/natural-builder-question-time-pt2-will-stanwix-bs25 In this episode I talk with Will Stanwix - Co-author of 'The Hempcrete book - Designing and building with hemp lime'. Will is not only a hemp-lime builder, but also a trained building surveyor and now an accomplished earth builder too. This is the second part of a 2 hour conversation between Will and myself. For this, we took turns to ask each other questions and go off on geeky/silly...

Show notes available at: http://jeffreythenaturalbuilder.com/natural-builder-question-time-pt1-will-stanwix-bs24 In this episode I talk with Will Stanwix - Co-author of 'The Hempcrete book - Designing and building with hemp lime'. Will is not only a hemp-lime builder, but also a trained building surveyor and now an accomplished earth builder too. This is the first part of a 2 hour conversation between Will and myself. We recorded a conversation right at the beginning of lockdown , then decided t...

Full show notes available at: http://jeffreythenaturalbuilder.com/bs23-earth-floors-are-the-most-sustainable-floors-sukita-reay-crimmel This week I am talking with earth floor expert Sukita Reay Crimmel. Sukita has laid thousands of square feet of earthen floor, written the book on earth floors... and was an extremely influential teacher to me back at the beginning of my natural building journey! This episode is essentially two earth floor lovers, geeking out pretty hard. We talk through the bas...

The second of our 'Barn the Spoon' double bill. In this episode Barn talks about 'New Wood Culture' - A holistic approach to working with wood that connects the growing of trees and managing of woodlands. It encompasess selecting, appreciating and felling of trees, and all the items that can be crafted from them. Barn is a greenwood worker, spoon carver and author Podcast Links Barn the Spoon Spoonfest Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Barn's Book - Spon - https://tinyurl.com/28wqnmj4 Bodgers Ball Fri...