Community Building
It' s starting to come together!
Thank you ever so much to everyone who has contributed to the project so far. It has been really satisfying to see it happening, and to see so many people coming together.
In the last week of May 2016 we ran a workshop on building with straw. During the week-long course participants learned to build with straw bales, to apply a lime rendering, and made a start on a reciprocal roof.
Following the workshop week we undertook another volunteer work day, and despite some wet weather it proved to be another rewarding experience. There is still lots of work to be done, not least finishing the roof. We will be running a series of volunteer days to help get the job done.
Here is a little reminder of why we need a Community Building at our Hawkwood farm:
It will be a place for the farm team and members to gather, to enable informal workshops, shared meals and meetings, it will be a shelter from the rainy weather, and you can just drop in to have a cup of tea after picking up your veg.
Sounds good, doesn't it?
The building we are proposing is a round straw bale building, with lime washed walls and a living reciprocal roof. It will be large enough to accommodate around 25 people. It will be off grid, have a disabled access and will face south-west across the farm. It will be available for farm members to book for their personal use, and for Hawkwood college to run some courses in it.
We are well on the way to making this happen. We have planning permission, a grant from the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for 21 % of the cost, local skilled green builders willing to help for free and we have fund raised £1500. We made a good start on the base for our community building and we put in the wood foundations. The next step will be to build the walls with straw bales, install windows and door and construct the roof. We are starting at the end of May.