Wanna build strawbale structures in Siberia?

[Dover]

Adventurers, sustainable housing people and natural builders! This is truly a unique offering;

Announcing an exciting new workshop/travel opportunity
Straw Bale Building in Southern Siberia !

Approximately August 7 through 28, 2005
Chemal, Altai Republic, Russia

A unique educational event for natural building enthusiasts, designers, architects, builders, and anyone with an adventurous spirit, faith in sustainable human habitation, a desire to bridge cultural gaps through productive cooperation, and a good sense of humor.

Register NOW! We need to hear from you by July 8th in order to allow time for processing your Russian visa! The registration price goes up after July 8th, and we will accept no more registrations after July 15th.

The Project:
This August, the first straw-bale building to be built in the Altai Republic will be erected by Russian enthusiasts, a core team of US specialists, and an international cadre of volunteers (that's you!). Builders Without Borders, the Center for Safe Energy, and the Fund for 21st Century Altai, three nonprofit organizations sharing a commitment to a healthier environment, have jointly created this international cooperative construction project. Our Russian hosts at the Fund for 21st Century Altai have been working for over two decades to halt destructive projects and promote sustainable practices in this largely pristine mountain region of south-central Siberia. They need your help!

The Cause:
Plans to build a large hydroelectric dam have been repeatedly shut down by citizen protest in this high-altitude region rich with rivers, streams, sunshine, and mountain winds. The Katun River, activists assert, must remain wild and undammed, as it is not only sacred to the indigenous Altai people but also a source of income through ecotourism (not to mention that geologists have found a danger of mercury leaching into the river if the dam goes through).

Those working against the dam point to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and ecotourism as ways to stimulate the local economy and meet energy needs without ravaging the environment. In the face of a renewed threat to start dam construction this year, activists are collaborating across Russia to stop itin the courts, on the streets, and on the Internet. Letter-writing campaigns, leafletting, and newspaper articles have swayed some residents, but others still believe that the dam will keep energy costs down and bring the region needed income.

Regional Siberian nonprofits have begun in the past few years to demonstrate practical, less destructive ways to meet these goals. During an international project bringing solar power to an off-grid ecotourism center, the Siberians present were fascinated by the idea of straw-bale buildings and immediately began making plans to create one.

Three years later, the land has been purchased, the American experts are ready, the bureaucratic hurdles are nearly cleared, and we're raring to go! Our partners in Russia have a need for a large storage shed at their new ecotourism location at the foot of a hill beside the clear, fast, rocky Chemal River, a tributary of the great Katun. They want it to be strawbale so that they can demonstrate this low-cost building technique and promote it as a way to reduce the region's needs for fuel, power, and lumber. It will be a post-and-beam construction with bale infill, plastered with earth and lime.

The Team:
Project organizers are Alyson Ewald and Susan Cutting, of the Center for Safe Energy's Altai Project (www.centerforsafeenergy.org). Alyson and Susan have been supporting environmental causes in the region for over fifteen years.

The Fund for 21st Century Altai, led by the visionary and determined Misha Shishin, is one of the most well-known and effective nonprofit environmental organizations in Siberia. Tatyana Artamonova will be project coordinator; she was a participant in a former strawbale-building exchange to the US.

The Builders Without Borders (www.builderswithoutborders.org) building/teaching team will be led by Jeff Ruppert, P.E. of Odisea Design, Boulder, CO, (www.odiseanet.com) and Paul Koppana, Skyhawk Construction, Crestone, CO. Jeff is a designer and engineer with many years of experience building with straw bales, as well as conventional construction. Paul is a quality contractor who leads an artistic crew of natural builders in the challenging climate of mountainous Colorado.They specialize in earth-plastered strawbale homes, with fine detailing.

The BWB organization is headed by Derek Roff, Director, and Catherine Wanek, Administrative Coordinator. (www.strawbalecentral.com) Builders Without Borders is a project of Networks Productions (www.NetworkEarth.org).

The Itinerary:
Volunteers will meet the core US group in Moscow around August 8th. We will spend one day in Moscow visiting Red Square and other sights. From there we'll fly to Barnaul and travel on to the remote village of Chemal, where the workshop will take place.

In Chemal, communication among the US, Russian, and international team members will be facilitated by Alyson and Susan, native English speakers who are fluent in Russian.

The straw-bale walls will be built together with the Russian partners. Then, in a formal, one-day seminar the team will present straw-bale technology to Siberian builders, officials, architects, the press and the public. Weather permitting, we will plaster the building altogether as well.

About August 28th we will depart for home. Alyson and Susan will accompany volunteers as far as Moscow and then return to the US with the core team.

The Location:
A cultural, geopolitical, and ecological crossroads, this region is considered one of the great treasures of central Asia. Located just north of the Russian borders with Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia, the Altai contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site, several protected territories, and a large number of endemic and endangered species, including the snow leopard. It is a place of cultural diversity, where Russian Orthodoxy meets Muslim and ancient indigenous belief systems and where indigenous peoples are struggling to protect their traditional sacred lands from destruction and inappropriate exploitation.

Our building site is next to the Chemal River, a rafters' paradise. Near our site are ancient petroglyphs, hiking/horse-riding paths, innumerable rivers and streams, and the stunning mountains of the Altai, a favorite Russian vacation destination. While the building will take priority, we expect that there will also be opportunity for recreation during the workshop.

The Experience:
Participants in this project will gain the satisfaction of having contributed something tangible toward the preservation of this pristine mountain land, and will also experience the thrills of unpredictable, charming, unique and deeply compelling Russia. This project will allow participants to witness the famous Russian hospitality, soak in steamy banyas, endure endless toasts, and perhaps even glimpse an "enigmatic Russian soul." The Altai, with its inspiring landscape and its peacefully coexisting Muslim, Orthodox, Buddhist, and indigenous shamanic traditions, is known for capturing the heart and not letting go.

We will need to be prepared for the unexpected, and ready to undergo occasional inconveniences or discomforts. Flexibility, good health, respect for others, good communication skills, and a sense of humor will come in handy.

Lodging:
Tent accommodations will be provided. If convenient, please bring your own sleeping bag. Three meals a day, drinking water, and tea will also be provided. Please let us know if you are vegetarian or vegan or have other dietary restrictions.

Travel:
As mentioned, you should make your own arrangements to get to Moscow, either by plane, train, or other means. We will let you know what day and approximate time(s) to arrive, and we will organize accommodations for the night in Moscow and all other travel and accommodations for the rest of the trip.

Visas:
Our experienced team will procure Russian visas for all volunteers who are US citizens. Other volunteers will need to acquire and pay for their own visas or other permission (if required) to enter Russia and stay for the duration of the trip.


Cost:
Non-US citizens: $2,300 cost (until July 8th) includes internal Russian flights, local ground transportation, all meals and accommodations for approximately 20 days, expert instruction and hands-on learning of straw-bale building and plastering (in addition to the formal seminar on straw-bale and other natural building techniques) full-time interpretation and on-the-spot trouble-shooting by fluent Russian and English speakers familiar with the region, and a cross-cultural experience you will not soon forget.

US citizens: $2,500 cost (until July 8th) includes all the above plus Russian visa support, visa fees, and our preparation of the documents for you.

All participants: You cover your own round trip transportation from your home to Moscow.

· After July 8th the cost of participation is $2,500 for non-US citizens and $2,800 for US citizens.
· We will accept no more registrations after July 15th.
· Only money orders or credit cards accepted.
· Participation is very limited; register early.
· Scholarships or discounts may be available to a limited number of participants.

Other details:
US citizens must have a US passport valid through at least March 2006, with at least two blank visa pages in it, in order to participate. Citizens of other countries must be eligible to receive a Russian visa, if one is required for your country.

Please assess your ability to undergo a sometimes rigorous experience in an unfamiliar environment before signing up for this trip. We will do our best to ensure the safety and comfort of all participants, but in Russia nothing is guaranteed, and we organizers are but mere mortals.

To Register:
Please send your registration fee to:
Builders Without Borders - 119 Main Street, Kingston, NM 88042

or for more information call:
(until July 2) -- Alyson Ewald -- 660-883-5330 Email: [e-mail]

(after July 2) -- BWB -- [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Web Site: www.BuildersWithoutBorders.org

You will be sent or emailed confirmation of registration within a week, and Alyson will immediately contact US participants to begin your visa process.

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[phantom power]

1. I'm a bit surprised they'd want/need foreign volunteers.

Foreign experts, I can understand, but you'd think they could get their volunteer workforce locally. It's the locals who want it, right?

Not that a trip to Siberia wouldn't be interesting, it just seems kind of odd.

[XemaSab]

2. I bet the birding there

is OFF THE HOOK.