About Stephan
Over the last decade I have trained in some extraordinary places with a variety of talented craftsman, learning the wonders of woodworking and cabin building.
The main focus was to learn building techniques and gather ideas from projects. The second was to find building and agricultural projects with sustainable goals, in order to bring these together back in the UK.
An interesting cabin I helped build was this dome in Southeast Mexico. Around three thousand thin and playable sections of bamboo, cut from a larger shoot, were woven together in amongst the trees to form this strong rigid structure.
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The strength of the dome came from four support braces. These were made of around 20 individual lengths of prepared bamboo, strapped together with metal ties.
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world due to its rhizome growth system and grows up to three times faster than other plants.
It is also incredibly strong, being used for scaffolding and substantial building projects in China.
It’s often still seen as a material of Southeast Asia as it grows best in certain climates, but there’s a chance its popularity could grow here, and not just for interior decorative use, but for construction.
Another small cabin I worked on was a trimaran for a Canadian captain and his family before their expedition to French Polynesia.
The inside was stripped out and a new water purification system installed, new furniture too and the table refurbished with an epoxy top in the kitchenette.
Shortly after this project, I visited a magnificent tree in Oaxaca.
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The trimaran took around six weeks to complete. The hull was made completely from chipboard, which would be the last material most people would use, but it shows how tough and durable fibreglass is, as the whole boat was covered in the stuff.
Some sections had to be repaired on the outside, and some of the lines replaced for the sails, which meant I had to climb high to the top of the mast at one point.
It was looking great when we’d finished, and sailed well. These trimarans are said to be the fastest sailing boat in the water as the three hulls allow them to skip across the ocean at ease. Unfortunately the crew hit some shallow coral on their way West. They were all safe and well but their adventures had to be abandoned.
Árbol Del Tule - Oaxaca, Mexico
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Árbol Del Tule is a Montezuma Cypress, native to Mexico and is the widest tree in the world. It is estimated to be around 1500 years old and is quite a magnificent site!
One of my goals in Central America was to work within the community and to learn more about agricultural sustainability.
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Permaculture
In a village next to Lago Atitlan, a volcanic lake in South West Guatemala, a well respected leader and facilitator of permaculture, Shad Qudsi, guided us through the ins and outs of permaculture ideology on this course. We covered plant companionships, building a composting toilet and the joys of compost.
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Recycling
Waste management is an issue in many parts of Mexico with rubbish is either burned or ending up in the sea. This community project on the east coast of Mexico sought to teach students about the importance of recycling. As part of the workshop, we made music from rubbish items and wallets from juice cartons.
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Agroforestry
Under the guidance of Jorge Espinosa, a talented young agriculturalist, we managed the land according to agroforestry principles. There are various types of agroforestry and we focused on combining trees with crops.
Hiking in Guatemala
Woodblock cabin in the Austrian alps.
This cabin was made from wooden blocks, each comprising of smaller lengths of wood joined and glued together. The ends of the blocks were cut to resemble a huge dovetail joint and the pieces then connected.
The longest blocks to support the roof were around fourteen meters long and all of them needing to be craned into position.
If you would like to know more, or speak to me about the possibility of requesting a shepherds hut order get in touch.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Stephan