College: New College of California, Santa Rosa
Mission: Creation of a just, sacred, sustainable world through the implementation of vision, theory, and design in affordable, sustainable dwellings
Department: EcoDwelling Concentration of the Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Community Program
Degrees: Accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Activism and Social Change; MBA in environmental entrepreneurship. Concentrations in Ecological Agriculture; Consciousness, Healing, and Ecology
Sample thesis projects: Design and construction of an earthbag and straw bale barn; teaching developmentally disabled children how to build cob ovens
Esteemed faculty: Architect, former Buddhist monk, and small-house advocate Steve Beck; ecological designer and builder Joseph F. Kennedy, co-editor of The Art of Natural Building (New Society Publishers, 2002) and director of Builders Without Borders
Guest presenters: Janine Björnson; cob pioneer Michael Smith; Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley, co-authors of The Hand Sculpted House (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2002); visionary architect Mark Lakeman of the City Repair Project
Fraternities: None
Student impressions: “This program was a container of support that allowed me to open up to a deeper level of the design process.”
