San Luis, Costa Rica, March 10-20, 2001

In the Monteverde Cloud Forest

Dates for the Winter 2004 Costa Rica TF Workshop have been set for

February 23 - March 5, 2004

for  more info click here: 2004 Costa Rica Workshop

Fox Maple's IPCBI workshop program in
Costa Rica has now entered its 4th year.

The Timber Framing workshop at Finca la Bella in 2000 took place in the shadows of the majestic Monteverde Cloud Forest, near Monteverde, Costa Rica. The project became a much needed Community Hall for the small rural farming community of Finca la Bella. The frame was enclosed with a clay/coffee husk wall system. All materials came from local sources, within 3 kilometers from building site. The project was intended to train local community members in building skills that will help to make them more self sufficient.

Finca la Bella is a small farming community of about 150 people made up of 25 families. It is located in a mountain valley adjoining the Monteverde Cloud Forest and is situated between the towns of Monteverde and San Luis, Costa Rica. Their economy is primarily subsistence based, with principal income coming from growing coffee and gathering seeds from endangered native rain forest trees in the local forest, sprouting them in greenhouses and growing them to hardy saplings ready to plant for government and private reforestation projects. In the last ten years they have successfully nurtured and planted over 150,000 seedlings. The roads in the area are rough and travel by horseback is still one of the common modes of transportation.

The workshop was a great success and has solidified a long-term relationship between Fox Maple and the community of Finca la Bella Costa Rica.

In the interim we have succesfully completed 3 workshops within this community. All is good, and all of our initial efforts and vision are now seeing fruition. This is an ongoing effort, and each year a new workshop takes place that makes it all even more worthwile.

The dates for the Winter 2004 Costa Rica TF Workshop are set for February 23-March 5, 2004. Keep posted to our website for future updates.

Garden at Finca la Bella

Frame completed, inserting staves for wattle & daub.

Final paring on rafters.

Children hand planing timbers.

Napoleano, Raphael and Gilbert cleaning up braces.

 

Preparing staves for wattle & daub. Splitting bamboo used for the wattles.

Community school children transporting coffee husks mixed with clay to make the daub.

 Core group of students.

Project Overview

Timber Frame

The plan for the Finca la Bella Community Hall Project was a 16 x 20 foot, high post frame with a common rafter roof system. The frame design incorporated a broad variety of traditional mortise and tenon joinery details. As an instructional model, the frame was designed to give students the broadest understanding of the system of timber joinery that can be applied to future building projects, and also in a style that is appropriate to the local climate and environment. The common rafter roof system allows for sufficient overhang to protect walls and exposed wood framing. Boards will cover the roof, over which, a local flat stone, much like slate, will be used as the roofing.

The frame was designed to use a specie of pine timbers harvested from one of the many stands that were planted in the area over the last 50 years to provide windbreaks. This pine makes an ideal framing timber because it is a non indigenous species that has an adverse effect on the local ecosystem. Current policy in Costa Rica is to eradicate these trees and replace them with native species.

Enclosure System

The enclosure system was a clay/coffee husk wattle and daub. The wattles were made of split bamboo and daub clay and coffee hisks making a 4 inch thick wall placed between the timbers, leaving the timbers exposed on both the interior and exterior.

Mixing clay with water to a consistency of very thick syrup makes up the clay slip. This slip is then mixed using pitchforks with a cellulose fiber. Traditionally the fiber was straw, but it can be any course fiber, such as coffee husks. The fiber is mixed with only enough clay slip to fully coat the fiber. This may range from equal parts clay slip to fiber to a 1 to 3 ratio of clay to fiber.

Dates for the Winter 2004 Costa Rica Timber Framing Workshop are set for February 23 - March 5, 2004

Fox Maple School of Traditional Building

PO Box 249

Brownfield, ME 04010

207-935-3720

www.foxmaple.com

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