Collection: Long Term Shelter

At Maine Primitive Skills School, we offer a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the art of building efficient cold climate shelters. Our long-term shelter build class draws inspiration from the ingenious designs of the Cree, Passamaquoddy, and Sami peoples, ensuring that you gain hands-on experience using natural and easily accessible materials.

Comprehensive Curriculum: Our course covers everything you need to know to construct your own shelter, including:

• Site Selection and Foundation Work
• Materials Preparation
• Natural and Man-Made Flooring: Pros and Cons
• Floor Plan Considerations for Efficiency, Passive Solar, and Air Flow Management
• Rocket Stove Heating Systems
• Making Conductive and Insulative Cob
• Wattle and Daub
• Species Selection and Processing of Framing Materials
• Vapor Barrier and Insulative Resources and Application
• Building the Thermal Envelope
• Air Flow Management
• Safety, Maintenance, and Upkeep

(Subjects in bold are the hands-on portions of each course in the sequence of Long Term Shelter courses throughout the year)