Earthen Shelter

Earthen Shelter Sasha Rabin has been practicing and teaching natural building since 2002.

She has dedicated her work to encouraging people to engage with our built environment, and through that process reconnect with world around us.

We wanted to share another start-to-finish rocket stove build with you.We still have a few spaces left in our upcoming w...
05/27/2026

We wanted to share another start-to-finish rocket stove build with you.

We still have a few spaces left in our upcoming workshop with Kirk “Donkey” Mobert ( ) and I, June 5-7 in Potter Valley, CA.
Link in bio or on EarthenShelter.Com

This one was built in a home that Sasha built, the Rocket Mass Heater was built in 2014, during a workshop taught by Lasse Holmes. Lasse was one of the Rocket Stove teachers, and the person who introduced me to the front loading or ‘batchbox’ style rocket stove. This style was originally designed for Alaskan winters, where one needs to be able to load wood in larger batches for more extreme heating needs.
The frame of the combustion unit is build out of angle iron bolted together, and infilled with firebricks. This frame holds everything together, as well as gives the door something to anchor to. It also supports the arch bricks that span the top. (in some of the stoves we have built since, we did not use arched bricks for the top, and there for did a modified angle iron frame, using just enough angle iron to support the door.)
Most of the rest of the stove is built with reclaimed materials, including an old cast iron sink to create the cover for the ash pit clean out.
The bench is built with rammed earth (an earthen mix without straw) in order to keep as much heat transfer as possible. (An excess of straw in that mix creates insulation, and blocks some of the heat transfer). And adobes we also made without straw.

(details continued in comments)

Our next Rocket Stove workshop is almost here - June 5-7 in Potter Valley, CA with Kirk “Donkey” Mobert ( ) and myself. ...
05/25/2026

Our next Rocket Stove workshop is almost here - June 5-7 in Potter Valley, CA with Kirk “Donkey” Mobert ( ) and myself. Students will learn about rocket stoves and rocket mass heaters and how to build with cob and adobe as we build a variety of designs and discuss many of the ways you can use this technology. Such as… a rocket stove hot tub!

We built this rocket stove heated bathtub for our house at during an apprentice program. It’s a simple upgrade from a standard wood fired hot tub that drastically improves the efficiency and burns far cleaner.

What makes the rocket stove so efficient? Unlike most fireplaces/wood stoves, rocket stoves offer nearly complete combustion of the wood fuel. The smoke you see from most fires is unburned fuel (and wasted energy). Smoke and other volatile compounds are combusted inside of a rocket stove, harvesting all that heat which would otherwise escape through the chimney. Carbon dioxide is pretty much all that exits the chimney of a rocket stove.

Once you learn the concepts of rocket stoves and how they work, you can design them to heat water, food, and homes.

🔥You’ll find the link to learn more, and register here... earthenshelter.com/rocketstove If you are thinking about joining us please register or reach out soon - and if you’ve registered but haven’t confirmed your intention to come, please reach out. You can also find it on our website at EarthenShelter.Com

Have questions? We’ll be checking the comments - please ask!

We began constructing our rocket mass heater after insulating the wall behind it and the plywood floor with perlite coat...
05/23/2026

We began constructing our rocket mass heater after insulating the wall behind it and the plywood floor with perlite coated in clay or cement (if it was bearing a heavy load). Then built our firebox (from firebrick), adding a cooktop from an old wood cooking stove. We used insulating firebrick for our heatriser, and built our combustion chamber (often a barrel is used) out of adobes, with a thick metal plate on the front to radiate heat. We used a pottery kiln shelf as the top of our combustion chamber, covered in a layer of cob, with split fire bricks on top. If the bench bypass is open, gasses leaving the combustion chamber will exit the flue pipe - after the rocket is roaring, we close the bypass, forcing the gasses back down and into the bench (along the front). The bench is a bell design with the air chamber created by two halves of a barrel. The adobe wall separates the beginning of the chamber and the hot air fills the bench cavity, only exiting as it cools and drops low enough to be forced out the exit and up through the flue.

Our door, bypass, and one of the cleanouts were purchased from , and we HIGHLY recommend them - especially the glass door! We followed Peter van den Berg’s brick core design, which can be found at Batchrocket.eu making a slight modification to install the cooking surface above the firebox (more on that in comments). We found so much info in Sundog School of Natural Building page (look in albums>Batch Box Rocket Stove for MUCH better step by step photos), and on Donkey32.proboards.com .

So much more to share but it doesn’t fit into an instagram post! I’ll put some of it (including our mistakes) in the comments and there’s also a blog post about it on our website EarthenShelter.com

And if you want to take a deeper dive, Kirk “Donkey” Mobert ( ) and I will be teaching a rocket stove cooker workshop June 5-7 in Potter Valley, CA. Link here… https://www.earthenshelter.com/rocketstove

What a dream team plaster work party/ Quail Springs reunion!!! So many dear friends who know how to work together and ha...
05/20/2026

What a dream team plaster work party/ Quail Springs reunion!!! So many dear friends who know how to work together and have fun doing it! Red clay harvested from the next canyon over. Even a little old reunion!
So grateful for all the little ones who joined us as well, and all the aunties and uncles jumping in.
Thanks for making the trip out y’all!

And so many more….

We still have space in our upcoming Rocket stove Workshop in Potter Valley, CA June 5th, 6th & 7thJoin myself and Kirk ...
05/16/2026

We still have space in our upcoming Rocket stove Workshop in Potter Valley, CA June 5th, 6th & 7th

Join myself and Kirk (Donkey) Mobert Sundog School of Natural Building for a 3 day deep dive into learning about Rocket Stoves and an intro to building with earthen materials.
The workshop will be a lab styled course, where people will be encouraged to build and experiment. We believe that this style of learning about rocket stoves will result in the best possible understanding of how to design and build your own, rather than focusing on one specific design. We will split the time between lectures on theory of rocket stoves, understanding the basics of using earthen materials to finish them, and plenty of materials and time for experimentation and building. earthenshelter.com/rocketstove

We will also cook on a rocket stove cooker we already have on site, as well as fire up a finished rocket mass heater.

Rocket stoves are a type of masonry heater, built with simple, affordable, accessible materials and techniques. Rocket Stoves create an environment where the combustion is extremely hot, creating a very efficient, very clean burning stove. In this workshop we will cover theory and delve into how the rocket stove works, as well as hands-on experience building one.

05/07/2026

2 more spots available, and 2 more days for the early bird discount!
Cob Oven workshop - weekend of June 27th & 28th
Potter Valley, CA
Early bird discount ends May 9th.
We’ll build a cob oven from start to finish, using clay soil, sand and straw. Through the process of building a cob oven, we also cover a wide variety of earthen building techniques that can employ these and other natural materials in other systems of building.
Link in bio and stories.
Please reach out if you have any questions!

earthenoven naturalbuilding naturalbuildingworks

It’s that time again! Registration is open once again now through April 27th for the Build Outside the Box Mastermind Co...
04/23/2026

It’s that time again! Registration is open once again now through April 27th for the Build Outside the Box Mastermind Course.
Link in stores!
Discount code COB100 FOR A $100 discount.

In addition to the cob section I reach, you will find 15 different instructors all teaching about different aspects of natural building.
This course takes a look at several different natural building methods, each module taught by different experts in their field. In addition to all the methods covered, other topics include:
✔️ What climate zones each of these building types work best in
✔️ Navigating regulations and handling the permitting process
✔️ Costs to build & the importance of adopting the mindset of Value per square foot vs. Price per square foot
✔️ Pros and cons of each of these building types
What natural building technique is best for your location and site? There is no one solution, or best option. Every location has its own set of unique opportunities and challenges that help shape what is best for that particular location.

,
Link in bio for more information. Use code COB100 for a $100 discount! Build Outside The Box
https://www.webuildoutsidethebox.com/a/2147991270/V9co4JDo

Last day for the early bird discount is today!Workshop will take place in Potter Valley, CAJune 5th, 6th & 7thJoin mysel...
04/20/2026

Last day for the early bird discount is today!
Workshop will take place in Potter Valley, CA
June 5th, 6th & 7th
Join myself and Kirk (Donkey) Mobert for a 3 day deep dive into learning about Rocket Stoves and an intro to building with earthen materials.
The workshop will be a lab styled course, where people will be encouraged to build and experiment. We believe that this style of learning about rocket stoves will result in the best possible understanding of how to design and build your own, rather than focusing on one specific design. We will split the time between lectures on theory of rocket stoves, understanding the basics of using earthen materials to finish them, and plenty of materials and time for experimentation and building.

We will also cook on a rocket stove cooker we already have on site, as well as fire up a finished rocket mass heater.
Rocket stoves are a type of masonry heater, built with simple, affordable, accessible materials and techniques. Rocket Stoves create an environment where the combustion is extremely hot, creating a very efficient, very clean burning stove. In this workshop we will cover theory and delve into how the rocket stove works, as well as hands-on experience building one.

04/19/2026

Tomorrow (Monday) is the last day to receive the early bird discount for our upcoming Rocket Stove Workshop!
Join us in Potter Valley, Ca, June 5, 6 & 7
Taught by myself and Kirk (Donkey) Mobert
We will be exploring all types of Rocket Stoves, from cooking to heating to hot water, as well as covering the basics of building with earthen materials.

We added another Rocket Stove Workshop to the calendar! Our March workshop was so much fun, we are very much looking for...
04/10/2026

We added another Rocket Stove Workshop to the calendar! Our March workshop was so much fun, we are very much looking forward to d**g it again, and adding a few more element....
Dates are June 5th, 6th, 7th
Location is in Potter Valley, CA
Early bird discount ends April 20th (save $50 if you register before then)

Join myself and Kirk (Donkey) Mobert for a 3 day deep dive into learning about Rocket Stoves and an intro to building with earthen materials. In this workshop we will be building various types of Rocket Stoves. We will be learning through building, taking apart and rebuilding. We will not be constructing one finished product, but rather exploring many different ways of using the rocket stove principles to create mass heaters as well as cook stoves. For more info:
https://www.earthenshelter.com/rocketstove

This rocket stove was our first project after having a baby! It is in a greenhouse in the Columbia River gorge. Thanks to for the beautiful plaster! And for the beautiful door and clean out (as well as the bypass that you cant see!)

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Potter Valley, CA
95469

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