Earth Building UK and Ireland Ltd

What Earth Building UK and Ireland Ltd does

Earth Building UK and Ireland Ltd (EBUKI) is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 1155507, Company No. 6857784) founded in 2007 and headquartered in Chippenham, Wiltshire, operating with 7 staff and an executive committee primarily on a volunteer basis. It is the only UK and Ireland-wide organisation dedicated exclusively to earth building, providing training, vocational standards, research coordination, heritage conservation support, and social impact programmes built around unfired raw earth construction techniques (cob, rammed earth, adobe/mud brick, light earth, earth plaster, wattle and daub, mass earth, and 3D printed earth).

The organisation's core products and standards include the ECVET Learning Outcomes for Earth Building (translated into 8 languages through the PIRATE project), UK National Occupational Standards developed with CITB, the JUMP! training-for-trainers curriculum, the CobBauge thermal-regulation-compliant cob research, the Earthbound Orkney heritage programme, the Historic England open-source training film series, and the Uplift! social impact trainer peer support network. Customers and beneficiaries include UK and Irish higher and further education institutions (12 universities, including UCL Bartlett), professional earth building practitioners, community and social impact organisations (e.g., ReWilding Youth, TCV Grangemouth), heritage bodies (Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, V&A Dundee), and enthusiast self-builders.

EBUKI's revenue model blends grant funding from charitable trusts (Tudor Trust, Prince's Foundation, King's Foundation), UK public bodies (National Lottery Community Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland), and European programmes (Erasmus+, Interreg), with earned income from tiered workshop fees (£20-£440), conference tickets (Clayfest £120-£150), paid online talks, Erasmus+ mobility-funded training, and recurring membership subscriptions. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, anchored by the annual Clayfest festival, monthly Muddy Mugs Meet-ups, and direct delivery of training-for-trainers to educational institutions.

Name

Earth Building UK and Ireland Ltd

Legal name

Earth Building UK and Ireland Ltd

Website

https://ebuki.co

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Earth Building UK and Ireland (EBUKI) is a UK registered charity that trains practitioners, educates higher-education institutions, and develops vocational standards for traditional earth building (cob, rammed earth, adobe). It funds operations through grants, training fees, events, and memberships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Construction Training and Education

akta.pro primary industry

Certification & Training Providers (Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard, Guide Training) (THAAAOAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instructor-Led Skills Academies (Climbing, Paddling, Mountaineering Schools) (THAAAOAI), Adult Skill-Building Expeditions & Courses (Leadership, Survival, Navigation) (THAAAOAC)

Keywords

• Earth building training
• Sustainable construction education
• Natural building workshops
• Heritage conservation training
• Vocational training standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Chippenham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Workshop and Training Fees: Revenue from hands-on workshop fees (one-day, two-day, four-day workshops) and training-for-trainers courses delivered at events and educational institutions, priced at tiered rates ranging from £20 to £440.
2. Conference and Event Tickets: Revenue from Clayfest conference tickets (standard admission £120, large company £150), shindig tickets, camping fees, and workshop tickets sold through the Little Box Office ticketing platform.
3. Education Institution Training Contracts: Funding directly from further and higher education bodies for delivery of training-for-trainers at institutions such as UCL Bartlett and other UK universities.
4. Membership Subscriptions: Revenue from membership subscriptions, with members receiving access to Muddy Mugs Meet-ups and other member-only benefits.
5. Trust, Foundation and Public Sector Funding: Funding from charitable trusts (The Tudor Trust, The King's Foundation, Prince's Foundation), public bodies (National Lottery Community Fund, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Scotland), and European programmes (Erasmus+, Interreg).
6. Public Event Tickets and Workshops: Revenue from public-facing events such as Earthbound Orkney training workshops (£20), online talks (£5), and educational workshops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Earth Building UK and Ireland (EBUKI) is a registered charity that delivers earth building skills, education, and community programmes across the UK and Ireland. Its primary offerings include hands-on workshops, training-for-trainers courses, an annual in-person festival (Clayfest), peer-support and member networks (Muddy Mugs Meet-ups, Uplift!), research and development projects on earth techniques (CobBauge, PIRATE ECVET Earth, Earthbound Orkney), and Erasmus+ mobility programmes for cross-European training.

Product overview

Earth Building UK and Ireland (EBUKI) is an educational nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of training programs, research projects, and community-building initiatives rather than a traditional software product. The core offerings include membership, skills and education programs (Jump! Training for Trainers, PIRATE ECVET Earth, Education Program, Erasmus+ Mobilities), research and development projects (CobBauge, UNESCO Chair, Earthbound Orkney), social impact initiatives (Uplift!, Social Impact and Skills Sharing, Let's Build With Earth Zimbabwe), conservation work (Historic England Films, NOS Review), and networking events (Clayfest, Muddy Mugs Meet-ups, Earth Building Europe Network). These offerings are interconnected: ECVET learning outcomes and NOS standards provide the educational framework that Jump! trainers then deliver, which feeds into broader education programs at universities and colleges. Earth Building Europe Network facilitates European cooperation that enables Erasmus+ mobilities and international projects like Let's Build With Earth Zimbabwe. The organization also publishes books and produces training films as educational resources for the earth building community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EBUKI Membership Subscription-based membership programme offering access to community resources, networking opportunities, Muddy Mugs Meet-ups, and participation in EBUKI activities and events. Open to individuals, practitioners, and supporters of earth building.
• Clayfest Annual Festival Annual in-person earth building festival combining hands-on workshops (one-day, two-day, four-day), conference presentations, expert speakers, networking shindig, tours, and camping. Held at H.G. Matthews Brickworks, Bellingdon, Chesham, with conference at The Elgiva Theatre. Open to practitioners, designers, enthusiasts, and self-builders.
• Education Program (Training for Trainers) Direct training-for-trainers delivery to universities and colleges (including UCL Bartlett and others) on-site and virtually, integrating earth building skills and knowledge into further and higher education curriculum. Funded directly by each institution.
• Jump! Training for Trainers European project creating training modules for earth building trainers covering teaching methodologies, sustainability, cooperation, and assessment, developed with partners across multiple countries. Includes a common core curriculum and units of learning outcomes for ecological building trainers.
• PIRATE ECVET Earth Project developing standardised learning outcomes (skills, knowledge, competence) for all structural earth building types at European Qualification Framework levels 3 and 4, produced in 8 languages, establishing common European training and assessment standards through ECVET principles.
• CobBauge Research and Training Research and training programme developing new cob materials and processes that meet current thermal building regulations while preserving local historical heritage in the Channel regions of France and Britain. Funded by Interreg France-Channel-England, with associated online training days.
• Social Impact and Skills Sharing Earth building courses delivered with hard-to-reach groups, including clay plastering, adobe brick-making, wattle and daub, and roundhouse building with organisations such as ReWilding Youth (Hull), TCV Grangemouth (2019), Simple Shelters, and Falkland Estate. Addresses personal, educational, employment, and social issues through tactile earth building activities. Funded by The Tudor Trust.
• Uplift! Peer Support Network Peer support network and train-the-trainers programme for social impact trainers using earth as a material, providing community building and ECVET qualification implementation. Includes monthly Zoom peer support meetings that have continued self-organising after the funded project period.
• Erasmus+ Mobilities Programme Funding for UK earth builders who are EBUKI members to travel to European partner organisations in France, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Slovakia, and Czechia for training in cob, rammed earth, and other earth building techniques. Erasmus+ KA1 funded.
• Muddy Mugs Meet-ups Monthly members-only online gatherings held on the third Wednesday of each month during autumn and winter, providing networking, project sharing, technique discovery, and discussion of earth building collaboration. Delivered via Zoom.
• Earthbound Orkney Online Talk Online presentation associated with the Earthbound Orkney exhibition, including discussion about cultural heritage and artistic practice, featuring project leaders Becky Little (Rebearth) and Tom Morton (Arc Architects). Tickets priced at £5 each.
• Earthbound Orkney Training Workshops One-day training workshops teaching the heritage, material science, and craft of traditional earth materials, delivered in Orkney by craftsperson/artist Becky Little and conservation architect Tom Morton. Includes public, professional, and school workshops at the Nav School, Stromness, priced at £20 per person per workshop day.
• Historic England Films Training Series 10 short open-source training films covering maintenance, repair, and conservation of traditional earth building materials for homeowners, distributed for free via the Historic England website and the EBUKI YouTube channel. Funded by Historic England.
• Earthbound Orkney Exhibition Multi-venue heritage exhibition showcasing Neolithic clay balls, traditional earth construction, and 13 natural earths from locations across Orkney. Displayed at Maeshowe, Kirkwall, and V&A Dundee. The exhibition was seen by approximately 10,000 visitors on Orkney.
• Our Way Heritage Lives (OWHL) European partnership programme bringing together seven organisations providing adult learning in cultural heritage across the UK, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Liechtenstein, sharing knowledge and skills in adult learning. Includes partners such as Gamla Linköping Open-Air Museum (Sweden, 440,000 annual visitors), Skagafjörður Heritage Museum (Iceland), Highland Folk Museum (UK), Haus Gutenberg (Liechtenstein), Ljusdalsbygdens Museum (Sweden), and Sagalund's Museum (Finland).

Quantifiable outcome

• Females represent approximately one in two in earth building, compared to only 11% in the wider UK construction industry
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• One Percent for the PlanetminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025EBUKI joined this global network of businesses and environmental organisations. As an Environmental Partner, EBUKI receives support from member businesses contributing 1% of sales to environmental causes.
• UNESCO Chair — Earth BuildingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016EBUKI has contributed as a UNESCO Chair partner since 2016, providing an unfunded but central link to the worldwide Earth Building network. This underpins much of EBUKI's work and facilitates global communication between institutions at national, regional and global levels.
• CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI works closely with CITB to establish National Occupational Standards for Earth Building. EBUKI was nominated committee chair, enabling recruitment of experts and substantive changes to earth building standards in the national system under Heritage Skills.
• Historic EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric England funded the production of 10 open-source training films on traditional earth building maintenance and conservation for homeowners, addressing the loss of training in this skills sector.
• The King's FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI partners with The King's Foundation on shared objectives around traditional building crafts and sustainable construction.
• Royal Society of Antiquaries of ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Earthbound Orkney project alongside other heritage bodies including Orkney Museum, University of Highlands & Islands, National Museums of Scotland, Orkney College, and Ness of Brodgar Trust.
• Training for ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI references Training for Change (trainingforchange.eu) as a resource for tools, games, and approaches used in the JUMP! training-for-trainers programme.
• Erasmus+ (OWHL Project Partners)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe OWHL project brings together 7 organisations across 5 countries (UK, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Liechtenstein) providing adult learning in European cultural heritage, including Gamla Linköping Open-Air Museum, Skagafjörður Heritage Museum, Haus Gutenberg, Ljusdalsbygdens Museum, Sagalund's Museum, and Highland Folk Museum.
• ReWilding YouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReWilding Youth CIC in Hull partners with EBUKI for earth building workshops and courses. EBUKI provides training for trainers and delivers workshops in clay plastering, adobe brick-making, and wattle and daub for youth engagement.
• TCV GrangemouthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI partnered with TCV Grangemouth in 2019 for social impact earth building courses with hard-to-reach groups.
• Falkland EstateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI partnered with Falkland Estate (Build School) to offer bursary places for social impact participants to attend earth building training.
• V&A DundeeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorV&A Dundee hosted the A Fragile Correspondence exhibition featuring the Parliament of Earths installation from the Earthbound Orkney project until Spring 2025.
• European Earth Building Partner Organisations (Erasmus+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean partner organisations hosting EBUKI Erasmus+ mobilities include: AsTerre (France), ArTur (Slovakia), Europäische Bildungsstätte für Lehmbau (Germany), Estepa (Spain), Eestimaaehitus (Estonia), and Sdružení hliněného stavitelství (Czech Republic).
• Auchindrain TownshipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI associate partner in OWHL project — historic rural settlement in Argyll with special experience of working with volunteers and accommodating staff with mental and physical health needs.
• The Sheiling ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBUKI associate partner in OWHL project — educational organisation in the Scottish Highlands delivering cultural heritage education and eco-building technique training through volunteering.
• Arc ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTom Morton of Arc Architects co-leads the Earthbound Orkney project and is a key EBUKI project lead for conservation and heritage work, bringing architectural and conservation expertise.
• RebearthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBecky Little of Rebearth co-leads the Earthbound Orkney project and is a key EBUKI trainer and project lead, delivering craft workshops and artistic earth building expertise.
• H.G. Matthews BrickworksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorH.G. Matthews Brickworks in Bellingdon, Chesham provides the venue for Clayfest workshops and camping, including their earth-domed children's nursery built with structural earth blocks and hempcrete.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CRAterre: International research and resource centre for earthen architecture based in Grenoble, France. Operates training, research, and standards work globally for earth construction and is a leading international reference for the same practitioner community EBUKI serves in the UK and Ireland.
• Cal-Earth Institute: US-based non-profit education and research institute specialising in earthen architecture, particularly superadobe construction. Comparable in being a training-focused, charitable organisation that develops curricula and runs hands-on courses in earth building techniques.
• Dwell Earth: US-based company offering earth bag construction training, supplies, and educational resources. Comparable in delivering accessible hands-on earth building training to practitioners and self-builders, though more commercial in model.

Others

• Heritage Crafts Association: UK charity advocating for traditional craft skills, including earth building on its Red List of Endangered Crafts. Comparable in role as a UK-wide advocacy and training-support body for heritage crafts, though broader in scope.
• Building Limes Forum: UK-based organisation promoting understanding and use of lime-based building materials, with training and conferences. Adjacent to EBUKI in the heritage building materials training ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB): UK heritage building charity founded by William Morris that runs training, advocacy, and member programmes in traditional building crafts. Comparable in mission around heritage skills preservation and training delivery, but broader in scope beyond earth building.

Emerging players

• Centre for Earthen Architecture (University of Plymouth): UK academic research centre focused on earthen architecture research, postgraduate teaching, and consultancy. Overlaps with EBUKI in promoting earth building education and sits within one of the 12 UK universities connected to EBUKI's network.
• Scottish Lime Centre Trust: Scottish charity delivering training in lime mortars and traditional building skills. Overlaps with EBUKI on heritage skills training and works with the same funder ecosystem (Historic Environment Scotland).

Regional players

• Earth Building Association of Australia (EBAA): Australian national body for earth building practitioners, providing information, standards advocacy, and networking across Australia. Closest direct peer in terms of national association structure but operating in a different geography.
• Earth Building Association of New Zealand: New Zealand national body for earth building practitioners, providing advocacy, standards, and training. Closest national-association peer in terms of structure and mission, but operating exclusively in New Zealand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/EarthBuildingUKIreland/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/earthbuildinguk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ebuki2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earth Building UK and Ireland Ltd