Join the 11 Day Build & Design Course
You'll leave with real, transferable building skills. But most people leave with something harder to put on a resume, a different set of questions about every material they touch next.
In collaboration with IBUKU · Born at Green School Bali · 1,000+ alumni across the world
Book Your Seat, October
From curious to capable in 11 days
A practical, tangible skillset you can take straight back into your own work and context.
Learn Bamboo Construction Essentials
You will leave with a set of tools to help you build with bamboo in your own context.
Design For A Sustainable Future
Engaging hands-on with nature's most resilient building material and addressing the defining challenges of our time.
Connect With Bamboo Experts
An international community of 1,000+ Bamboo U alumni, experts and facilitators.
Open Up New Possibilities In Your Career
Get certified, enjoy lifetime access and discounts on Bamboo U programs.
Loved by builders, architects and designers
"Bamboo's versatility is unparalleled, and so is Bamboo U's. As an engineer, the construction phase of the course was particularly fulfilling given that you get to synthesize everything you've learnt in a practical, hands-on, tangible way."
"It is an amazing experience to participate at Bamboo U. The course is excellent: guided by brilliant experts, you are introduced to all the opportunities of how to work and live with this extraordinary material. What a thrill, the Bamboo-Journey has just begun!"
"My expectations were exceeded. I fell asleep every night fully saturated with information and inspiration. To be honest, the best part of the course was the community it built and the creative dialogue it fostered."
Step inside an 11-Day course
Live and build on a bamboo campus and organic farm
- Live in a bamboo and permaculture wonderland for 11 days
- Architectural tour of Green School
- Design tour of the IBUKU architecture office, where bamboo dreams are made
- Visit the bamboo factory to see first hand the sorting, processing and building of bamboo
- Live talks with the foremost bamboo experts from around the world
- The most deliciously curated farm to table meals you've ever tasted (vegan and meat options available)
Show me what's inside
Eleven days, fully immersed: from the fundamentals to a full-scale bamboo build, then your certificate.
Welcome to Bamboo U
Welcome, the very basics of building with bamboo, and the story of Bamboo U.
Our Bamboo World
Visit the IBUKU design office, Bamboo Pure factory and Green School to see how bamboo is designed, fabricated and built in Bali. You will also explore key structural systems through small-scale models before moving into the full-scale build.
Forestry, Harvesting & Treatment
Sustainable bamboo forestry, propagation, harvesting and growing healthy clumps, and bamboo treatment.
Model Making
Bamboo model making, translating concept into form at scale.
Bamboo Carpentry
Bamboo joinery systems: whole joints, fishmouths, lashing, bolt joints and hybrid systems.
Downtime
Enjoy a day off. Explore Bali, arrange a day tour, or just relax at the beach.
Build With Bamboo
Engage in a full-scale bamboo construction, work on your own concept model, or build a piece of furniture with the help of our bamboo carpenters.
Certificate Ceremony
A recap of everything you built, then your certificate ceremony.
Who the 11-Day Course is for
You don't need to be an architect, designer or engineer. You just need the curiosity to build.
The secret isn't the bamboo. It's the system.
Bamboo is often seen as a cheap, temporary material. With the right technology, it can become strong, scalable, affordable, and built to last. This is Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology, CBFT, and it's part of what you'll learn to build with on this course.
Built to withstand
Designed to meet national code requirements for 250 km/h typhoons and earthquakes, CBFT has also been tested for resistance to fire and insect infestation. With a minimum 50 year lifespan, its performance has been demonstrated through full-scale dynamic loading tests at the Hilti Foundation lab in Makati.
Already housing real families
The Bon-Bon Resettlement in the Philippines shows CBFT working at scale, not just as a prototype: rows of real homes, built and lived in.
Your facilitators
Orin Hardy
Director & Co-Founder Bamboo U
Elora Hardy
Founder and Creative Director of IBUKU
John Hardy
Co-Founder of Green School Bali & Bambu Indah
Luis Echeverría
Management Consulting Professional
Mike Linthon
Architect & Facilitator
Asmara Jaya
Head & Master Carpenter
Moko Sumerta
Master Carpenter
Build the Winning Bamboo Housing Contest Design
The winning proposal from the Bamboo Housing Contest, designed by Jean Renaud and presented in collaboration with BASE Bahay and BASE Builds, will be constructed during our upcoming 11-Day Bamboo Design & Build Course in Bali. Together, we'll transform this award-winning design into a full-scale structure through hands-on construction, collaborative problem-solving, and real-world building experience. Join us for this unique opportunity to help bring an innovative vision for bamboo housing to life.
Everything included in your fee
One payment covers your full 11 days.
Not included: airfare, airport transport and health insurance. Private accommodation upgrades available from Rp 5,800,000 (approx. US$350).
One price, everything included
Workshops, materials, tours, lectures, farm-to-table meals and shared accommodation in a bamboo yurt. All included.
Flexible: reschedule to any future course date within the same year. Open to all levels, ages 18+.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in the cost of the course?
What is your cancellation policy?
Who is this course for?
Can my family or friends stay with me during the course?
A certificate. Real skills. A portfolio piece.
A certificate, real transferable building skills, and a portfolio piece: the structure you helped build, not a rendering. It's the difference between "I'm interested in sustainable design" and "I've built with bamboo."
You join a global community of alumni, architects, builders, engineers and more who keep showing up for each other. The course may end, but the connections keep going, and your next project could start with the people you built alongside.
The Resonance Tree, a seven-meter bamboo pavilion that premiered at Burning Man 2026, was designed and built by the Resonance Art Collective, a crew of Bamboo U alumni who met on this course. From digital models to a full-scale structure raised in the desert: proof of what happens when people who've built with bamboo find each other.
Your bamboo journey starts in Bali
Join 1,000+ alumni from around the world. 11 hands-on days, and a skillset you'll carry into every project to come.
Book Your Seat, October