Introductory Dry Stone Courses

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. ~Henry Ford

Back to Course Catalog

Check out the other levels of courses:

Introductory Courses (You're here)

Fundamentals Courses

Dry Stone Waller Courses

Advanced Waller Courses

Master Waller Courses

#	Course	Days	Prerequisite	Description
1.10	Introduction to Dry Stone Walling	1	None	Learn the fundamentals of building a structurally sound dry stone wall in a single day.
1.11	Women’s Intro to Dry Stone Walling	1	None	Learn the fundamentals of building a structurally sound dry stone wall in a single day in an all women environment.
1.20	Two-Day Intro to Dry Stone Walling	2	None	Learn the fundamentals of building a structurally sound dry stone wall with additional active building time. Get introduced to shaping stones, and other related skills and tools.
1.21	Two-Day Women’s Intro to Dry Stone Walling	2	None	Learn the fundamentals of building a structurally sound dry stone wall with additional active building time. Get introduced to shaping stones, and other related skills and tools in an all women environment.

First Steps

Our introductory courses provide the basic tools needed to build a dry stone wall. You will learn that stone wall building is hard work but not impossible. The joy of the work, and the satisfaction of a job well done is infectious. You will learn five simple rules that enable a dry stone wall to stay in place, and much more!

An introduction to walling can be taken in a single-day or two-day format. Which format suits you depends on your level of fitness to bend over and lift stones. It also depends on your goal. To get a taste of what dry stone walling is all about, a single day will suffice. To get more working experience, two days is better. We also offer a women-only version of the single-day course.

In either format, the structure of the course is the same, beginning with an existing wall. You will be working your own section of wall, building across from and next to, other students. The first step is to dismantle the wall, sorting the stone as you go and paying attention to how it is built. The remainder of the course is spent rebuilding the wall.

All of this is done with active individual and group instruction. As with all of our workshops, each instructor will have no more than 8 students.

All workshops are taught by instructors that are certified by the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain (DSWA-GB)

More About Introductory Dry Stone Courses

1.10 Introduction to Dry Stone Walling

This 1-day workshop is perfect for the homeowner or enthusiast looking to start learning about how to build dry stone walls. It’s also a great introduction for landscapers who are looking to get into dry stone walling.

1.11 Women’s Introduction to Dry Stone Walling

A chance to learn from the women in North America who are DSWA-GB Certified Instructors! This workshop is perfect for women looking to learn about building dry stone walls. This 1-day workshop is perfect for the homeowner, enthusiast, or gardener.

1.20 Two-Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling

This workshop covers much of the same material as 1.10. However the two day format allows for more hands on time for every student. In addition to basic principles, basic stone shaping will be introduced.

1.21 Two-Day Women’s Introduction to Dry Stone Walling

Upcoming Introductory Dry Stone Courses

(By date, soonest first)

1.10 Introductory Workshop: (1-Day): September 10, 2022 (Dummerston VT)

1.10 Introductory Workshop: (1-Day): September 10, 2022 (Dummerston VT)
September 10, 2022
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

This workshop is an excellent introduction to dry stone walling for the homeowner, hobbyist, or anyone interested in Dry Stone Walls Over the course of the day each participant will build about 25 sq. ft. of wall…

1.11 Women’s Introductory Workshop: (1-Day): September 10, 2022 (South Fork, PA)

1.11 Women's Introductory Workshop: (1-Day): September 10, 2022 (South Fork, PA)
1-day workshop attendance
September 10, 2022
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

A chance to learn from the women in North America who are DSWA Certifed Instructors! This workshop is an excellent introduction to dry stone walling for the homeowner, landscaper/gardener, artist, or hobbyist. Over the course of the day each participant will build about 25 sq ft of wall (one side), using natural round fieldstone. You will learn all the basic rules of structural walling that can be applied to any type of stone and project.