Can you learn foundations of building in less than a week?

See what our writer discovered when he signed up for a six-day course that promises to teach sustainable construction

The group hard at work on the greenhouse in Bombora, Co Clare.

Plenty of people are good at tinkering about in their house. They know what tools are needed to fix or make things, and often have them stored in a shed. They take them out of the shed when needed and put them in a special belt. They have no need to seek out recommendations for a handyman. They don’t use a screwdriver as a chisel.

I am not one of these people. I got a battery-powered drill for Christmas 2017. I tightened some screws on a side-gate a few weeks later (since re-loosened) but apart from that the drill went back in its box. I couldn’t fit it back in the box correctly so it doesn’t shut and now rests peacefully ajar in the attic.