looking to help with green building projects in exchange for the experience

hey all
(note: i posted a copy of this message in the communal living forum, but thought it would also be appropriate in this forum... this isnt spam! -i've been accused of spaming once before here.......let me know if it shouldnt be here)
anyway, I'm really interested in learning about green building techniques (and discussing them!), and i know that the best way to do this is first hand experience... i dont really have the money to take a full time course on it, so i'm looking for a commune where some help would be needed for green building projects, or just individuals thinking of building a home using green design and building materials, etc...
I've been to an ecovillage on vancouver island, two summers ago, helped them to build a cob and straw bale building, to be a library/ community space...
basically i'm offering free work so i can learn, and hopefully a small place to stay (i have a tent) (hopefully i'll be working on a farm in this summer, so i'll have some knowledge of that too, if its useful....)
I'm living in the UK (London), but have friends/family i could use as a 'base' in france or canada (vancouver, calgary, ontario) too, so any of those places would be pretty easy for me to get to.
let me know if you need free help establishing/ expanding your commune space or homestead

-robin

ps: has anyone ever encountered green building in cities?

 

in the interest of starting a discussion too.....

if i had to define a 'philosophy of life' for myself, i'd say a big part of it would have to do with being independant, specifically in knowing how to build my own home, generate my own power, grow my own food etc.
i also believe that this type of knowledge can often help us to lead more environmentally sound lives since it gives us a possible alternative to the mainstream sources of food, power, shelter, etc which are often, somewhere along the line, either environmentally harmful or socially unjust.
also, when your main means of survival are produced 'with your own hands' so to speak, on land close to home, the effects of human existance on the earth i think become alot more tangible and concrete in our own minds....
any thoughts?