Listed Chronologically

Online Natural Building Course
June 15 - December 15

This Online Natural Building course will cover the basics of natural building, while also sharing the larger issues we face with our built environment, the changes that need to happen, and how to make those changes. Through a combination of pre-recorded lectures that you can watch at your own pace, as well as live sessions, you will be guided through the basics of analyzing site soil, mixing and building with cob, and building a small project. Our lead instructor, Sasha Rabin, has over 20 years of experience teaching hands-on natural building courses.  Although Natural Building is a very hands-on, tactile experience, we have created a curriculum that will allow you to be guided through the process of learning these techniques at your own pace, on your own site.  

See www.quailsprings.org for more information.

Work Exchange and Internship Opportunities at Dancing Rabbit

Aug 11 - Sept 15
Oct 6 - November 3
Rutledge, Missouri

If you’d like to see what life is like at Dancing Rabbit and build your skills in sustainable living at the same time, a work exchange or internship position could be just the thing for you! In exchange for your help on various projects, your project host typically provides for your food and other living expenses while at Dancing Rabbit.

Opportunities to gain hands-on experience is, of course, also part of the exchange. Projects often include natural building, green building, building design, organic gardening and food preservation, small agricultural endeavors, small business projects, childcare, and sustainable technology.

See www.dancingrabbit.org for more information.

The Bioarchitecture Primer Workshop
Sept 9 - 10
Hands-on: Oct 7 - 9
Portland, OR

Learn practical nature-based solutions to create autonomous homes, and a regenerative lifestyle in harmony with the Earth. With over 20 years' experience, I'll guide you step by step in design and construction. Plus we'll hear from seasoned guest speakers on related topics like permaculture design, engineering, sacred geometry, and specialized building techniques. With 6 days of online life classes and 3 days of hands-on instruction, this class is full of design gems and technical information applicable to designing innovative dwellings. Conceptualize, sketch, model, and draw your designs.  Work with a wide variety of materials such as adobe, earthbag, straw clay, stone, tile, timber, bamboo... Gain invaluable experience to develop your autonomous home.

See earthenhand.com for more information.

RE+ Renewing What's Possible Forum
Sept 11 - 14
Las Vegas, NV

See www.re-plus.com for more information.

Green Build 2023
Sept 26-29
Washington, DC

Greenbuild is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. The ideals and passion of the green building community come alive at Greenbuild. The buzz is contagious. Greenbuild brings together industry leaders, experts and frontline professionals dedicated to sustainable building in their everyday work, and a unique energy is sparked. Participants are invigorated. Inspired. They find themselves equipped to return to their jobs with a renewed passion and purpose.

See informaconnect.com for more information.

The Art of Natural Building
Sept 30 - Oct. 7
Hughes Springs, TX

This action-packed, hands-on/feet-on workshop is for adults or youth ages 12 and up accompanied by parents. This week long courses touches on many aspects and styles of natural building, allowing you to get creative and have fun with cob. Get your creative juices flowing sculpting and turning walls into works of art. This is a great course for those of you curious about natural building and wanting to experience a little more. This 7 days will touch on the basic knowledge you will need to create your own natural building.

See www.cobhillnaturalbuilding.com for more information.

Arts of Mosaic and Stone
September 18 - 29
Willits, CA

In this week long course, learn from Teo Briseno, landscape choreographer of 30 years professional experience. Get your hands and body weight into this playful conversation with age old materials and leave with the skills to start applying what you have learned at your home or in your professional journey. We will start with the basics of materials selection, and design conception and cover all the ways they can be mosaicked for the magic of transforming a space for both energy function and beauty. During the workshop we will be focusing on the theme of water within the Wanosh commons area. This will lead to weaving colored tile and different types of stone into the flagstone floors and both standard as well as curved steps .

See wanosh.org for more information.

The Arts of Natural Plasters
September 18 - 29
Willits, CA

In this two-week, TWO PART course, you will learn from facilitators with over 70 years of combined experience.  This combination of Master teachers will blow you away! The workshop is appropriate both for beginners and for experienced builders who are ready to take their plastering skills to the next level. The teacher/student ratio and their hawk eyes for detail will refine your technique for life!  We will start with the basics of how to source and identify appropriate materials and understand how they work together in a successful plaster mix. Learn to mix plasters by hand and using machines including hand-held and rotary mortar mixers. You will get hands-on experience with applying every layer of plaster from base to finish plasters and natural paints. This workshop will have a special emphasis on proper tool selection, care and usage.

Daily hands-on plastering sessions will be supplemented with lectures on theoretical background and critical design considerations to make your plasters into durable, crack-free works of functional art. Additionally, we will take you on a trip through space and time with slideshows showing the arts of plasters from all around the world.

See wanosh.org for more iinformation.

The above course starts September 2

Arts of Earthen Plaster
September 18 - 29
Willits, CA

In this two-week course, you will learn from facilatators with over 70 years of combined experience. The workshop is appropriate both for beginners and for experienced builders who are ready to take their plastering skills to the next level. We will start with the basics of how to source and identify appropriate materials and understand how they work together in a sucessful plaster mix. Learn to mix plasters by hand and using machines including hand-held and rotary mortar mixers. You will get hands-on experience with applying every layer of plaster from base to finish plasters and natural paints. This workshop will have a special emphasis on proper tool selection, care and usage.

See wanosh.org for more information.

Timber Framing Workshop
September 24 - 29
Port Angeles, WA

You will learn the art of laying out a timber frame structure, cutting mortise and tenons both by hand and power tools, plus a peek in to lumber selection and milling. You will gain a good understanding of tools and how to maintain them. No timberframing experience required: This course is accessible from beginners with little experience, to builders who want to learn the craft of timber framing.

See aneloproject.com for more information.

Straw Bale Workshop
October 7 - 8
Amadour County, CA

In this two day event we will be preparing, trimming, and stacking straw bales for a custom home and adjacent ADU, designed by OrganicForms Design and built by Rich Wright Construction. The plans sailed through the building department with a unique design that uses Larson trusses and a freestanding metal roof. Come learn this approach to bale wall building about an hour’s drive South East of Sacramento. The goal of the workshop is to accommodate every participant’s interest and skill level. Instruction by Kita Glass, a natural builder in Santa Cruz, and Darles Eaton, a natural builder in the East Bay. Evenings and meal times will allow for additional question/answer time and presentations. 

See strawbuilding.org for more iniformation

11th International Hemp Building Symposium
October 10 - 11
Amsterdam, Netherlands

With a primary focus on the innovative topic of building with hemp, the event aims to provide a unique platform for like-minded professionals and enthusiasts to come together and exchange their knowledge, experiences, and ideas.

See internationalhempbuilding.org for more information.

Sculpting with Clay
October 10 - 14
Canelo Project, Arizona

his 4-day workshop will teach the use of simple clay & straw mixes to both shape walls and create sculptural reliefs. This is a unique opportunity to participate in the design and sculpting of Canelo Art wall with Athena Steen and Beckie Kravetz. This is a special pairing of teachers that will combine Athena’s abstract sculptural forms with Beckie’s realistic reliefs, as the resident mask maker for the Los Angeles Opera. 

It will start with teaching coarse sculpting mixes to fine smooth finishes including clay paints and washes. This is will be an intimate class with space for only 6 students. They will be a part of the design process and implementation. With students and teachers we will co-sculpt an artwork. We welcome you to come and create with us. 

See caneloproject.com for more information.

Women's + Basic Carpentry
October 15 - 20
Waitsfield, VT

This course gives students a basic overview of general terms, tools, and techniques used in the field of carpentry.  Learn how to safely use a wide range of hand and power tools in a supportive environment while building a small structure such as a shed or playhouse.  We'll go over house framing and layout while looking at the anatomy of a structure.  Whether you're planning on building a house or just want some basic skills, this course will help you gain the confidence you need.

See Yestermorrow.org for more information.

Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference
October 20 - 22
Boulder, CO

The event will include approximately 22 classroom-style presentations and round-tables, “mainstage” keynote presentations, and outdoor workshops and demonstrations.  We will also host a tour of sustainable buildings, and there should also be plenty of time to socialize and explore Boulder.

See natural-building-alliance.org for more information.

Walls of Earth: Natural Building
October 20 - 25
Canelo Project, Arizona

Come and learn a range of natural-building techniques with us. This is a great introduction to earthen-wall building with tons of hand-on experience. It is perfect for beginners or people with some experience wanting to expand their skills. We plan to use natural building techniques to build a new passive solar greenhouse and pizza oven. Please note these structures may not be fully completed in this workshop.

It will cover a broad understanding of the world of natural building, giving you the confidence to start something on your own, be it a small backyard project or basic earthen walls for your house. We will be covering a range of different techniques for earthen wall building including:

• Adobe and straw-clay bricks
• Cob
• Wattle-and-daub walls
• Rammed earth

• Stone foundations
• Earthen finishes

See caneloproject.com for more information.

Superadobe Workshop
November 12 - December 10
Kilifi, Kenya

Join us to build a superadobe semi-vaulted house in Kilifi, Kenya for a local Kenyan family! The Musafir is organizing a bio-construction and natural building course in collaboration with Distant Relatives Eco-Lodge & Backpackers, led by expert practitioner, Tommaso Bazzechi.
The whole course will take place over 28 days in Kilifi, Kenya from November 12 – December 10. You can also join for shorter 14-day options: November 12 – November 25 or November 26 – December 10. Register here: http://www.pamoja.musafir.org

Japanese Plastering with Earth & Lime
November 28 - December 4
Canelo Project, Arizona

A 6-day workshop teaching traditional Japanese methods of wall-building and plastering, using earthen materials and lime. The price of this workshop also includes a set of trowels for students to take home. These are specialty Japanese trowels and are required for the specific mixes and applications. 

This workshop will cover a range of Japanese mixes and methods including:

• Japanese hawk and trowel application method
• Japanese bamboo wattle construction and weaving method
• Base Coat Plaster – Japanese have a traditional using of high fiber mixes, carefully aged
• Brown Coat Plaster – this is an all round coat that can be used as a base or finish 
• Shikkui Lime Clay Plaster – this is a traditional lime-clay finish with high fiber

This course is suitable for both beginners and experts. You will learn everything from the basics, such as how to compose a mix, and applying that mix, and then the more advanced practices, such as Shikkui Lime Clay finishes.

See caneloproject.com for more information.

On-Going Workshops for more listings.