Teaching and Advocating for Natural Building through workshops, testing and practice

We believe that housing is a human right and that it can be climate-resilient and dignified for all.

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We teach, construct, and advocate for Natural Building practices, encouraging people to engage with our built environment. Natural Building is the art and practice of building structures with local natural materials. Natural building is not new, but it is revolutionary. We blend the practices gathered from traditions around the world, remembering that every one of us come from ancestors who built their own shelter with local materials, with modern day building practices. The common techniques we employ are cob, light straw clay, adobe, earthbag, and strawbale, using them to build houses, garden walls, wood fired earthen ovens, earthen plasters, and earthen floors.

  • Build Outside the Box - On a Budget

    THIS IS A NEW COURSE- REGISTER ANYTIME AND ACCESS CONTENT IMMEDIATELY.

    This is an online course.

    If you are planning to build for yourself and are looking to keep costs down while building, this course is for you! With instructors teaching on different topics, you will gain expert insights to help you avoid common pitfalls, save money, and plan for success!

    Cost is $147 Use discount code COB100 and receive 20% off!

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  • Basics of Natural Building

    June 7th& 8th - 2 days

    In Ojai CA

    Join us for an immersive 2-day natural building experience with Sasha Rabin. There are many ways of working and building with earth to create everything from homes to ovens to garden walls to finishes on existing structures.  In this class we will  use the same basic materials; clay, sand and fiber, to create a variety of different types of earthen building systems, including cob, adobe and earthen plaster. 

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  • Interior Earthen Plaster Workshop

    May 25th - hands on portion

    May 14th 10am-12pm PST - zoom portion (will be recorded to watch anytime prior to workshop)

    Topanga Canyon

    This workshop will is designed to teach you how to plaster over your walls in a standard house with drywall that typically has latex paint. We will teach how to prep the wall, make and mix plaster form easily accessible materials, how to apply it to the wall, and what tools you will need.

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  • Build Outside the Box

    REGISTRATION CURRENTLY CLOSED- Stay tuned for the next round.

    This online course is taught by 16 Masterminds, builders, designers, scientists and teachers each who cover one type of building system.

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JOIN US FOR A WORKSHOP

We offer both in person and online workshops. When we started teaching online we thought it was going to be temporary, but we have come to love the accessibility it offers. What a privilege to offer support to people all over the world who can’t travel to join us in person, as well as parents that cant travel easily.

Earthen Shelter

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@earthenshelter

We need a Natural Building services database! Who has the tech skills to help with this project? I am seeing specific need in the LA area right now, so I would love to start there, but expand it to be a tool that could be used for a broader area. I
With the recent upsurge in interest in Natural Building in the aftermath of the fires in LA, Sasha spoke with @Reuters about how Natural Building materials and systems might be used in the rebuild. While lots of questions remain as to how natural b
So many people asking the question right now: What are my options for rebuilding with natural building methods after the fires in LA? This is so exciting! 💫 I am also hearing a lot of people saying that rebuilding with Natural Building methods is i
Next Blog post addressing the ASTM E119 fire test we did a few years back as well as thoughts on natural buildings and fire is up on my website. Link in bio. There are a lot of conversations right now on rebuilding in LA with earthen materials. T
So many conversations are alive right now about how to utilize natural, more fire resistant building materials to rebuild after the fires. There are so many reasons why this is important, if our buildings did not add to the available fuel of a fire
There’s now over 20k of you following along with our natural building adventures, offerings and ideas we share here. We thought it would be a good time to reintroduce ourselves. We are a family operation, with our newest member joining us almos
Many of you reading this have been to Quail Springs. Walked on the land, hiked the ridges, and slept in a cozy cob home. We called Quail Springs home for over a decade, till the calls of being closer to family pulled us north. The land is a gatewa
Last day to register for the Build Outside the Box Mastermind Course. This course is a resource for those of you considering building a home with alternative and natural materials and want to discover which methods will best suit your climate, budget
Only 2 more days to register for the Build Outside the Box Mastermind Course. This course is a resource for those of you considering building a home with alternative and natural materials and want to discover which methods will best suit your climate
Winter gift ideas! Things we love, from people we love and ideas we love! ❤️ links to everything in our stories. 🐝 Starting with our own self-promotion (because we do actually think it would make a fantastic gift!) is a gift of tuition to the Buil
How to add bottle designs to earthen buildings is a common question in our workshops. There are many different methods used, but the most important thing to consider is how your bottles will affect the structural integrity of your building. It&rsqu