Registration Open
Apr 18–19, 2026
Intro to Natural Building
Soil testing, cob, and plaster basics — the whole earthen palette in one immersive weekend.
$300 · 2 daysRegister
Come learn to build with the ground beneath your feet — cob, cordwood, earthen and lime plaster, and natural finishes — on a working nature retreat in the Appalachian woods. No experience needed.
Natural building means making shelter from minimally processed, local materials — earth, sand, clay, straw, timber, and lime — instead of concrete, foam, and vinyl. Earth building is the heart of it: using the very soil under your feet to shape walls that are warm, breathable, non-toxic, and beautiful.
It’s one of the oldest building traditions on earth — and there’s something remarkable about walls you can shape with your own hands, that regulate humidity, and that feel alive in a way drywall never will.
The reasons people fall in love with natural building — and keep coming back to learn more.
No off-gassing glues or VOCs. Earthen walls naturally regulate humidity and keep indoor air clean.
The main ingredient is often the soil on site — low carbon, low waste, and it returns safely to the earth.
Soft, sculpted curves, warm earth-tone plasters, and a tactile quality you simply can’t buy off a shelf.
No experience required — just curiosity. You’ll build alongside others and leave with real, usable skills.
Every workshop is hands-on. Depending on the session, you’ll mix, sculpt, stack, and trowel your way through techniques like these.
Hand-sculpt clay, sand, and straw into thick, monolithic walls — the most meditative and freeform of all earthen methods.
Stack short logs in a mortar matrix to build beautiful, insulating walls made straight from the forest.
Mix and trowel natural plasters and clay paints to give any wall a warm, breathable, earth-toned finish.
Weatherproof earthen walls the Appalachian way, with breathable, mold-resistant lime plasters and washes.
Pack straw coated in clay slip into insulating, breathable infill walls — a great fit for our mountain climate.
Sculpt a wood-fired earthen oven, pour an earthen floor, and seal it all with natural oils and pigments.
Recurring weekend workshops with clear dates, prices, and status. When a session fills, join the waitlist — we open new dates often.
Soil testing, cob, and plaster basics — the whole earthen palette in one immersive weekend.
Mix and hand-build with cob to shape a bench, wall, or garden structure from clay and straw.
Build with stacked wood & mortar — insulating, striking walls made from the forest itself.
Mix and trowel natural plasters — leave knowing how to give any wall a warm, breathable skin.
Weatherproofing earthen walls the Appalachian way — lime plasters and washes for our humid Southeast.
A fun, fast, food-focused build — sculpt a wood-fired earthen oven and fire it up together.
Most workshops run two days, starting around 9 AM. You’ll spend your time building, not just watching — with demos and Q&A woven throughout.
Come as you are. Our small groups are beginner-friendly, and you’ll work shoulder to shoulder with folks of every skill level.
Add a cabin stay and settle in on the bluff. Mornings on the trails, evenings by the fire, and real skills to take home.
You’ll walk away understanding soils, mixes, and finishes well enough to start your own natural-building project.
Gather your team, school, or family for a private earth-building experience — and pair it with a whole-site rental to make the whole mountain yours. We’ll tailor the build to your group and your goals.