Join this 4-week workshop, where you will be living and building on the healing grounds of Caya Sanctuary, Nestled in the beautiful foothills of Mt. St. Helens.

In this workshop, you will explore different elements of natural building, design and carpentry, while completing a 180 sq. ft. pallet-cob dwelling with a reciprocal frame living room earthen lime floor, cob sculptures, earthen plaster, and clay and lime paints.

Caya Sanctuary is the perfect setting for this experience, offering idyllic forest campsites, wood-fired hot tubs refreshing river swims, saunas, cocao-fueled dance sessions, weekly community bonding circles, and an optional evening of breathwork with a soothing soundbath.

When will you be building?

Students can arrive at CAYA Sanctuary in Mossyrock, Washington as early as the evening of September 14th, but need to arrive by noon at the latest on Sunday, September 15th. Students should plan on leaving by the morning of Monday, October 14th .

Who is this workshop for?

This four week workshop is for anyone interested in exploring natural building, for those seeking to build their own earthen home, as well as for experienced natural builders wanting to expand their repertoire of techniques.  No prior building experience is required to attend this workshop.  Clay Sand & Soul (CSS) seeks to create an inclusive, positive learning environment where all backgrounds, questions, and inputs are welcome and encouraged.

What will you learn as a student?

During our four weeks working together at CAYA Sanctuary, students will gain an in-depth, hands-on understanding of all the elements needed to successfully build a Pallet Cob Cottage with a living, reciprocal roof, including:

• Fundamentals of site selection
• Floor plan design essentials for a cottage to perform well in your climate
• Site soil assessment and testing systems for cob, base plaster, finish plasters, and earthen floors
• Foundation fundamentals
• Post and beam framing
• Window and door installation
• Calculating, planning, and raising a reciprocal roof
• Living roof systems and installation
• Electrical & plumbing design and installation
• Insulation options and installation
• Modifying and installing a pallet wall system
• Preparing pallets for receiving plaster: attaching wood lath, slip making and applying, etc.
• Formulating, mixing, and application of cob, earthen base plaster, earthen finish plasters
• Creating sculptures and niches with cob
• Inserting bottles in walls for light and beauty
• Formulating and pouring an earthen/earthen-lime floor
• Earth pigment collecting and processing for making interior clay paints
• Making and applying limewash

Also covered (time-permitting):

• How to build a cob bench
• Installing a kitchen with a vanity, sink, and shelving

The skills you will develop in this course include:

• Planning and managing a build of your own
• Developing intuition around assessing, selecting, and formulating successful earthen plasters
• A comprehensive range of carpentry skills, such as using a wide variety of electric and battery operated power tools, using a transit level, safety practices, tricks of the trade, etc!
• Working and living in community
• Building physical strength and proper body mechanics to maintain physical well-being while doing manual labor
• Finding joy, freedom, and confidence through doing challenging things