Natural Building & Permaculture Education
We have decades of Natural Building and Alternative Living Experience. Read more about Kyle and Katy’s lifestyle here.
Our full suite of classes is listed below. This year we’re offering the following:
Intro to Natural Building
2026 EVENT
One Day. Saturday, June 13. $110. Join us for a full day immersion into natural building. We’ll introduce you to cob, adobe, slip straw, earthen plasters, waddle & daub, and more. If you’re curious about natural building, this is the class for you. We’ll finish the day with a pizza party using our cob oven. Learn more here
Natural Plasters
Three Days. Not offered in 2026. Includes all meals, camping spaces, basic amenities. We’ll take you from base and mid coats to finish coats using earthen/clay-based plasters as well as lime. You’ll learn the how to use and process both local and purchased materials and get lots of time of the wall to plaster using different trowels, hawks, and floats. Natural clay and lime paints and sculpture, too. Learn more here
Cob Pizza Oven
Three Days. Date TBD. You’ll learn how to build and use a great cob oven. We’ll take you through all the steps and layers from how to make and mix different types of cob, how to use straw in a slip straw insulation layer, how to lay fire bricks and form the door opening, and how to make basic plasters. We’ll finish with a pizza party where you’ll learn how to use the oven. Kyle’s book is included with the class. Learn more here
“4D” Quick Cabin Build
Six Days Not offered in 2026. All meals, camping spaces, basic amenities included. Foundation to roof in just six days. We use a big group of people to build a hybrid earthen building. Cob, bale-cob, cordwood-cob, earthbags, slip-straw and even some adobe. Learn more here
Versaterra Earthen Building Intensive
2026 EVENT
10 Days June 18-27. $1400. Includes all meals and camping. In this intensive and hands-on class we’ll build a beautiful earthen wall from the ground up to serve as an outdoor shower enclosure and a cob pizza oven. You’ll gain experience with an rubble trench foundation system, different wall building techniques like cob, adobe, cord wood cob and bale cob, and how to design and attach a roof. This is a fun and in-depth class that provides take-home skills to tackle your own natural building projects or teaching dreams. Learn more here
Morocco Two Week Course
2026 EVENT
2 Weeks September 6-19, 2026. $2000 Includes all meals and premium accomodations.
Get ready for a once-in-a-lifetime natural building experience in vibrant and enchanting Morocco. We’ll spend two weeks building an earthen cabin from foundation to roof. We’ll also work with local builders and a tadelakt teacher. This course will be the first natural building project of a new climate resiliency and permaculture learning center. Learn more here
Community Plastering Event
2026 EVENT
April, 2026 Exact Date TBD. $20. Spend a full day learning and practicing basic plastering skills while we cover a 50’ straw bale wall in Reno.
Introduction to Permaculture
3 Days Date TBD. Learn the basic principles and tenets of Permaculture over an immersive and hands-on weekend. We’ll focus on food production, appropriate technologies, and delve more deeply into the 12 main principles of this important tool for creating a better tomorrow. Learn more here
Power tools to the People
1 Day Date TBD. $120 (includes all materials and tools for use during the day) Women Only. This is an introductory class meant to empower the newbie or novice around cordless power tools and basic carpentry. Each participant will build their own attractive wooden storage box and by days end they’’ll be comfortable using a battery-powered drill, impact driver, circular saw, jig saw and sander as well as carpenter and speed squares, different fasteners, and more. Learn more here
