We are excited to invite you on a jam packed, unique introduction to the world of natural building, surrounded by rolling hills and cork trees, on a beautiful 150 hectare farm in Southern Portugal. You will gain a clear understanding, and hands on experience, of the theory and practice of natural building in a safe and supported environment.
What is Natural Building?
Natural building is so much more than just building with natural materials; it is about reconnecting with our ancestral roots and understanding our natural environment. It’s about building beautiful, durable, healthy, functional and spiritually uplifting buildings as well as building relationships with people and the planet along the way. It’s about observing, thoughtfully designing and respecting the world around us, consciously using local, renewable and sustainable materials to create buildings that work in harmony with the inhabitants and the environment the structure belongs to.
Building a structure with natural materials is an empowering, humbling and inspiring experience. We will connect with the earth, with ourselves, with each other and with these ancient building techniques which are silently ingrained in all of us; together we tap into this forgotten knowledge and bring to life the knowledge and skills to build your own home.
Who is the workshop for?
This workshop is for anyone that is interested in building with natural materials and wants to begin their journey to build a natural home. It is for people of any age, gender and physical ability; no one is excluded from building with earth, we embrace our diversity and differences, our strengths and weaknesses; we can all play an important role in the building process no matter how big or small. This workshop is for your personal development and is designed so that every individual walks away feeling inspired and confident to continue to build with natural materials and with the ethics of ecological house design.
What will I learn in the workshop?
During our 4 days together we will dive into the world of natural building; learning theory in the classroom and putting this knowledge into practice from day one by getting our hands and feet connected with the raw materials, learning by doing and experimentation. We will make time for movies, slide shows and practical presentations and you will also have access to our extensive digital library.
You will also learn how to:
Test clay sub-soils and use the results to create the perfect earth mix
Learn about ecological house design and application
Learn about ecological foundation systems
Make adobe bricks and learn how to build with them
Mix and work with cob in different forms
Mix and apply slip straw
Learn how to safely use and work with power tools
Learn about basic woodwork and carpentry
There will be some theory sessions about:
Ecological House Design – how to design energy efficient homes in connection with your climate
Natural Building Theory – How it all works and why
Building techniques across the globe – what techniques are being used, where and why?
Facilitators:
Lola Byron
Lola Byron is a Permaculture and Natural Building facilitator, practitioner and consultant. After travelling the globe with her young family, connecting with Permaculture projects, she now lives, works, teaches, builds and raises her 2 children in Southern Portugal. Originally from Birmingham, England, she has been a thriving Permaculturist and natural builder since completing her PDC back in 2010. Following this, she was an active urban Permaculturist, designing and implementing various community gardens and co-facilitating natural building and gardening workshops in and around the UK. With a background in studying, then teaching, Fine Art, Sculpture, when she discovered Permaculture and Natural Building, she knew she had found her calling in life. Lola recently founded The Women Natural Building Collective, a safe and empowering learning space and network for women builders worldwide. She has built and taught internationally, spent 3 years as the Natural Building Manager at Panya Project, Thailand, and has been a consultant and project manager with Surplus Permaculture Design since 2017.
NBC June prices:
470€ without accommodation.
510€ with accommodation in camping site (if you stay in your own camper or tent)
530€ with accommodation in dorm or bell tent
We have private cottages and rooms available, if you prefer this option please contact us to inquire about availability and pricing at aquintaportugal@gmail.com
This prices include all meals, transportation to and from the farm to São Luís and all course tuition and materials. Hosting courses and workshops helps A Quinta to continue to develop the regenerative systems on the land. The money paid for your course fee will be divided between A Quinta and the facilitators, meaning A Quinta can go forward with developing the project, paying staff and purchasing materials, and the facilitators can continue with their passion to teach and inspire.
We have private cottages and rooms available, please contact us to inquire about availability and pricing if you prefer this option.
Contact:
Please feel free to email us on aquintaportugal@gmail.com for any additional information you may need.
Payment:
We kindly request a non-refundable deposit of €213 from all registrants to confirm their spot. After completing the form, you will be directed to the payment page. The remaining fees can be settled in cash upon arrival or transferred to A Quinta's bank account on the first day of the live course.
Please Note:
In the unlikely event of us canceling the course, your deposit will be refunded in full; additionally, we will however not be held responsible for any other financial losses.
Deposits are non-refundable if you choose to cancel. If cancellation is made 1 week prior to the course starting date we ask for a contribution of 50% of the course fee to cover our losses. We will accept late bookings if there is space available.