4 Week Natural Building Workshop: Foundation to Roof Pallet Cob Cottage in WA State this September!

Join us for an unforgettable end to your 2024 Summer, living and building in community on the healing grounds of CAYA Sanctuary, nestled in the foothills of Mt. St . Helen’s. In this four week workshop, we will explore different elements of natural building, design, and carpentry while completing a 180 sq ft Pallet Cob Dwelling with a reciprocal frame living roof, earthen-lime floor, cob sculptures, earthen plaster, and clay and lime paints. Click the link below or in our bio for more details on workshop content, location amenities, and how to register🙏🏼

https://www.claysandsoul.com/caya-workshop

Topics covered during hands-on work sessions and lectures include:
-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

If time permits we will also cover:
-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

Caya Sanctuary is the perfect setting for this experience, offering idyllic forest campsites, wood-fired hot tubs, refreshing river swims, saunas, cacao-fueled dance sessions, weekly community bonding circles, and an optional evening of breathwork with a soothing sound bath.  In addition to gaining the skills necessary to build your own healthy, earthen home, we will deepen our capacity for living communally, and empower each other to become better versions of ourselves.

We are so excited to play in the mud together and build a beautiful cottage in the process🙌🏼🛖🌈

Click the link below or in our bio for more details on workshop content, location amenities, and how to register🙏🏼

https://www.claysandsoul.com/caya-workshop

Follow us @claysandsoul on Instagram to stay in the loop about this workshop and other offerings

Follow our hosts, CAYA Sanctuary @cayasanctuary on Instagram to learn more about the Plant Medicine work they do and how they are building their retreat center

Join us for an unforgettable end to your 2024 Summer, living and building in community on the healing grounds of CAYA Sanctuary, nestled in the foothills of Mt. St . Helen’s. In this four week workshop, we will explore different elements of natural building, design, and carpentry while completing a 180 sq ft Pallet Cob Dwelling with a reciprocal frame living roof, earthen-lime floor, cob sculptures, earthen plaster, and clay and lime paints. Click the link below or in our bio for more details on workshop content, location amenities, and how to register🙏🏼

https://www.claysandsoul.com/caya-workshop

Topics covered during hands-on work sessions and lectures include:
-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

If time permits we will also cover:
-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

Caya Sanctuary is the perfect setting for this experience, offering idyllic forest campsites, wood-fired hot tubs, refreshing river swims, saunas, cacao-fueled dance sessions, weekly community bonding circles, and an optional evening of breathwork with a soothing sound bath.  In addition to gaining the skills necessary to build your own healthy, earthen home, we will deepen our capacity for living communally, and empower each other to become better versions of ourselves.

We are so excited to play in the mud together and build a beautiful cottage in the process🙌🏼🛖🌈

Click the link below or in our bio for more details on workshop content, location amenities, and how to register🙏🏼

https://www.claysandsoul.com/caya-workshop

Follow us @claysandsoul on Instagram to stay in the loop about this workshop and other offerings

Follow our hosts, CAYA Sanctuary @cayasanctuary on Instagram to learn more about the Plant Medicine work they do and how they are building their retreat center

Thanks! Still figuring out how to properly post on here. Have a good one, Sara

Hello Sara!  

This is really beautiful stuff you have here!

Have you thought of using mushroom mycelium as insulation?

Here is a little video about it:

Hi Samantha! I havent had personal experience with mycelium insulation, but would ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO! For this workshop in particular we will be insulating with Havelock Wool insulation which has an R value of 13, but on our next build we will definitely consider it!! Whats the r-value of mycelium insulation btw? Thanks for the rec <3

Hello Sara!

That sounds really neat!  

Beau gives the r value per inch in this video.  




You will probably want to watch the whole video.  In the beginning he shows how to grow the culture.