Open to All
7 day Natural Building Workshop
June 20th - 26th 2026
@ Livity Ground, Portugal
Open to All
7 day Natural Building Workshop
June 20th - 26th 2026
@ Livity Ground, Portugal
We are super excited to invite you to join us and the incredible team at Livity Ground as we join forces, energies and skills to create the future art space on this magical 6.5 hecter project in Southern Portugal. Led by the WNBC’s core builders, you will gain a deep technical understanding and hands on experience giving you the skills and inspitration to build.
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 our natural environment. It’s about building beautiful, durable, healthy and spiritually uplifting buildings as well as building relationships with people and the planet along the way. It’s about observing and respecting the world around us, consciously using local, renewable and sustainable materials to create buildings that work in harmony with our mind, body and soul, and the environment they inhabit.
What is The Womens Natural Building Collective?
The WNBC is a collective of experienced women builders living and working in Southern Portugal. We build unique natural structures that respond to their environment whilst also creating job opportunities and a training programme to empower people with the skills to build. We share a passion for building but also a deep passion for our planet and in creating a more balanced and beautiful future. Check out our instagram to see more of what we do.
What is Livity Ground?
Livity Ground was founded in 2024, it is an off grid project dedicated to a way of life connected to nature and the regeneration of the land. A place of action, that contributes to the rising of the new world. Natural and authentic, Livity Ground aims to become a space where the seeds of an alternative reality falls on fortile ground. At Livity Ground there is a strong community of people, working in the gardens, growing food, forestry, music, building
Who is the workshop for?
This workshop is for people of any age 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, inner growth empowerment and is designed so that every individual walks away feeling inspired and confident to continue to build with earth and with the ethics of ecological house design.
What will you learn?
We will be building the walls as a phase 2 on the Zome structure, which will be built in a prior workshop led by Livity Ground, find out more here.
During this workshop you will be connecting with the earth from day one as we build the walls of the structure; gaining experience, trusting your intuition and learning through doing. You will be guided by our experienced and passionate team of builders with many years of experience and a wealth of knowledge and skills. We will be building a future art space using a variety of different natural building method and techniques, through doing this you get to see, feel and understand the materials and the building processes.
You will;
Test clay sub-soils and use the results to create the perfect earth mix
Learn about ecological house design and implementation
Make adobe bricks and apply them
Mix and work with cob in different forms
Mix and apply slip straw
Learn about earth and Lime plasters
Have an introduction to the zome structure
There will be some theory sessions too;
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?
Alongside all of this we want to integrate and celebrate the sense of community, to share, build, laugh and explore how we can work together harmoniously to build a better future.
More about the host!
We will be staying at Livity Ground, a beautiful, off grid, 6.5 hectare farm founded in 2024. Over the past 2 years a team of passionate builders, gardeners and artists have been transforming and regenerating the land. Growing food, planting trees, creating beatuiful sructures and music evens for the community to celebrate The Roots Cluture.
Livity Ground is located in the rolling hills of Alentejo, surrounded by cork trees, wild nature and a beautfiul lake, perfect for swimming. The closest town is Cercal do Alentejo (15km away) with shops, resturants, pharmacy etc and bus connections. The closests beach is Porto Covo.
Food
We will be eating fresh, local, vegetarian (always vegan options) meals 3 times a day which will be lovingly prepared by our talented chef. If you have any allergies please let us know in advance so we can accommodate your needs, we ask for a small extra contribution for those with a gluten free diet due to extra expenses for ingrediences etc.
Accommodation
We will be creating a base camp for the duration of the workshop and using the facilities at Livity Ground (Shower, toilet, kitchen, hangout space etc)
Its important to note that you will need to bring camping equiptment with you, or your camper. A private room is available in a Zome structure - please let us know if you are interested.
Cost: The fee for the workshop is €835 this includes all meals and refreshments, transportation to and from the site from Cercal do Alentejo, the course tuition and a handmade handout covering all the course material.
We ask participants to arrive before 13h00 on June 20th for a welcoming lunch, settling in and getting to know each other.
Livity Ground is reachable from both Lisbon and Faro by bus, and stops at the closest down of Cercal do Alentejo. Lisbon has more bus connections. Here is the link for the bus company - https://rede-expressos.pt/pt
Deposit:We ask all registrants to make a deposit of €333 to secure their spot, and the remaining fees be paid on arrival.
Please Note:
In the unlikely event of us canceling the course, your deposit will be refunded in full; additionally, we will not be held responsible for any other financial losses accrued.
Deposits are non-refundable if you choose to cancel. If cancellation is made 2 week prior to the course start date we ask for a contribution of 75% of the course fee to cover our losses. We will accept late bookings if there is space available.