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ELEMENTS OF NATURAL BUILDING

A Dynamic Adventure Awaits

Upcoming Dates:

  • April 16-24, 2023

Houses and buildings are the “nuclei” of any site, through which the majority of energy and resources flow to be either wasted or maximized for best use. And yet, most permaculture courses barely touch on physical structures! We here at Atitlan Organics think that your house and other structures deserve more attention as integral and essential parts of your overall permaculture design. That is why we offer this 9 day course grounded in the permaculture principles offering a deep dive into the art and practice of Natural Building.

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What's it all About?

From stone to cob to natural plasters, you’ll learn a wide range of natural building styles and technique which can be put to use in any climate or region of the world. Learn how to reduce your footprint and maximize your efficiency all while creating beautiful, durable structures! We like to think of it as “Permaculture for Zone 0.

What is Natural Building?

Natural Building is many things. Broadly speaking, it is use of natural and renewable materials to create shelter for ourselves: something humans have been doing for millions of years. Natural building helps us to connect to the ecosystems we are a part of and ask what resources are abundantly available around us for creating structures. It allows for endless creativity with the raw and minimally processed materials that nature provides. Each bioregion on earth has historically developed a building vernacular that was based upon available resources.

There are many styles of natural building that we utilize: cob, adobe, straw bale, rammed earth, wattle and daub, wood, bamboo, and stone work to name a few. But beyond the techniques and materials used, natural building also means connecting deeply with the place you are in; valuing and honoring the ecosystem to which you belong. It gives us the opportunity to build with consciousness so that our homes do not contribute to planetary destruction but rather the regeneration of the environment.

Through the permaculture framework we begin to understand that our homes can aid in the reduction of waste through the use of recyclable and renewable resources. We can create homes that are healthy living spaces not utilizing toxic materials or requiring large amounts of maintenance and upkeep costs. Through these modalities we are able to create energy efficient designs that require less energetic inputs while offering us a beautiful, unique structure. By turning our gaze to the homes and buildings which surround us, we discover huge potential for a more sustainable and regenerative lifestyle!

  • Build personal and communal Resilience through time tested techniques
  • Connect with the wisdom of the elements
  • Resurrect your Relationship to the Natural World
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What's Included

Each day is split into two parts: a hands-on practical exploration of the art and practice of natural building and classroom sessions which delve deep into topics such as bioregional design, foundations, wall systems, and troubleshooting design flaws.

A balanced mix class activities, presentations, hands-on work, excursions and workshops.

Daily yoga, meditation, elemental ritual, song circles, temazcali, and self care / self reflection time!

Introduction to natural building modalities, revisioning of home activity, and working with the elements.

Learn how to handle and build with several different traditional natural materials.

Lessons in building structures from foundations to roofing systems.

Natural building walking tour of Tzununa with builder Charlie Rendall.

Work on a variety of sites in the community, exploring a variety of methodologies.

Learn how to enhance your space with natural plasters and finishes.

Create our own natural building design project and present it to your peers .

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Is this training for you?

Look, this training isn’t for everyone. If you made it this far, then it is likely that you are committed to living a more empowered and connected life, with a deeper relationship to nature and more independence and sovereignty. That is awesome.

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Meet Your Teacher

Ashley McDonnell

Ashley’s work focuses on resurrecting our relationship to the natural world through the development of earth based skills that deepen our connection to place while increasing our sense of sovereignty and resilience. Devoted to the arts of permaculture, natural building, herbalism and birth work as her mediums, Ashley explores with humility the diverse modalities that support us in living in right relationship with the world around us. She views permaculture as a practice that not only creates healthy ecological communities but one that helps to reweave the very fabric of who we are as people. Her work is an offering to the future.

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What do Past Participants have to Say

This course was so powerful, I would even say it was life-changing. Yes it was about building structures the natural way, but really it was also so much more. It was about how we create our homes and lives most aligned with our true nature as connected beings living on a shared planet. It’s about respect, reciprocity, and being in deep relationship with something greater than ourselves. I am now building my own home and thanks to this course I feel empowered with the fundamental concepts I need to know to create a badass structure and a way of life in harmony with the earth and the deep calling of my spirit. Thank you Ashley!
Erica Derrikson
Participating in Ashley's course has by far been the most transformative immersive learning experience of my life. Through a brilliant balance of structure and freedom, the micro-community we build becomes a life-long family that can hold and empower one another to be the creators our hearts know is possible.. With a strong emphasis on cultivating personal and communal creativity, this balanced blend of mental, physical and spiritual immersion through the path of natural building allows for a recalibration of one's "North Star" and a deepening of connection to not only our very own human nature, but the nature of ALL in a harmonious way.. This course has gifted me with the skills, tools and materials to not only trust my capacity as a creator of "home", but also to cultivate a deeper relationship with self, other and our place within the greater home to all - Earth.. In playful prayerful fashion, we get to sense the potential for the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible as we create radically authentic, respectful, resilient community - nourished by vital foods, balanced mind/body practices, in depth, multi-faceted mental comprehension and an entourage of practical application for maximum integration of the teachings and a clearer sense of our North Star.
Dijhan Fenner
The Natural Building Course was so much more than I ever could have imagined. Not only did I come away with knowledge and hands-on skills, I made new friends, deepened my spiritual connection to the elements, and had so much fun, all in one of the most beautiful places on earth!
Coby B
Ashley is an amazing teacher & human being, she shares her wisdom with passion & grace. This course is way more than natural building alone. It takes you on a journey through the 4 elements and the human tradition of building. Personally I feel like I left the course with more insight in how to create a healthy community, insight in how everything is related and how important honoring and respecting these relations are when building/designing, I feel more empowered, independent and resourceful. I would highly recommend this course if you are interested in harmonious ways of building, connecting with how your ancestors build and/or when you want to gain a skill that will serve you and others the rest of your life and will open a lot of doors on your journey!
Taede Crabbe
Yo diría a otras personas que es super recomendado y que van a tener una experiencia muy interesante, mágica, profunda, intesa físicamente, y que en definitiva se logran romper esquemas programando nuevas ideas y mucha creatividad en sus proyectos futuros.
If you have any spark of curiosity to what natural building is, this course will show you: what it is, has been, and can be. Know that there is much to learn. A lot. Know that you will climb mountains. Know that you will be held. Know that you don’t need to know and need not do it alone. Know that you might need to bring your own towel, maybe. Know that this is far beyond constructing a house. Know that you can show up exactly as you are and do as little or as much as you want, there is nothing to prove.
Latika Corfa
Ashley teaches in a way that weaves wisdom, spirit, and all of the elements into the practice of natural building. She has experience and expertise and is excited to share it. This course transformed the way that I look at structures, and the concept of home. I feel empowered with new tools to create what is desire in this world. Ashley fills her courses with beauty, knowledge, wisdom, passion, care and hands on connection to the earth, and lots of fun too.
Matt Rentz
Be prepared to allow everything to shift. Get ready to know yourself and your relationship to this planet in a much deeper way.This course is fucking incredible, life-changing, and should be a requirement for all humans.
Lindsay Chestnut
Don't hesitate, give yourself the opportunity to experience this journey to your inner self while living in community and remembering the true essence of life and being human!
Andres Munoz
Do it! Financially committing to this goal will strengthen your resolve to continue. You will learn as much as you desire and will make invaluable connections with other like minded people.
Andrew Kern
I feel fortunate to have been a part of this experience, which was so whole, integrative and healing. The safety, care and groundedness with which the container was held -very true to the name Roots to Rise, allowing us all to feel “held and home” in community and dream from that space. Personally, I went into the course at pivotal time in my life, feeling very ungrounded and unheld, while at a threshold. After days of embodiment practices, nourishing meals, community, ritual, visualitions of home, collaborating in groups to design together and so much more, I left the course feeling empowered, deeply rooted and inspired to dream and create with compassion for the planet and for myself. I can’t thank you enough, Ashley. This is so much more than a Natural Building course and you are gift and a force of nature! I feel fortunate to have had the chance to learn with you and your strong and loving team.
Kanika Batra
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Registration is now open for Elements of Natural Building. Please know our courses fill up so please register early! The full cost of this course is $995 and includes your stay at the Bambu Guest House, all meals and snacks, facilitation, daily yoga, field trips and materials. Translation is available to those who are more comfortable speaking Spanish.

We understand that this may not be accessible for all, If you would like to join but are having difficulties making it happen connect with us.

Please email Ashley at Roottorisedesign@gmail.com if this applies to you!

April 16-24, 2023

$ 995
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Food, Lodging & Other Inclusions

During the course participants will stay in the Bambu Guest House, a beautiful eco-hotel in the indigenous village of Tzununa. Built from all local and natural materials, the Bambu embodies the principles of Permaculture and Natural Building. All guest rooms are big and bright, and come equipped with private bathrooms with hot water, wifi, comfy beds and balconies with hammocks and amazing views of Lake Atitlan and the volcanoes. The Bambu’s farm-to-table restaurant is supplied by Atitlan Organics and other local producers and serves 3 fresh, delicious meals a day plus snacks, dessert, tea and coffee. The Bambu Guest House proves that luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand!

Copyright 2022 Atitlan Organics   |   All Rights Reserved

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If you are interested in arranging a visit or tour, volunteering, or ordering products from the farm, please fill out this simple form and check your inbox for more details

Your Curriculum

Nicolas Hernandez Chiyal

Born and raised in the town of Tzununa, which lies right below Atitlan Organics, Nicholas and Shad have worked since Day 1, helping to craft the this amazing landscape. Nichloas is a supreme ninja farmer with skills beyond explanation. Visitors are endlessly impressed with his resourcefulness, ingenuity, and sheer motivation. Nicholas now owns and operates Las Ensaladas de Atitlan Organics, a business that sells organic produce to over 50 restaurants, hotels, and stores around lake Atitlan.

Neal Hegarty

Neal is originally from Ireland. He grew up on a dairy farm and has been around animals all his life. He studied agriculture in Ireland and has worked as a permaculturist for the past 10 years. Neal was the Volunteer Manager at Atitlan Organics for 2 years before co-founding his own Permaculture-based enterprise, Abundant Edge Farm, in Tzununa. He brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and energy into each Intro to Permaculture Course and Permaculture Design Certification Course and we’re happy to continue to collaborate with him!

Rony Lec

Rony is one of the world’s leading experts in permaculture and Mayan ancestral knowledge. Rony has spent the last 20 years teaching and implementing permaculture throughout Central, South and North America focusing on promoting food sovereignty and preserving biodiversity for the survival of Indigenous communities.

Through his extensive work with Indigenous communities on traditional ecological knowledge, seed saving, native plants, local/global food movements, livelihood security, and the interaction between communities and the environment, he has made a key contribution to the empowerment of Indigenous people around the world. Rony is a co-founder of IMAP.

Zach Loeks

Hailing from Ottawa, Canada where he and his partner run the 50-acre Kula Permaculture Farm, Zach brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the course. He works as an educator, designer, consultant and farmer, with an emphasis on integrating diversity, conserving soil and maximizing farm ecosystem services while maintaining high productivity.

Last year Zach published The Permaculture Market Garden, which explores ways that permaculture can be scaled up be a profitable whole-systems enterprise. Zach is a leading figure in permaculture, who brings a new and exciting vision of how it can be integrated into the wider community and marketplace.

Ashley McDonnell

Ashley’s work focuses on resurrecting our relationship to the natural world through the development of earth based skills that deepen our connection to place while increasing our sense of sovereignty and resilience. Devoted to the arts of permaculture, natural building, herbalism and birth work as her mediums, Ashley explores with humility the diverse modalities that support us in living in right relationship with the world around us. She views permaculture as a practice that not only creates healthy ecological communities but one that helps to reweave the very fabric of who we are as people. Her work is an offering to the future.

Holly Mech

Holly fell in love with yoga because of the sense of connection she felt every time she came to her mat. She began teaching yoga in Chicago in 2011. Her desire to deepen her teaching and personal practice led her to continue her yoga education in California, Bali, Australia and Guatemala. Holly now travels around the world teaching yoga and facilitating yoga teacher trainings. She enjoys helping new teachers sequence yoga classes and incorporate philosophy into their teachings. Her classes are creative and dynamic with an emphasis on making yoga accessible to everyone.

Holly studied English at the University of Illinois at Chicago and frequently draws inspiration for her classes from literature and poetry. When she’s not on the yoga mat she enjoys exploring nature, singing, dancing and working with textiles.

Laura Palmieri

Laura ‘Lala’ Palmieri is a clinical herbalist, a biologist, plant and fungi lover and grower. She offers health consultations to balance body, mind and soul working with medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Her approach to health integrates the knowledge of many ancient traditions and teachers, fusing spirituality with nature, and science with alchemy through the transformation of the elements.

Lala has spent her years in dialogue with Nature, which has fueled her passion to integrate scientific knowledge and the connection with all beings to help humanity. She integrates her practice with cooking, gardening, and exploring ecosystems. She teaches and facilitates herbal clinics and programs in permaculture, herbalism, botany, fermentation, and medicinal mushroom cultivation, with a regenerative earth care approach and techniques that are accessible to most. She and Sarah co-created the Envision and Cosmic Converge Herbal First Aid Clinics, other relief Clinics in Guatemala for the volcano eruption. You will find Lala crafting remedies for her diverse communities in Guatemala and Costa Rica, where she is actively creating a world with integrated healthcare.

Sarah Wu

Sarah is a clinical herbalist of 20 years, studying and practicing planetary eclectic, regenerative herbalism with a foundation in Wise Woman Reclaiming philosophies. Influenced by global traditions, Sarah focuses on local food-based healing and ethnobotanical traditions. She leads trainings and workshops in herbal medicine, Permaculture Design Courses, Therapeutic Deep Ecology, Social Permaculture, field-to-the-plate holistic nutrition, herbal first aid and Tarot. She is a passionate mentor and educator, who believes in the teacher’s role in unlocking the innate wisdom of the student. Sarah is the co-founder of the Village Witches project, and is a Co-Founder and Co-producer of Envision Festival.

Don Fransisco Simon

Don Fransisco knows the lands and waters of Tzununa deeper than most anyone alive. His intuitive handling of plants makes the whole system glow, and he is an avid duck enthusiast, maintaining the breeding flocks at Duck Willow, along with his own homestead flock. Aside from that, he oversees the establishment of the perennial agroforestry and aquaculture systems on Duck Willow Farms.

Your Curriculum

David 'Brock' Barker

Brock Barker was raised as an outdoorsman in the marshes and forests of south Louisiana, where he developed a passion for all things plants. After studying horticulture at university, Brock has worked in nurseries, landscaping outfits, and in the facilitation of a horticultural therapy program, and more. His primary ‘work’ for the last 12 years has been developing a 10 acre homestead which serves as personal garden of Eden and educational space for volunteers and workshops. Brock’s proficiency in areas such as mushroom cultivation/ foraging, fermentation, and botany, combined with his infectious enthusiasm make him an integral part of our team.

Jeremy Dexter Fellows

Jeremy has focused ten years of study, mentorship and implementation of permaculture design systems back home in Massachusetts. With many years of experience in botany and horticulture, he is fascinated by the world of plants. After working many years in Guatemala, Jeremy has dedicated his focus to land and water management systems that lend to ecological acceleration and social integration through food production. Jeremy now runs granja tzikin, works as a designer and consultant with Regenera and teaches in the Atitlan Organics teachers guild.

Julia Forest

Julia is an international yoga teacher, birth doula, women’s health advocate, and closet artist who is passionate about health, environmentalism and empowered birth. She is co-creator of the Sacred Birth Yoga & Doula Training, is founding director of Awakened Spirit Yoga and co-founder of the Wellkind Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on community empowerment and wellbeing through the lens of permaculture. She also created the Sacred Earth Yoga Training, the first yoga teacher training program that combines yoga, mindfulness, permaculture and leadership to transform lives and communities.

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Your Curriculum

Your Curriculum

Your curriculum for the Permaculture Design Certificate includes 20 short courses consumed over a period of 7 weeks, with a final design project to be finalised in the 8th week.

Week 1: The Spirit of Permaculture

Week 2: Design Methodologies

Week 3: Water and Earthworks

Week 4: Soil and Compost

Week 5: Plant Power

Week 6: Animals

Week 7: Permaculture Niches

Week 8: Final Design Project

The Final Design Project Course Module becomes available after completing all of the Content for Week 1 and Week 2. The module serves as a guide for your final design project. We suggest that you work on this throughout the course. The 8th call is reserved for students to present their final design projects. Upon completion of the Final Design Project and all of the Course Content, a Permaculture Design Certificate is awarded.

Your Curriculum

Shad Qudsi

Shad Qudsi has over 13 years experience in organic and commercial gardening and farming. He is certified in Permaculture Design and has over 3 years experience in permaculture design consulting. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a double major in Applied Math and Psychology, Shad and his wife, Colleen, moved to Central America with only vague goals of farming at some point in the near future. In January of 2010, Shad and his wife bought and moved onto a very small farm located in the traditional Mayan village of Tzununa, which on the north shore of Lake Atitlan, in Guatemala. The farm developed into Atitlan Organics and now mainly focuses on greens and chickens, a large edible and useful plant nursery, a food forest, and training and education.  Shad is an enthusiastic teacher who truly believes in the work he is doing. Human resiliency cannot be erased from the landscape and now, it is coming back with a loving grace.