Portugal Intensive Cob Workshop
25th of September to 18th of October
Majuma Valley | Castelo Branco, Portugal
This is going to be EPIC! We are going to Majuma Valley in the hills of central Portugal! Join us for a unique theoretical and hands-on cob workshop. In this 3-week intensive experience, we will design and build a cob sauna with an outdoor tadelakt shower and a reciprocal green roof, while having some SALSA classes on site and enjoying a natural swimming pool!
During week 1, we will start right away with cob: earthen floor and cob walls, bringing the structure to life: completing the walls, integrating windows and doors, sculpting shelves and niches, and building a beautiful outdoor shower. In week 2, we will finalize the walls and build a reciprocal green roof. Finally, week 3 is our artistic week, dedicated to creative expression: sculptural work, earthen and lime plasters, and tadelakt, to elevate both function and beauty.
Through this immersive process, you'll gain the knowledge and practical skills to build your own cob structure - from the ground up. The workshop is designed with a balance of 70% hands-on practice and 30% theory, covering essential topics such as cob wall techniques, the benefits of earthen building, soil testing, how to prepare and apply earthen and lime plasters, how to do tadelakt, how to sculpt with cob, how to build a reciprocal roof with green covering, how to dance salsa, and much more!
Whether you're dreaming of building your own cabin or natural structure, this workshop will give you the confidence and tools to get started, and connect with like-minded people!
Join us for this intensive experience and become part of the TIERRAMIGO community, gaining access to the community chat to connect with others and learn about additional trainings with special discounts.
THE PLACE
Majuma Valley is an ecological glamping retreat located in the central area of Portugal. In this 3 hectares of beautiful land, we are going to be surrounded by the mountain views, 300 olive trees, some oaks and fruit trees, with beautiful sunrises and sunsets! A dancefloor of 60m2 on the hill is going to be our outdoor classroom for learning salsa, while enjoying the natural swimming pool during the warm days. Couldn't be better!
This land is beautiful former olive farm reconstructed into a peaceful off grid glamping & retreat location. It's a place for people to unwind, let go of all the outside noise and find their way back to themselves. In addition, it's a place to bring people together, to dance, to laugh, to connect, to celebrate and share moments.
The dream of Majuma Valley began in 2017, when Zarah was traveling through Portugal and fell in love with the country. She noticed so many abandoned buildings and untouched plots of land, and began to imagine creating a place full of life and creativity that she could share with others. When she saw this piece of land she knew instantly: this was it. It wasn't a logical decision as much as a deep feeling. Back then, there was nothing there except an old ruin... and that's where the journey began.
Now Zarah lives with her partner Anton and daughter Alua. Also Nick and Roos, 2 salsa teachers from the Netherlands are now a part of Majuma Valley, where they hold Cuban Salsa Retreats. In community, they share the land and responsibilities, implementing sustainable ways of living, organic farming, community integration and mindful living.
COURSE DETAILS
Cob is a very inclusive, organic, and creative earthen building technique that allows us to shape walls freely, working with curves very easily. In this way, we can sculpt a house, turning it into a collective work of art.
In this workshop, we will dive into this technique to build a unique Cob Sauna for Majuma Valley! It is going to be an organic-shaped building, with a reciprocal green roof and an outdoor Tadelakt shower, in this way you are going to be able to learn about cob essentials, reciprocal roof structures and different plastering techniques such as earthen plasters, lime and tadelakt! Besides all this, we are having some Salsa Classes going on in some of the evenings, so we can all gather to have some fun, dance and connect!
The 3-weeks intensive workshop will be divided into 3 modules, starting the 25th of September with a welcome dinner and the workshop introduction. There are some days off in between, to make sure you have time to rest, connect and explore!
MODULE 1 - Cob Walls
25th of September to 6th of October
In the first module, we will start right away pouring an earthen floor in the ready build stone foundations that are going to be prepared before the workshop. Once our floor is in, door frames will be placed, so we can start with the cob walls!
Alongside the hands-on work, we'll dive into the core principles of earthen building. You'll be introduced to different natural building techniques and explore clay soil as the essential ingredient of cob building. We will also talk about site selection and the importance of a good design while building with earthen techniques. Through practical exercises, you'll learn how to test and analyze soils, developing the ability to understand, select, and work with materials from your own land. We will start the practice of Cob by building the walls. During this process, lots of wall insertions will happen: windows, niches, shelves, and more.
To finalize, we will make this building unique, by sculpting and customizing it. We will have the natural builder and mud artist Alyshia, from the UK, that will be guiding the building artistic design and bringing all her experience in sculpturing with cob to make this sauna look stunningly beautiful!
The intention of this module is to give you a strong foundation in earthen building: understanding its benefits, learning how to read and stabilize clay soils, preparing the cob mix, and how to build with confidence: step by step, layer by layer.
MODULE 2 - Reciprocal Roof and Green Vernacular Roof
7th to 12ve of October
In the second module, we'll implement a reciprocal roof structure, understanding how to design and build one, and the many possibilities that you can achieve with this type of structures. This week, we will step out of the mud to interact with wood, understanding how this material works and what can we achieve.
During the work of the roof, sculpting the walls will continue, so there will be time and space for you to explore this creative aspect of cob building.
We will bring the roof to life with a green, living layer. You'll learn how to design and build a vernacular green roof, understanding the materials, layering systems, and techniques needed to create a resilient and beautiful living cover.
MODULE 3 - Natural Finishes: Earth, Lime and Tadelakt!
13th to 18th of October
In the final module we'll dive into natural finishes for earthen buildings: earthen and lime plasters and Tadelakt.
You'll learn how to design, test, and apply both earthen and lime plasters: understanding their composition, additives, and techniques. Using local soils and aggregates, we'll create our own plaster recipes and apply them to the walls, bringing the structure to its final form with rich textures and natural earthen colors.
We will have the master plasterer Matilde, a chilean friend based in Portugal, which will be guiding us into the world of Tadelakt, sharing with us all her knowledge and sympathy to make this experience even better!
We will have a Tadelakt Party and Graduation on saturday 17th, and finish the workshop on Sunday 18th with a farewell lunch.
During your stay, you'll be immersed in the beautiful atmosphere of Majuma Valley! Alongside our course, we are going to have Salsa Classes organized by Nick and Roos in some of the evenings, movie nights and some surprise activities!
We'll be sharing delicious meals as one big community, creating plenty of opportunities to connect, exchange ideas, and build meaningful relationships. Bring your ideas and projects so we have time to explore them and help!
Note: some of these photos are from workshops organized by CruzinCobGlobal and taught by Tierramigo.
CONTENT
- Understanding clay and its properties
- How to test and assess clay soil for building
- Introduction to other natural building techniques
- Benefits of earth as a building material
- Stone foundation principles
- Earthen floors
- Cob: how to mix and build
- Wall insertions: windows, doors, niches, shelves and more!
- Reciprocal roof structure with a vernacular green roof
- Earthen plasters: how to test, stabilize and apply fine plasters
- Lime plasters and lime cycle
- Tadelakt
- Sculpting with cob
Feel free to ask questions throughout - we are here to help!
All course materials will
be provided digitally after the workshop
DAILY SCHEDULE
The daily schedule may be subject to weather conditions or slight modifications.
08:00 to 09:00 - Breakfast
09:00 to 13:00 - Morning Session
13:00 to 14:30 - Lunch
14:30 to 17:30 - Afternoon Session
18:30 to 19:30 - Dinner
19:30 to 20:30 - Evening Activities
Some afternoons we will have lectures related to the topics we are working on. On certain evenings, we will also have video nights or presentations connected to the workshop themes, serving as a complement to the learning experience, and also, we are going to have Salsa Classes on the dancefloor! These will be optional and included for everyone, if you feel you want to learn, dance and have fun, jump in!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Be prepared for physical work, so please bring suitable clothing, closed-toe shoes, flip flops and rubber gloves. Don't forget a hat, water bottle, and a notebook - anything you need to feel comfortable!
We also encourage you to bring a sample of your own soil for testing and analysis during the course.
This workshop will be taught in English, with real-time translation into Spanish and Portuguese if needed.
During the workshop, a videographer will be documenting the experience through photos and video. Some of this content may be used for promotional purposes, including print and online materials, to support Tierramigo in building community and sharing future courses and events. If you prefer not to appear in any media, please let us know.
CAMPING AND MEALS
Camping is included in the price, but if you would like to rent another type of accommodation, there are a few options for an extra fee: 1 private Bell Tent, 1 shared Bell Tent (3 people), 1 Caravan with terrace, 1 Campervan with terrace, and 2 Campervans without terrace.
Also, if you can't bring camping gear, you can rent it for a reduced fee!
All meals are included during the workshop: breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner. Meals will be balanced and nutritious to keep you energized. If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know and we will try our best to accommodate your needs.
During the day offs, the kitchen will be available with ingredients to prepare a general brunch and dinner for everyone, but without someone preparing it for us, so we can arrange a way to collaborate and help to prepare it. You can also explore the surrounding areas on days off, making the most of your stay in Portugal. But remember, resting is very important because it is going to be intense!
TRANSPORTATION
To arrive in Majuma Valley you can take a bus from Porto or Lisbon to Castelo Branco. From Castelo BRanco, it is a 25 minutes ride to Majuma Valley. There are taxis available, but we can also arrange a group pick up with Zarah.
If you are planning to come with a car, and have space for other people, we will create a WhatsApp Group so we can arrange pick ups for those who might need it.
If you have any doubts, please contact us!
REGISTRATION AND FEES
The price includes the whole workshop, camping, three hearty meals per day, 5 salsa classes during the workshop and access to the Tierramigo Community. There are other types of accommodation available that you will find in the registration form.
3-week Full Cob Workshop - Modules 1, 2 and 3!
€1490 Early Bird until June 25th !
€1690 Regular Rate
In case you want to attend to a specific module, please get in contact with us. Available spots will be reserved for those who take the full workshop.
The workshop is limited to a maximum of 14 participants. To register, fill out the form or contact Nico at tierramigo@gmail.com or via WhatsApp at +569 9089 7292.
To save your spot you have to make a €500 deposit and pay the rest by August 25th.
Payments can be made via bank transfer, Wise, Revolut or credit card with an additional fee.
There are 2 work-trade positions available. Each work-trade offers a €100 discount in exchange for 45 minutes of work per day for kitchen help. Feel free to ask about or propose another type of exchange if you wish to participate in this experience!
Members of the TIERRAMIGO community receive a 10% discount.
THE INSTRUCTOR AND COLLABORATORS!
Nico Pimentel is a Chilean architect and natural builder, founder of Tierramigo.
He is also the co-founder of PIWA, an architecture and design studio based in Chile, focused on housing and hospitality projects in rural areas, with a strong sensitivity to the landscape, the use of natural materials, and passive solar design techniques.
Since 2017, Nico has explored earthen building techniques and facilitated international workshops in various formats: from full builds to mid- and short-term trainings, working throughout Latin America and Europe.
He co-founded Jungla Peumayen, a wildlife and ecosystem conservation reserve in southern Chile, and Kalina, a creative hub and workspace located in the forests of northern Patagonia, where he is developing a Summer School and Fellowship program.
Alyshia Seebue is a fellow mud lover, student of nature, multimedia artist , and currently working as the membership coordinator at the Permaculture Association UK. For many years she has been drawn to working with the Earth, exploring her many forms through art installations, craft, and now sculpting with clay.
"In an attempt to connect with my Indigenous Latin American roots, I've always felt really drawn to working with clay - due to the way my relatives build their homes. This path has led me to study a variety of earth-building techniques and train professionally through the School of Natural Building on their Teacher Training Programme in the UK - including straw bale building, willow construction, and cob. Working with cob has transformed my life in countless ways- through the lifelong friendships and community that has formed through attending workshops all over the world, to the grounding reminder that life is fluid, ever-changing, and beautifully impermanent.
Nature is our greatest artist, and it feels deeply powerful to honour our Earth by sculpting her into many different beautiful formations. Sculpting with earth has become an anchor that reconnects me to myself, and I love sharing these techniques with others as a therapeutic practice that blends creative expression with the practical art of building and form."
Matilde Nuñez
CANCELLATION POLICY
If you need to cancel after registering for any reason, your payment will be subject to the following cancellation policy:
Cancellations notice given more than 30 days before the start of the course will receive a 95% refund of the total program price you choose. The 5% retention covers administrative fees and inconveniences.
Cancellations notice given between 14 - 30 days of the start of the course will receive a 50% refund of the total program price you choose. The retained amount will be kept as credit for a future workshop with Tierramigo.
Cancellations notice given less than 14 days before the start of the course are non-refundable.
The retained amount will be kept as credit for a future workshop with Tierramigo.
If the workshop is cancelled by the organizers, you will receive a full refund.