Location: Moñtana Manatí in Manatí, Puerto Rico

When: January 22-February 18, 2026

About the location

We are excited to bring the Clay Sand Soul workshop experience to balmy Puerto Rico this coming winter, when temperatures in our home base of Oregon make building with clay quite challenging! This will be our second time building with cob on the island, and we’re so excited to be returning to a new location: Montaña Manatí. Located minutes from the north shore and less than an hour from San Juan (airport) , Moñtana Manatí is a permaculture retreat center owned by Julia Maritza and her mother. Julia was part of the large Puerto Rican diaspora in the Northeastern US who decided to leave the bustling city life and endeavor to create a life lived closer to the land and in community of like-minded individuals on the island of her ancestors. We are grateful to have been asked to lead a natural building workshop on their beautiful property, which has so many ideal qualities for a special workshop experience. Students will have access to an on-site pool, large open gathering and movement space, a rooftop deck with views of the rolling hillside and ocean, acres of bamboo forest to explore, outdoor kitchen, and idyllic beaches only a short drive away. Camping sites will be provided as part of the workshop tuition, but there are also rooms for rent if that better suits a students’ needs. Please inquire for rental cost.

Course Description

This 5-week workshop will be focused on completing a 180 sq ft (16.7 sq meters) circular monolithic (no framing) cob structure, which will be used for hosting meals at Moñtana Manatí. It will be an addition to the outdoor kitchen area that guests and volunteers use while camping on the property. The foundation will likely be built from recycled concrete slab (urbanite) that students will construct during the first week of the class. The walls will be solid cob, (clay, sand, and straw) formulated from the clay soil excavated on site. Students will learn how to install doors and windows in the cob wall, along with decorative bottles and other functional/decorative wall features like built-in benches and shelving. We will plaster the walls with a mix of clay and lime plasters, learn how to make clay paints, and sculpt artistic elements into the walls for a truly unique build. The roof portion of the class will teach students how to erect a reciprocal fame and use a waterproof membrane to create a living “green” roof from site soil and sand. The workshop will conclude by mixing and pouring an earthen floor, and students will learn how to oil and care for this type of floor.

What Are We Building?

This 5-week workshop is for anyone interested in exploring natural building, for those seeking to build their own earthen home, as well as for those with prior building experience looking to deepen their knowledge. It will also appeal to those looking for an exciting experience at a beautiful place where they will have an opportunity to build community and create art together! No prior building experience is required to attend this workshop. Clay Sand & Soul (CSS) seeks to create an inclusive, positive learning environment where all backgrounds, questions, and inputs are welcome and encouraged.

Who is this workshop for?

During the five weeks working together at Montaña Manatí, students will gain an in-depth, hands-on understanding of all the elements needed to successfully build a complete cob building with a living, reciprocal roof.

These elements include:

-fundamentals of site selection

-floor plan design essentials for a natural building to perform well in your climate

-site soil assessment and testing systems for cob, base plaster, finish plasters, and earthen floors

-foundation fundamentals

-window and door installation

-calculating, planning, and raising a reciprocal roof

-living roof systems and installation

-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 floor

-earth pigment collecting and processing for making interior clay paints

-making and applying lime plaster, fresco, and limewash

-designing and installing built in furniture like benches 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 solid cob and protective 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

What will you learn as a student?

What does the daily rhythm of a CSS workshop look like?

The workshop will open with a welcome circle and communal dinner on Sunday, January 18th. Class will officially begin on Monday, January 19th and end on Saturday, February 21st with a closing meal and ceremony to celebrate. We will work and learn together, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Once a week we facilitate a fire circle, where students, teachers, and hosts have an opportunity to be heard and received equally. Lectures will occur twice a week, usually in the mornings, to lay the groundwork for new building skills and natural building theory. One night a week there will be an opportunity for teachers and students alike to share their natural building work. Each workday can vary, but will generally follow this schedule:

A hearty breakfast at 7:30 am

Stretching, yoga, sharing circle, group readings at 8:30 am

Morning work session from 9am- 12:30, sometimes beginning with a lecture

A nourishing vegetarian lunch from 1-2pm

Afternoon work session from 2:30-5:30pm

Rest and relaxation from 5:30- 7pm

A delicious vegetarian dinner at 7pm

Fire, music, community sharing in the evenings

Our host’s property features acres of lovely bamboo forest and gardens where they are developing a tropical food forest. The main house where we will meet for meals and workshop class time has a big movement space for yoga and dance, several rooms available for rent during the workshop for students who would prefer not to camp, and access to a lovely outdoor pool. Best of all, several idyllic beaches are an only a short drive away! For students traveling from northern climes, this is the perfect location to get muddy in a warm sunny paradise.

What amenities will I find at Montaña Manatí?

The tuition cost includes camping, 5 weeks of meals (M-F), and all instruction materials. There are a few ways to register and pay. To pay with Zelle or Venmo (which we prefer and which don’t charge a transaction fee), please follow the QR codes below. We offer limited work-trade positions and these are first come, first serve. Please reach out to us directly if you’re interested in a work-trade opportunity.

We also offer discounts for local Puerto Ricans as an effort to make attending our workshops more accessible to the local community. Please contact us directly to learn more.

1. Students can pay the full amount and receive the following rate depending on what date they register:

Early Bird Rate (Payment received by October 1): $2000

Normal Rate (Payment received by November 1): $2250

Last-minute Rate (Payment received by December 1): $2500

2. Students can also pay in two installments; 50% upon registering, and 50% before the last day of that rate’s time period. For example, if you were to register for the early bird rate in September, you would pay the first installment of $1000 upon registering, and then would need to pay the second installment of $1000 before October 1st. Refunds are allowed up to a month before the workshop begins. Please contact us with any questions at students@claysandsoul.com.

What are my payment options?

Clay Sand & Soul is thrilled to be facilitating what promises to be an incredible and empowering educational experience for individuals of all backgrounds who want to break the cycle of disunity and return to an ethos of collaboration and sustainability. Our goal as a new natural building outfit is to bring the techniques we’ve learned over the years to as many people as possible and give them the tools they need to build their own healthy, hand-sculpted dwellings in an affordable, egalitarian, and enriching workshop format. We humbly thank you for reading through this extensive course description and look forward to serving the next generation of natural builders.
With love and gratitude,
Josh and Sara