You will learn how to construct an adobe wall and install door and window frames, with considerations such as building on a slope and managing water flows. This workshop will be led by expert adobe builder Erasmo Lagunas. Participants will be working alongside a group of Americorps NCCC volunteers who are participating in a 6-week development program with Deep Dirt Institute and Borderlands Restoration Network. Please bring water, snacks, a hat, sunscreen, a happy disposition, mud attracting clothes, and rubber boots or bare feet.

Imagine a world where you couldn't afford to buy or rent housing,

... and you constantly had to pump up the A/C during the day and the heat at night

... and factory workers somewhere (you're not sure where) had to work tirelessly to make building materials that generated greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing and shipping.

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Now imagine yourself living in an adobe house made from the soil right under your feet! Adobe is a building technique used historically in our region that uses native soil to construct buildings with nearly no purchased materials and zero embodied energy. Adobe buildings keep cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, compared to conventionally built buildings. The most remarkable part is that if you repurpose waste, the materials for one adobe tiny house can cost less than $300.

Directions: Please use these directions to our campus. We are located about 2.5 miles (about 10 minutes drive) north of Patagonia, AZ.