5-Week Full Build For ALL Levels: A Complete Cob Cottage at Sitio do Valverde in Coruche, Portugal

Date/Time
Date(s) - Sunday, July 5, 2026 - Sunday, August 9, 2026
8:30 am - 5:30 pm

Yeehah!!!! We invite you with a Big Open Heart to join CruzinCobGlobal in our 22nd year of teaching the world the ins and outs of building a beautiful functional art piece to live in, in style and comfort!  Your Soul, Heart, Body and Mind will be filled with peaceful bliss as you live in a community of new friends, eat delicious local healthful cuisine, and have many meaningful exchanges and moments while working, building, dancing, breathing, eating, sharing and sitting in Council Circle once a week! You will have weekend adventures alone or with others discovering the surroundings.  With lectures three times a week and daily hands-on demonstrations and building, you will accomplish more learning in these 5 weeks, about cob, you and life, than you probably ever have.  It’s all part of the experience. Bottom line is that your life will change for good in so many great ways, just from learning how to build an ecological, safe, locally-resourced, economical and heart, hand and feet-loved home with a group of passionate folks from all over.

Only an hour from Lisbon and in the heart of nature and rivers and villages and great hikes, our workshop is hosted by local creator, ecological entrepreneur and natural builder Nuno Figueira (also hosting “Cob Outdoor Kitchen Workshop”).  Take both workshops at Sitio do Valverde in 2026 (only 2 weeks apart) for a reduced fee and book your summer up with the CCG Full Cobber Training:  all you need to continue building and eventually start teaching and/or creating a cob business!  The world needs more Cobbers!  Designed for success, our globally-renowned workshops will take you from zero experience to a newly confident, fit, happy and fulfilled cob builder.  Whether you are all in from the get-go, or need support in leaving a life that is not you and taking the jump, we are here for you and are happy to chat.  

 

OUR HOST

 

Bom Dia! My name is Nuno Figueira and I was born in the southern Portuguese town of Faro and have lived in Lisbon for the last 20 years. My background has always been in theater and technical and visual experimentation using images and video-mapping in the visual and performing arts, helping transform mine and others’ visions and perceptions towards a new way of seeing. Parallel to this profession, I have been developing a new path in natural building or, in Portuguese, “bioconstrução”, which has also been integrated into my theater-based work.

Sitio Valverde is 6000 m2 of very special sanctuary land, located one hour northeast of Lisbon near the town of Coruche.  There we hold a variety of workshops and promote connection with Nature.  Situated in a quiet rural zone surrounded by green, it is an ideal environment to relax and disconnect from urban life.  We offer diverse activities including natural building, walks, yoga and meditation.  We offer accommodations in a typical “ribatejana” house as well as space for camping and caravans.

 

Sitio do Valverde is more than a space.  We also want to create a farm school for personal, social and ecological growth and development with practical and theoretical classes, like natural building techniques with Earth, bamboo and straw, as well as regenerative design.  We attract communities who value collaborative learning and integration with Nature and want to enrich their lives and those of their neighbors with new sustainable building systems and a greater respect for the Earth and Life.

 

LOCATION

 

Just a 20-minute walk from Sitio Valverde, the Sorraia River is the natural heart of the town offering birdwatching, aquatic activities, picnics, walks, and relaxation.  Nature is everywhere in the Coruche region and the landscape vistas are endless.  Here far from Lisbon, people come for the fresh air, the peace and the serenity.  One can also appreciate the land from above by taking a hot-air balloon ride and then on the weekends visiting the mountains, parks and “barragens” in the surrounding areas.  Of course the Lisbon area usually has many cultural and music events happening every weekend as well.

 

 

THE PROJECT

 

Workshop students will be building the first COB structure on the Land and we are honored Nuno has chosen COB to represent the start of his project, to be built in an intimate, sacred and soulful way and created, as always, with 12-15 pairs of loving and passionate muddy hands and feet.  Starting with the “boots”, symbol for the stone foundation, to the “hat”, our indestructible, gorgeous trademark reciprocal green roof, we will cover EVERYTHING important in between!  You will leave blissed out, confident, transformed, inspired, motivated, excited, and ready for more.  Be prepared for a total life makeover, and renewed strength and empowerment to fearlessly lead a life TRUE to yourself!  We see this in every workshop year after year.  It’s called “Cob Therapy” and it happens organically whether you intend it or not:)

We will be building a 14m2/154ft2 round building (final size is always dependent on class number but this is usually the outcome). The breathtaking reciprocal roof structure we build in all of our workshops is the strongest roof there is, due to its interlocking spiral structure, which holds itself up with no outward pressure on the monolithic round wall of the building. In addition, it mirrors the horizontal social structure favored in indigenous societies, who meet under these types of roofs for council circles, as we will do weekly throughout the 5 weeks, to support all the inner and outer work happening.  

Students in this Advanced Cobber Certification training will, as always, learn all the steps to building a complete Cob Building from scratch.  In week 1, we dig the foundation trench and fill it with landscape-wrapped drainage rock/gravel followed by a sturdy 30cm-wide aesthetic natural stone stemwall to support the cob wall and roof.

We finish the week off by pouring the first layer of adobe/cob floor on a layer of insulation underlain by a gravel drainage base and wrap up with the door(s) installation.  In weeks 2 & 3, we build the monolithic cob wall, layer by layer, with all its detailed insertions (windows, shelves, electrical housing, hooks, niches, bottles, desk/counter, anchors and roof connectors), and finish week 3 off with 2 days of relaxed sculpting.  In week 4 we plaster our beautifully-decorated and solid wall with an earthen/fermented manure scratch coat mix.  On Friday we build and install the Reciprocal Roof primary rafter structure and in week 5 we complete the structure and sheathing to support the impermeable Green Roof covering.  On the final days we will finish the top of the wall as well as the second finish floor coat, ready for Graduation and the Celebration on Saturday evening.  Sunday morning is our Closing Circle followed by our final Lunch together and before the afternoon public Open House, when the final project is revealed to the outside world!

We encourage non-White and multiracial students who are curious or already interested and passionate about earthen construction to come learn the art and technique of cob building with CCG.  We want a workshop that feels comfortable for non-white students, and aim for a healthy balance of races, cultures and languages.  CCG has taught in many countries of the world and our mission is to create access to everyone interested, especially the local people, so we can create international cob building families where all students grow and learn on a personal and interpersonal level.  We aim to create intercultural and interhuman bonding experiences through our Cob building workshops to heal the world one Cob house at a time.  So please follow your Heart & Soul, listen to the Call, and embark on a life-changing adventure in 2026!

 

DETAILED WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

 

The 35-day Advanced Cob Building Workshop consists of 25 days (Monday through Friday) of learning & construction for 4 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon with theoretical instruction (lectures with graphics) on most Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons to complement the hands-on experience.  Students arrive on Saturday before dinner and Sunday by 12pm and settle in. The two meals offered on Saturday (dinner) and Sunday (brunch) are optional and an additional fee of 10€ each.  The Workshop begins at 4pm and ends on a Sunday, 5 weeks later, after the morning Closing Circle & Brunch, around 2pm. Students can arrive a day before (Saturday) to acclimate and settle in (please let us know) but will need to cover their own food
 needs, or pay the extra meal fees . The Opening Circle begins promptly at 4pm, followed by a Host Site Orientation at 5:30pm, Dinner at 6:30pm and an Introduction to the Project by the Instructors at 7:30pm.  We require that students arrive Saturday before dark or Sunday by 12pm AT THE LATEST!!! We need to begin ALL TOGETHER, as the most important information for the success and smooth-running of the workshop and the well-being of the students will happen on Sunday between 4pm and 8:30pm.  It is very inconvenient for students, Host, Instructors and the group, when someone arrives late and misses any of the opening sessions. 

Please be punctual because Monday morning at 9 am we begin digging the trench for our Cob Building and students need to be prepared and ready to go!!!!
 
Following Breakfast from 7:30-8:15am, the morning learning/building session begins at 8:30 am and lasts until 1pm with a 20-minute snack pause at 11am. Lunch break is from 1pm to 2:30pm, which includes a rest time before the 3-hour afternoon session begins, from 2:30pm-5:30pm. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays there is a 60-minute lecture at 2:30pm, followed by construction time. Tuesdays and Thursdays students begin building again right after the rest time. After class in the afternoon there is a 90-minute break before dinner (served from 7pm to 8pm), in which students are encouraged to stretch, do some type of relaxation/movement practice, go swimming, walking and just relax.

There is sometimes a work trade student officially or informally leading yoga and movement practice in the mornings or afternoons (depending on student preference). There will also be 3-4 evenings throughout the workshop after dinner for showing slides, videos and having Course-related discussions. Other evenings except Tuesdays are mostly free and sometimes students offer informal courses in their specialties and passions. Tuesdays are reserved for our weekly Council Circle, where we do a deeper sharing and listening to attend to the inner worlds of our students, staff & Host(s) during this intense experience.

On weekends students are free to explore the area, rest onsite, and even continue building, subject to Instructor approval.  All weekend meals are provided by students who are welcome to use the kitchen.  Host and/or other students can carpool into town for weekend food provisions.

The 35-day Course will offer practical learning by building a complete 14m2 curvilinear building from foundation to roof, as 
described in the “Project” section. Those who complete the 35-day Workshop will receive an Advanced Cobber Certificate of Completion for Foundation, Cob Walls (which includes Door, Windows, Shelves, Art, Electrical Housing & Plumbing preparation), Floor, Plaster & Roof.
 
 

 

DAILY SCHEDULE

 
The daily schedule (subject to slight modifications due to climate/time of year) will be:


7:30-8:15 Breakfast

8:30-1:00 Class

1:00-2:30 Lunch

2:30-5:30 Class (Lecture on MWF)

5:30-7:00 Rest/Yoga

7:00-8:00 Dinner

8:00-9:00 Council Circle (Tues) & Slides/Videos/Discussion (Thurs)
Students are expected to be on time and participate in all sessions and required activities as the goal of building a full construction depends on the whole group working together!
 
 

COURSE CONTENTS

 
Students will learn every phase of building a cob building from foundation through the reciprocal roof in hands-on building and lectures/theory. In addition to the lectures,
 slideshows and videos will be shown to support and enhance their understanding of cob materials, cob building, design, geography, budgeting, business options and legal issues.

Our hands-on practice will include:

digging foundation trench


pouring gravel and inserting drainage pipe (if applicable)


building foundation stemwall


analyzing soils and materials


making test bricks


deciding on correct mixture


deciding on best location


making cob w/ partner and solo
 building with cob


preparing and inserting the door


preparing and inserting fixed and opening windows


preparing and inserting shelves


inserting bottle windows, glass and other objects


inserting electrical housing and outlet/switch boxes (when applicable)*


insert PVC pipe for plumbing in walls (when applicable)*


sculpting


preparing and applying earthen plaster (1 coat)


pouring an earthen floor (2 coats)


preparing walls for roof connection


building reciprocal roof frame


putting on roof sheathing and other elements


installing impermeable liner and green roof components


making small-scale cob designs of future projects (time permitting)

 

In addition to Cob Building practices, the Course material 
also includes:

legal cob construction practices & the international cob code (Appendix AU in the IRC)


cost analysis


creating a cob business (building/teaching)


assisting, building and teaching with CruzinCobGlobal

*While the insertion of electrical housing and one or more outlet/switch boxes and PVC pipes to hold plumbing are always included in the workshops, the simplicity or complexity depends on the host’s design and preferences. There will be no electrical wiring or plumbing pipes installed during workshop. That is beyond the focus of this course and requires professional experience and certification/licensing.
 

REQUIREMENTS & IMPORTANT INFORMATION
 

Students will need to come prepared for demanding physical work from Day 1.

This includes bringing:

Work clothes appropriate for the country and climate we are in


Work boots or other closed-toe shoes (for foundation and roof)


Flip-flops or Crocs (for cobbing/plaster days)


Rubber dishwashing gloves (for lime mortar)


Work Gloves (for stone work)


Tool Belt

Tape Measure


Box Cutter
/Straight Edge

Wood Hand Saw with medium teeth (cheap)*


Level (2ft)*


Hammer*


Japanese plastering trowel(s) (order online)

Basic pointed steel mortar/plastering trowel

Ear Plugs (roof week)


Safety Glasses
 

Wood Chisel*


4”-6” Diameter Round Plastic Container Lids (for plastering)


Good Moisturizer
 for Hands & Feet

Hat


Sunglasses


Water Bottle


Notebook/Pen/Camera


Carpenter Pencil & Sharpener


Sample of your Soil (optional)

Any other power tools like skillsaw, grinder with metal blade, cordless drill, chop saw, extra hammers, trowels, saws, levels…will be very welcome if you have them and are driving in.  Some students fly in with only carry-on luggage and can’t bring some of these tools.

*These tools will be very helpful to bring if you can, to minimize sharing and waiting, but if you can’t the Host will provide them.

 

 ***PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT INFO!***

Everyone is essential to the completion of the build!  These workshops are designed for people that want to learn how to build a complete structure from start to finish in a professional manner and amount of time. They are very intensive and, while we make time for yoga, stretching, dancing, music, relaxing….all students are expected to be present and participating in all building and lecture learning hours unless absolutely incapable due to illness or have some other significant/emergency reason. This is because we design the size of the building
 and organize the structure of the workshop in accordance with the number of students and when people are absent, it impacts the whole group and the other students have to work harder and it disturbs the integrity of the group. It takes the whole village to see the building through from start to finish!  In addition, Instructors set up building work according to students’ strengths and learning needs.  In short, if you don’t feel that you will be able to bepresent every day for every session, please re-think your readiness for our Advanced Training.  We attract serious and highly-motivated students so if that’s you, you will be surrounded by others with the same desire to learn and build!  Everyone has a role every day all day!

We need and depend on everyone’s full participation in each day of the workshop.  This is a total group effort on all levels:  physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically. If someone is physically absent from the site and lectures due to illness or other urgency for more than one full day, they will need to make up the days missed in a subsequent workshop to receive the Certificate (only paying food costs).  If physically injured or ill (and capable), it is requested students still be present at the site and for lecture and other required evening activities, so as to not miss out on information and keep learning by observation, and thus still qualify for the Certificate.

The workshop intensity changes from week 1 to week 5 with the focus of the week. The first foundation week breaks people in with the work of moving, lifting, rolling and placing rocks and is a new and demanding physical and mental experience for most students. It also includes 
the first layers and coat of cob floor. The second week and part of the third week of cob-making and building are similar to the rock foundation week in physical demand, but are more flowing, multi-faceted and cardiovascular in movement. On Thursday & Friday of week 3, the workshop takes a turn and slows down and the body can rest as students connect with their

creative source now to design sculptures and beautify the walls around niches, shelves, windows, etc.  This is a very special rewarding experience and time of the workshop, decorating the walls with personal meaning as expressed by each unique student.  Usually there is an overarching theme decided on by the Host(s).  Plastering follows sculpting and is another enjoyable more lightweight physical experience, that lends itself to talking and sharing at the wall in a meditative rhythm as the students have bonded and shared deeply through a variety of experiences for a month. On day 5 of week 4, after the wall has been plastered, the roof begins.  This part is the beginning of a change of pace from the earthen building work to carpentry skills, power tools, measuring, sawing, drilling, hammering, screwing, trimming, etc. But now the workshop is in its final stretch and there is a boost of energy to wrap up the roof, close the top of the wall, and tend to finishing touches….the grand finale!

For students wanting a more mellow slow-paced cob experience, along with time for personal exploration and experimentation following their own rhythm, these workshops are not for you! However, you can find a more suitable workshop online with other organizations that offer a
 shorter period, focused on building a garden wall, a bench, a compost toilet or some other smaller scale project.

Students are required to read “The Hand-Sculpted House” and “Essential Cob Construction” (see website Resources page) before the workshop begins, and any other books they find or are listed on our Resources page, ideally on plastering and reciprocal roof building.  We ask that you watch the many videos on our our “International Cob Workshop” playlist on Claudine’s YouTube channel, the new educational YouTube series “Building a Mud Home” by Cooper Green, posted by Natural Buildings and created from our

North Carolina workshop footage, and the ones posted on CruzinCobGlobal’s website under Gallery, to get an idea of what is expected. Also it is a great idea to watch as many other videos on cob and reciprocal roofs as you can to come mentally prepared. Please bring your book(s).

Students must tend to their own personal needs, drink alot of water, rest when needed and exert themselves at a steady pace. Students who cannot do the strenuous physical work should let us know when registering, so we can make sure the workshop is a good fit. If approved before the workshop begins, we will aim to adjust appropriately. There is alot to do to support making and building with cob, while respecting your physical limitations!!!

Finally, please bring a watch or use your phone to be prompt and ready for each part of the Course, including mealtimes. Please make sure you share your dietary restrictions/allergies with CCG in your registration form. Note that very demanding dietary needs will not be
 able to be met (vegan & non-gluten ok) and those students may be recommended not to participate, unless they are willing to meet their special needs on their own, which will not include kitchen access on weekdays. Please discuss with Claudine at time of desire to register. Also please bring your essential snacks and foods, pillow and whatever you NEED to be comfortable and happy. Feel free to also bring playlists, speaker, slides, videos,
movies and books to share, as well as a sample of your soil to test.

We look forward to opening you to a whole new world of experience, skill, growth and transformation as you bond with your new COB family for life!

 

MEALS & ACCOMMODATIONS

 

We will serve three meals a day from Monday through Friday including the Welcome and Celebration Dinners and Farewell Brunch.  On weekends students will be on their own for food and may use the onsite kitchen.  Meals will be  vegetarian and locally-based as much as possible, including farm produce and eggs! Carnivores & pescatarians & omnivores will, if desired, be offered non-vegetarian options of meals a few times a week and/or supplemented with canned fish, dried meats, cold cuts. They are also welcome to buy or bring their own supplements.

We will attend to vegan and gluten-free diets if needed, but any other restrictions & allergies that require extensive preparation needs, will probably not be able to be honored, and kitchen will only be accessible on weekends for students.

Camping with your own tent or hammock and bedding is free and our host Nuno will rent out 5 beds (2 bunk beds and 3 individual beds) in a large room in the house for 5€/night or 175€ for the 5 weeks from Sunday to Sunday. There is also a private bedroom for 1 or 2 people with one queen bed for 15€/night or 525€ for the 5 weeks.  There will also be 2 tipis set up for 1-2 people with beds and bedding for 5€/ night per person.  People who arrive early and/or or leave after Sunday please pay the adjusted amount with the nightly rate of 5€ or 15€.  Inside accommodations will be included in you workshop payment.

 

COB INSTRUCTOR

COB ASSISTANT

LAURA GARCIA

Hola!  I’m Laura, a Colombian architect who was fortunate to live among communities who created buildings rooted in their landscapes. Early on in my life, I became curious about indigenous architectural practices and the respectful, interconnected relationship they have with their environment.

During my studies, I lived and learned with the Embera people in the Pacific jungle, observing how they build wooden stilt houses with thatched roofs using local materials. I also studied the Kogui in the Sierras Nevadas of northern Colombia, who have round earthen houses supporting communal ways of living. Alongside this, I explored rural construction techniques like bahareque (wattle and daub), adobe, and tapia pisada (rammed earth), and took heritage courses focused on adobe constructions introduced by the Spanish during the colonial period.

Later on, during my 8 years of professional experience I moved away from these natural practices while working on single family residential public housing and commercial projects in Texas. Although I was able to introduce sustainability initiatives not typically included in these projects, it felt insufficient and disconnected from the land. I knew I wanted to return to more grounded and ecologically-friendly building practices in my architectural work.  I continued taking courses in natural building, including bamboo (guadua) construction techniques in Colombia, where I helped built a roof structure at an Ecofarm.

In early 2025, I discovered CruzinCobGlobal and my deep connection to COB and its communal way of building while taking their 5-week Full Build Workshop in Naguábo, Puerto Rico. Soon after, I quit my job and fully committed to natural building. I traveled to Turkey to deepen my knowledge of natural plastering and worked on a farm building straw bale bungalows with earthen plasters.  My other passions are hiking, camping, time in nature and yoga, for which I just received a Teacher Training Certificate in India.

I’m excited to continue my learning journey and begin to teach with the CruzinCobGlobal team in Portugal this summer assisting Tom Van Well, who was one of my Instructors in Puerto Rico.  I am looking forward to expanding my passion into this new chapter of my life and meeting you all in Coruche!

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Students will get to Coruche from Lisbon by bus or carpooling with each other or using BlaBlaCar, a popular European carpooling service.  

 

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT

 

Very Early Bird Rate: 2200€, paid in full by February 5th, 2026

Early Bird Rate: 2300€, paid in full by April 5th, 2026

Standard Rate: 2400€, paid in full by June 5th, 2026

We are offering 4 work trade positions which give you a 250€ discount for working one hour each weekday from 6:30am to 7:30am either on the site prepping materials and other work as guided by the Instructors or preparing & putting away breakfast. Two persons for each service.  These are the first options to go. Depending on when you pay in full, the discount is taken off the appropriate amount.

Payment in USD (convert to current exchange rate) can be made using Zelle, Paypal and  Venmo to claudinedesiree@gmail.com. Europeans and other international students can pay in Euros using the Wise app/website using same email.  You can also use this link for a free transfer up to 500€:  https://wise.com/invite/ihpc/claudined

Please contact claudine@cruzincobglobal.org or Whatsapp +1(831) 212-7225 to register and ask any questions.

To hold your spot (there are 12 for new students and 3 for returning students), you can make a 50% deposit.  The balance owed depends on the date of payment in full. Final payment deadline is June 5th, 2026.

 

CANCELLATION POLICY

 

Students who have paid and cancel by April 5th, 2026 can get a full refund minus a 5% administrative/inconvenience fee on the amount they have paid.

Students who have paid and cancel by May 5th, 2026 will receive a credit for a future workshop within two years minus a 10% administrative/inconvenience fee.

Students who have paid and cancel after May 5th, 2026 will not receive a refund or credit unless they have proof of an emergency situation or other reason out of their control, in which case they will receive a credit for two years minus the 10% admin fee.

 

SEE YOU IN THE MUD!

 

 

 

 

Location: Sitio do Valverde