beautiful house created with natural building techniques my Earth, Hands and Houses

Happy attendees on an Earth, Hands and Houses natural building workshop

About Our Natural Building Workshops

Natural building workshops teach how to use locally sourced materials such as wood, straw bales and the earth from under your feet, to create homes that are beautiful, sustainable, cost effective, and can be built with minimal expertise.

Paulina creating clay plaster at a natural building workshop

Earth, Hands and Houses run natural building workshops and provide natural building architect services based on the experience of the founder Paulina Wojciechowska, a qualified architect who has over 20 years of experience natural building with earthbags, straw bales and clay plasters.

Paulina gave up her career as an architect in London in 1996 to follow her passion for building with natural materials. She spent years working alongside the pioneers of natural building. Her work with earthbag construction saw her spend months working alongside Nader Khalili at Cal-Earth, the inventor of the earthbag system. A few years later she went on to write one of the first books on earthbag construction, “Building with Earth". Her work with straw bale construction and clay plastering lead her to live and work with leading experts Bill and Athena Steen. Her inquisitive mind ensured she pushed and tested everything that was possible with these natural building technologies. It is that deep knowledge, along with her desire to bring people together in an atmosphere of fun and friendship, that is at the core of the natural building workshops run by Earth, Hands and Houses.

What makes Earth, Hands and Houses natural building workshops unique is that they are usually based around real building projects, where you can gain first hand experience of how to create a real-world structure. Add in the warm, open and friendly atmosphere that Paulina creates, and you have an opportunity to gain deep knowledge, have great fun, and make like minded friends all at the same time.

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Natural building workshops…
on beautiful projects…
in amazing places…

"I had a fantastic time and learnt so much in such a nice atmosphere. The whole group was great and you were so resourceful."

Sophie Hunter, Earthbag and Clay Plaster Workshop, Poland 2012

"My second workshop building with Paulina... I think I am becoming addicted!"

Su Lupasco Washington, Earthbag and Clay Plaster Workshop, Poland 2012

"I found the workshop great and it inspired me a lot. The group was just wonderful and the workshop itself was really nice."

David, Earthbag and Clay Plaster Workshop, Poland 2012

"Thank you, Paulina, for the hot tub and for the beautiful atmosphere which unfolds around you when you teach people how to work with clay."

Nicholas Harris, Hot Tub and Clay Plastering Workshop, Sussex, England, May 2011.

"It was surely a great experience, and thank you for the flexible approach that in your teaching so that I was able to understand both the good and the bad techniques in natural building."

Guro, Earthbag and Clay Plaster Workshop, Poland 2012.

"I am missing you, the lake, the dome, the work, the land...soo much! I loved our little dance to do the natural tampering. Thank you for everything!"

Sirishanti Kaur, Earthbag and Clay Plastering Workshop, Poland, August 2013.

Hear the background and vision of Earth Hands and Houses founder, Paulina Wojciechowska:

Watch people's experience of an
Earth, Hands and Houses workshop: