They organise workshops for people to learn how to build ecological houses with local natural materials like earth, straw and timber. Their adventure together started when Lola took a job to build a straw bale house and Adi was also at the site. They thought they would open it up for other people to come for a building day, to make some progress, and then it turned out that only women would come. “That’s how the collective got started,” Lola says.
They also worked on a few other projects together where mostly women and children came, and they found out that there was something undeniably magical about the way they work and communicate together when there are only women. This doesn’t mean they only work with women.
Only two workshops a year are women-only; the rest are open to all. Asked what kind of people attend the workshops, Lola answers: “It’s such a mix, of all ages, and, what I find really beautiful, very different walks of life. I think the magic happens when everyone comes together with whatever background, whatever weights you carry, whatever journey you’ve been on. Everything is welcome.” Adi continues: “We definitely don’t have a specific stereotype. And what’s really amazing is, once we jump in the mud pit, people connect directly. They remember. There’s something in the somatic experience of jumping in and feeling the earth. There’s something we always see: the spark in the eye.” When Lola gives the theoretical part about eco-house design, the considerations to take and what the concepts are, Adi says a lot of people ask: “Why are we not building all the houses like this?” Lola’s passion for natural building started in Thailand, where she went after finishing her sculpture degree and a master’s in education, realising that she did not fit into the social box of the UK. Lola says: “I didn’t expect to stay for nine years, but the way that they build out there is just incredible. There is so much freedom, because everybody needs a shelter, and we all have the right to build ourselves something to house our bodies in.”
Lola continues: “So there was this possibility of playfulness, and with that also came a huge responsibility. Because if there’s a lack of regulations, then I’m the one that’s responsible to make sure that the building is safe and strong and lasts and doesn’t hurt anyone.” The main reaction from the attendees is that it becomes like common sense to build in this way. Adi says: “Because if all these people, from all these places, with all these ages and all these cultural differences, all agree that this makes sense, then it’s very likely that it can be our future.”
An earth house can live anywhere, if it is designed consciously
According to Lola, it all starts with changing our limited belief systems. She says: “I grew up in the western society that told me that I am a woman and therefore I can only do ABC. But then I go and I try things and, actually, I can build a shelter with my hands. It reflects on many other areas of life. What else am I capable of that I never thought possible? It’s life-changing in a way, right?”
For Lola and her team, it is very important to question limiting beliefs about ourselves. And building your own house, together in a community, is very empowering and helps people to realise that they can do so much more than they think. It also matters to them that people can strengthen one another and not feel any competition. When they work with women, they adjust the work to the levels of energy women have in their monthly cycle. They design houses and have some set models. They also curate for different projects according to the needs of the land and the people. Adi says: “When we teach building skills rather than just building ourselves, we are actually spreading this point better. So for example in past workshops, while we would invite students from all around the world, we would also invite the community to join the sessions. So then after the course has finished, they can as a community continue and build the building. So eventually all the benefits of working together in a community, in a team, to realise something, are also being kept and nurtured.”
Lola says: “What we try to do when we design buildings is that we really try and understand the landscape. Really understand it. Not just take a few pictures, but understand every single energy that comes onto that site, that moves through that site, every shadow that’s created, where the wind is coming from, the sun angles, the temperature variations. So that the house is designed properly and climate specifically, so it’s designed for exactly the place where it’s going to live, and the walls and the roof and the floor, everything responds to that environment.”
In their opinion there is a lack of conscious and holistic design. Lola says: “We just plonk a building anywhere and then there’s no symbiotic relationship between where it is and what it is.” For them it is clear that earth buildings can be anywhere in the world. And for them an important note is that it does not have to be a hobbit house. There are very beautiful examples of really modern-looking houses. Everything is possible once you have learned the basic techniques.
About Melodie
Melodie is drawn to natural building, sustainable craftsmanship and creative problem-solving. She is also the one who is good with numbers, so she does most of the calculations. She likes sharing her skills and building other people’s confidence.
About Lola
Lola discovered natural building in 2010 and it has been her life’s work since. She trained in fine art and sculpture, took a postgraduate qualification in education, and spent nine years in Thailand, three at the Panya Project. She founded the collective to empower women through natural building.
About Adi
Adi came to Portugal ten years ago to look after a friend’s garden, after working in a flower shop in the city, and stayed. She works in permaculture, natural building and regenerative living, and holds space for the group, bringing presence and care.
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