In 2025, The Underground Center is offering a series of Off-Grid Natural Building Workshops geared toward women, people of color, and queer folks. These workshops will be weekend long events that focus on developing basic natural building skills and creating a diverse community of builders with a shared ethic of mutual aid and interconnectedness with the land. The workshops are free, but spots are limited. Participants must apply.
We will be offering six workshops throughout 2025 that explore the basics of natural building over the course of a weekend. The workshops will take place at Shagbark Farm in Saugerties, NY. Each workshop will explore a different set of ideas and skills related to a particular infrastructure project at our farm or in our community. To learn more about the different projects, check out the Workshop Series Timeline below.
***Please note that we will be using hand tools exclusively for this workshop series (only the facilitators will utilize power tools).***
General Schedule
This is a general schedule that applies to all workshops, regardless of the project.
Friday – Participants arrive at Shagbark farm and get settled in their tents/cabins from 3pm-5pm. At 5pm, we will take a tour of Shagbark Farm. From 6pm-8pm, we will share a home-cooked meal and have a group discussion centered around a pre-assigned reading related to the project.
Saturday – Breakfast and stretching will take place at 8am. We will have our first building session from 9am-12pm, followed by lunch at 12pm. The second building session will take place from 1pm-5pm. We will have a rest/shower period before dinner at 6pm. After dinner, we will continue our reading discussion around a bonfire.
Sunday – Breakfast and stretching will take place at 8am. Our final building session will take place from 9am-1pm (with a snack break in the middle). Lunch will take place at 1pm, followed by a group reflection. The workshop ends at 2pm, and participants can leave as needed.
Accommodations
Participants are invited to camp out at the farm. We have tents, air mattresses, etc, or participants may bring their own. We also have an outhouse, outdoor shower, and outdoor kitchen that participants may use during their stay.
Although there are two educational cabins at Shagbark farm, these cabins will be occupied during most of the workshops. However, arrangements can be made if any participant is unable to stay in a tent. Please specify on your application if this applies to you. We can make it work!
Workshop Series Timeline
Friday 2/10 – application open
The application will be open on February 10th, 2025 for all workshops. Please note that participants must apply at least one month before the start date of the workshop you wish to attend (except for the first workshop). Decisions will be announced on a rolling basis, but no later than two weeks before each workshop. You may apply for more than one workshop in a single application.
March 21st-23rd – First Workshop: Maya House Upgrade
Our first workshop will focus on upgrading the Maya House, which is a micro-cabin at Shagbark used for educational and emergency housing. This workshop will focus on finishing the siding on the structure as well as constructing a bathroom wall on the interior.
Apply by: March 7th
Skills learned: building basics, measuring and marking boards, cutting boards with different types of hand saws, Shousugi ban board preservation, drilling, and more
Pre-assigned reading: Natural Timber Frame Homes: Building with Wood, Stone, Clay, and Straw (Introduction)
April 25th-27th – Second Workshop: Building an Outhouse
For our second workshop, we will be building an outhouse from start to finish. We will set the foundation, build and assemble the frame, add a roof, build a floor, and make the toilet chamber. We will also learn about the different types of composting toilets.
Apply by: March 25th
Skills learned: introduction to building design, laying a simple foundation, basic timber framing, measuring and marking boards, flooring, roofing, compost toilet design, and more
Pre-assigned reading: Humanure Handbook
June 27th-29th – Third Workshop: Working with Cob and Cordwood
Our third workshop will delve into the world of cob. We will be making cob using materials from the land, and using it to construct a cob and cordwood wall.
Apply by: May 27th
Skills learned: sourcing materials for cob, mixing cob, splitting and cutting cordwood, cordwood and cob wall design and construction, and more
Pre-assigned reading: tbd
July (date TBD) – Fourth Workshop: Helping a Community Member build their Tiny Home
Our fourth workshop will be focused on supporting one of our facilitators in building her own Tiny Home. We will be helping her with some finishing work, such as siding, flooring, etc. More details about the exact project to come.
Apply by: tbd
Skills learned: tbd
Pre-assigned reading: tbd
September (date TBD) – Project TBD
More information coming soon.
October (date TBD) – Project TBD
More information coming soon.
Meet our Facilitators
Julia Gloninger – Program Director at The Underground Center
Julia graduated from Bard College with a degree in Environmental and Urban Studies and a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy. Since college, she has passionately pursued community organizing around principles of mutual aid and interconnectedness with the land. Over the past few years, Julia has been honing her natural building skills while helping develop several infrastructure projects at Shagbark Farm, including a cob and cordwood greenhouse, two timber-framed additions onto existing cabins, and more. She has also gained skills developing smaller scale infrastructure like chicken coops, water tank stands, rain catches, compost bins, and more. In addition to teaching these skills for free to adults in her community, she also runs a Teen Building Apprenticeship at the Saugerties Boys and Girls Club.
Desiree Lyle – Building Science Consultant and Building/Housing Justice Advisor at The Underground Center
Over the past 5 years, Desirée has taught several building science principles and tiny house design courses. She has also studied building at Yestermorrow Design Build School and worked with builders and carpenters at The Underground Center, ECS, and J’s Painting and Construction. For the last three years, she’s been developing her first residential project with the help and support of dozens of family and friends–most notably those at The Underground Center. She is so excited to be able to work with them now to share that help and support forward!
Michaela Zayas – Food Justice Advisor and Board Member at The Underground Center
Bio coming soon!
Interested in joining one or more of our workshops? Apply at the link below!