Natural Building Workshops: Learn Mud and Lime Craft
Get your hands messy and discover the art of natural building. From traditional Rajasthani lime plasters to the meditative craft of Dorodango, join our intensive workshops to learn techniques that help buildings breathe.
The Japanese art of Dorodango involves creating a perfect, polished sphere from just mud and water. This video shows the process of applying fine layers of clay and burnishing the surface, a meditative practice we teach in our natural finishes workshops.
Our 'Kai Kale' or 'handmade art' workshop is an intensive course for anyone interested in natural building. This poster details the techniques covered, including lime wash, fine lime plasters like Araish and Thappi, and Dorodango, with course fees for students and professionals.
Here is a look at the detailed schedule for our two-day 'Kai Kale' workshop. Day one focuses on the theory and application of lime washes and plasters, while day two is dedicated to mud finishes, Dorodango, and a practical site visit.
Our 'Kai Kale' workshops are a mix of theory and joyful, hands-on practice. This video gives you a glimpse into a session, from classroom learning about natural plasters to participants creating their own colorful oxide tiles and meditative Dorodango mud spheres.
We invite you to learn the ancient Rajasthani lime plaster techniques with us. This is an announcement for our advanced course on Thappi, Araish, and Lohi finishes, a hands-on workshop led by master artisan Rafik Muwal at our Srirangapatna site.
About Hands-On Workshops: Learn With Us
These workshops are not about sitting in a lecture hall. You will spend days at our active project sites or studios with tools in hand, working alongside master artisans. Whether you are learning to mix natural mortars with traditional additives like jaggery and fenugreek or mastering the meditative art of Dorodango, you will be doing real, messy work. It is an immersive way to understand how sustainable materials behave in the real world.
Building with mud and lime is a dialogue with the land. Our workshops are designed to help you join that conversation, whether you are an architect, student, or simply curious about natural living.
Our Workshop Series
Kai Kale (2 Days): This is our foundational hands-on course. We dive into the basics of natural finishes, teaching you how to apply lime wash, clay point finishes, and create polished Japanese Dorodango spheres. It is designed to give you a complete, practical understanding of natural wall surfaces.
Advanced Rajasthani Lime Plasters (4 Days): For those ready to go deeper, we partner with master artisans to teach traditional techniques like Araish, Lohi, and Thappi. These sessions involve learning how to prepare authentic mortar recipes and the precise, rhythmic beating techniques required for a marble-like, breathable finish.
What to Expect
- Practical Learning: You will learn by doing. We keep our batches small to ensure 1:1 guidance from our architects and master masons.
- Real Sites: Many of our sessions take place at active sites in Mysuru and Srirangapatna, allowing you to see how materials like adobe, laterite, and lime perform in structural settings.
- Community: You will be working with a diverse group of people who share a love for sustainable building, making these days as much about connecting as they are about crafting.
We provide all materials, tools, and hearty vegetarian meals. Come ready to learn, fail, laugh, and help us create a space that truly breathes. Cheers.
Similar work from other experts
Browse through Curated picks from other experts on mytribe
Hands-On Natural Dyeing Workshops in Mysuru
The craft of sustainable brick and dome construction
19
Creative Pottery and Clay Modeling Workshops
6
Hands-On Pottery and Clay Workshops
Hands-On Sustainable Farming Workshops & Farm Tours
Sustainable Art: From Pulp to Pigment
More from Natural Building Workshops by Praangana
More services by Praangana