Step by step, you’ll watch an entire home come together, learning the “how” but also the “why” behind every action. Mistakes become lessons, and you’ll see firsthand how experienced hands troubleshoot and adapt.

By the end, you’ll hold practical confidence in your own ability to build, repair, and care for a natural home—without waiting for permission or a professional.

Whether it’s fire, flood, or the unknown, this course goes far beyond aesthetics. You’ll see proven building patterns for Mediterranean biomes, including layout, materials, and construction details that are chosen for durability, stability, and safety. Watch our team address real challenges, fix mistakes, and explain resilience strategies so your own project can handle the heat, the storms, and tomorrow’s surprises.

This isn’t just construction—it’s an invitation to bring artistry into every room. Our teacher demonstrates how creative choices are made in real time, from sculpted details to custom finishes, unlocking the world of possibilities that only natural building offers.

Biome-Based Building™ honors both tradition and innovation, showing you how to balance practical needs with genuine self-expression.

You’ll witness every material and method chosen for comfort, clean air, and low-impact footprints—showing not just what works, but why it matters to your well-being. Biome-Based Building™ connects the dots from climate-informed design to natural insulation and zero-toxin finishes, so you can see exactly how healthy, ecological homes are built from the ground up. The course breaks down the steps to a space that sustains you and your corner of the world.

Experience a debt-free path by discovering how everyday people create beautiful, lasting spaces with native materials and simple tools.

No expensive, industrial shortcuts—just results you can afford and be proud of.

• Use what’s locally available to cut costs.
• Break free from complex, costly systems.
• Build comfort and resilience with your own two hands.

Natural building is about more than clay and staw—it’s a movement of people rediscovering what it means to shape home together.

In this course, you’ll join a supportive online community where questions, insight, and encouragement flow freely, no matter your starting point. The worldwide BBB forum opens the door to diverse perspectives—from first-time builders in the Mediterranean to seasoned mentors across the globe.

Here, you can troubleshoot, celebrate your milestones, and find lifelong collaborators—proving that building a home is also about finding your people.

At a point in my life when I wanted an energy shift my mind came back to natural building.

I had taken a few workshops but was looking for a more complete hands-on way to learn techniques. An internet search, email, and phone call later I found myself at Spirit Pine meeting Betty for a volunteer day. Suddenly I was surrounded by beautiful cob structures and people with the same goals and interests as mine. That day I left feeling a sense of awe at how much can be built with natural materials and a bit of creativity. This feeling, paired with a successful example of a homestead built by hand with earthen materials sourced from the land it sits on, inspired me.

A few weeks later Betty called and asked if I would like to participate in a 3 month intensive apprenticeship. At first the cost scared me but reasoning through it, this was less than my monthly expense and I would learn how to build my own home from start to finish. I took the leap and am so grateful that I did, working along an experienced builder like Betty was priceless. Her work ethic made me rise to another level, her creativity sparked my own, but most of all seeing the joy that building with cob brought her was infectious and I found myself happier and more connected to this world than ever before.

After spending 3 months with Betty Seaman building a structure from the ground up, my partner and I felt as prepared as we ever would to build our own home. We wanted to share natural building with the world and accepted students to partake in our build, incorporating a collaborative style of building. In 2 years we hosted over 20 builders from around the world and we’re proud to continue passing on what we’ve learned from Betty.

To anyone thinking about building their own home I would say, you are more capable than you have ever dreamed of, go for it! Take a course, workshop, apprenticeship. Get your hands dirty and you will gain confidence and learn skills that will help you build the life you want. We are a few short months from completing our own cob home and debt free to boot!

We count our blessings to have found natural building and the intrepid and heartfelt people who make up this most generous community.

Best Regards,

Frank O. Edwards-Zavala

Rather than relying on generic techniques or copying what works elsewhere, Biome-Based Building™ is woven into every lesson, giving you clear evidence of how your surroundings can inform daily decisions. It’s not just a feature—it’s present, understated, and woven into the build, ensuring your home both fits and lasts.

As you watch this full cottage take shape, you’ll see the subtle logic of Biome-Based Building™ in action: a home becomes more resilient, comfortable, and uniquely tailored—without following rigid formulas or losing sight of personal creativity. The result is a space that feels like it could only exist right where it’s built.

We chose this cottage design because it’s truly achievable: constructed by a small team, using ordinary tools, and making the most of accessible materials. It’s a hybrid approach—earth, timber, straw-clay—blending familiar structure with natural resilience, reflecting choices that feel at home within the Mediterranean biome. The aim isn’t a dramatic experiment; it’s a real, livable space built with care and creativity.

Throughout the course, you observe each stage as it unfolds. The living area is grounded with an earthen floor, warmed by a hand-built cob and brick stove. Window seats and benches invite relaxation, and the gentle warmth from the stove pipe carries comfort upstairs. There’s a secondary door for easy access outside, keeping daily routine practical.

The kitchen is set up for real life: a repurposed marble countertop, reclaimed wood shelving, a gas stove, a fridge, and a steel sink, all arranged for convenience and plenty of light. A stone-floored mudroom entry keeps things organized, while a compact bathroom with composting toilet and storage offers the essentials, and an outdoor shower—built separately—awaits those who want flexible options.

Upstairs, the loft bedroom sits under a recycled metal roof. Windows frame oak branches and sky, and a door leads onto a living roof and timber deck, planted with native species. The deck’s high perch brings morning sun and bird song into daily life, blending indoors and out.

The cottage brings together cob, stone, straw-clay, and standard framing. Electrical and solar allow for familiar appliances and lighting; carved reliefs cleverly hide light switches. Built-in benches, storage niches, and deep window sills are part of the daily rhythm—a comfortable mix of artistry and practicality.

A simple patio, shaded by oaks and facing south, provides space for meals or quiet moments outdoors.

Through each moment, the course shows—not prescribes—how choices and materials can shape a lasting home, demonstrating what’s possible with a bit of teamwork and the right approach for a Mediterranean climate.

Our family became acquainted with Betty through friends and learned of the cob house building after visiting their home. Little did we know it would start a fascination with natural living and the oldest form of building in the World!

After 28 days of celebrated mud heaving, amazing organic food and grounding work we have an incredible memorial which stands as a poignant and permanent reminder that spirit never dies, tended by love and an ethereal beauty in pure dirt.

In this course, you’ll observe each essential stage of building a natural cottage from blank site to lived-in home. The lessons unfold step by step, guided by an experienced teacher and artist, with every practical task demonstrated before your eyes. Classroom segments offer clear, approachable explanations of natural building theory, making the “why” as understandable as the “how.” No prior skill is assumed, and common beginner moments are included on purpose—so your learning feels realistic and connected.

Throughout, you’re invited to observe, reflect, and explore what makes sense for your own context—no rigid blueprints, only real-world demonstrations and theory you can adapt. A certificate of completion is offered for those finishing on their own; for learners wanting feedback, teacher review is available for key milestones and design questions.

This course meets you where you are—no experience needed, just curiosity and determination. Each lesson is filmed on-site and in the classroom, giving you a clear view of every practical step, creative decision, and real-life challenge as a complete cottage comes together from the ground up.

What you’ll see:

• On-site demonstrations showing the Biome-Based Building™ approach in action, from working with native materials to solving problems as they arise
• Classroom segments where your instructor breaks down why each choice matters—connecting theory to practice, climate, and daily routine
• Plain English explanations, real beginner moments, and creative adaptations at every phase
• Downloadable guides and checklists—tools for reference, not overwhelm
• Examples of common regulatory/code issues flagged calmly, showing how successful students navigate them

Two Ways to Learn:

• Self-Paced: Move through the videos and guides on your schedule—pause, replay, reflect, apply. When you finish, earn a Certificate of Completion marking your achievement.
• Teacher-Guided: Progress alongside instructor support, submitting major milestones for review and feedback. When you complete and pass key stages, you receive a Certificate of Passed Completion—recognizing your practical success and readiness.

Both flavors empower you to build at your own pace—whether you want quiet confidence or more hands-on guidance. You see, step by step, how real homes and genuine skills emerge in the Mediterranean biome.

When I moved back to my Family Farm, I was living in a yurt near a big oak tree along the edge of a hedgerow.  A particularly hot summer was followed by a very cold winter.  One such cold morning, eyeing the frozen water in the glass by my bed, I thought – as a farmer, I’m outside when the weather is good and really need a home to protect me when it is not.  So I reached out to some friends who suggested that I build a cob house.  What’s that? Oh, it’s a house made from the earth.  I’d never heard of such a good idea and so made a visit up to Betty’s house for council.

Betty gave me the best advice ever – do some experiments with my local clay (a vein of which ran through the land that I was on) and figure it out.  I got some books and dug some holes.  It all made perfect sense and even though it felt a bit scary, there was something beautiful and compelling about the idea of building my own home from natural materials.

It was April when I first broke ground for the foundation and the roof was on by the end of October when the first rains came.  The outpouring of support from my local community was more that I could ever have expected.  The process expanded the limits of what I thought I was capable of doing and fifteen years later, this house still keeps me cool in the heat of summer and warm in the cold of winter.

When you really believe in something, you find a strength in yourself that you didn’t know you had.

Thank you Betty!

By showing the whole build, the course offers proof of possibility: how native materials, Biome-Based Building™ wisdom, and practical adaptation result in a space that’s ready for daily life. You’ll see what learners can achieve when transformation pillars—freedom from debt, health, self-sufficiency—shape decisions at every stage. Betty’s process normalizes challenges and celebrates creative moments, so you know what’s expected and what’s uniquely yours.

Direct contrast:
Piecing together fragmented lessons leaves gaps—missing context, disconnected results, uncertainty about finish. Our course lets you follow a genuine, start-to-finish journey, seeing not just outcomes but how they’re reached. Every step is shown; nothing is hidden. You are invited to build confidence and clarity, learning from evidence rather than hypothetical “what ifs.”