Now Accepting Clients, Hosts and Students for Builds and Workshops

Clay, Sand & Soul is a new natural and alternative building company seeking to spread awareness about the viability and holistic benefit of building with earthen and low impact materials through hands-on educational workshops and small private builds. We’re currently planning our first “pallet-cob” workshop for the fall of 2024. Follow the links below if you’d like to get involved!

"Clay can be dirt in the wrong hands, but clay can be art in the right hands“ - Lupita Nyong’o

"Clay can be dirt in the wrong hands, but clay can be art in the right hands“ - Lupita Nyong’o

Why We Build

Founders Josh Burg and Sara Crippen believe that building with earth and local materials offers a more sustainable future for humanity than the “efficiency” of conventional construction.  Through the increasingly industrialized way people build  their dwellings, we have lost the sacred working knowledge of how to create beautiful, functional, and healthy homes for ourselves.  Our intention as builders and teachers is twofold: first, to rediscover and implement time-tested, pre-industrial building techniques and; second, to establish reciprocal networks of natural builders, home owners, and material suppliers. 

What We Build

Josh and Sara bring over 20 years of combined experience in conventional building, natural building, landscape design/installation, and workshop instruction. We offer a wide range of building and teaching services: from workshops, to consulting, to customized private builds.  Our current focus is on small dwellings, outdoor living spaces, natural material retrofits, and teaching aspiring natural builders in the US and beyond. We are looking for clients who would like to add small (150-200sq ft) cob or pallet-cob structures to their properties in a paid-build format or as a workshop host. Follow the link below for more details regarding each of these options.

Who We Are