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An hour from Bangkok Airport (BKK). Pairs well with the PDC.
2026/27 dates & booking
Upcoming dates & prices.
Each intake runs for three teaching days and two nights, straight after that season's Permaculture Design Course, so PDC graduates can stay on and keep building.
DEC-2026
December intakeRuns directly after the 4 to 14 Dec PDC.
MAR-2027
March intakeRuns directly after the 5 to 15 Mar PDC.
‹›×How a building day usually ends · 1 of 6‹›×Weaving a bamboo lattice wall · 2 of 6‹›×Treading a cob mix · 3 of 6‹›×The Thai house from the air · 4 of 6‹›×Double room in the Thai house · 5 of 6‹›×The campus from the air · 6 of 6
Neil Willmann · your teacher for both intakes
He has run credited university programs with
United States
Canada
France
Netherlands
Denmark
Germany
Who teaches this course
There is real theory behind the mud.
Neil Willmann is an American physicist (physics at the University of Chicago, oceanography at the University of Hawaii, working on recirculating marine aquaculture) and a retired US Navy officer who served as a Professor of Naval Sciences. He has been an associate professor at three Thai universities, teaching physics, engineering design, pedagogy and business, and has supervised credited undergraduate and graduate programs with universities across Europe and North America. He came to permaculture in the early 1980s through Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog, and he designs from H.T. Odum's thermodynamic ecology, which is why a wall here gets discussed as heat, mass and moisture as well as mud. He took David Holmgren's inaugural RetroSuburbia master class, and he is an Event Patron and organizing committee member for IPC16 in November 2026.
He also built the place you will be standing in. Neil regenerated a 20-year abandoned farm into Daruma, with the natural buildings still in daily use on site, co-founded the Mosaic Learning Center, and has hosted more than 800 volunteers and students. His listed specializations:
Natural building
Bamboo construction
Bioclimatic design
Appropriate technology
The reading behind it
Over a thousand books on site
The campus library covers the permaculture domains and everything around them, and yes, there is a shelf for earthen plasters.
Natural building & design shelves
Mollison and Holmgren sit alongside natural building, earthen plasters, ecological design and physics.
Catalogued, so you can check first
Browse the catalogue at LibraryThing before you come, and borrow on site between sessions.
“
The only true "expert" in ecological engineering design is Nature. Because of this, permaculture design promises a creative, lifelong learning capacity that will always be rewarding.
Hands-on practice across cob, adobe, rammed earth, poured earth, bamboo and clay and lime plasters
Your digital course files to keep
A deposit reserves your place and you settle the balance when you arrive. It stays refundable until 14 days before check-in.
Already booking the PDC?
Add the Natural Building course at half price.
The full Permaculture Design Course runs directly before each intake. Hold a PDC certificate from any school, ever, and this course drops to half its standalone price.
Tell us which intake suits you, whether you are adding it to a PDC, and anything you want to check first. Enquiring commits you to nothing; we reply by email.
Natural building means raising a home from local earth, bamboo and straw, using natural building materials that come from the land around you instead of a factory. This course teaches the methods, hands-on, at Daruma.
01
Local, low-impact materials
Earth, bamboo and straw from nearby, adapted to local climate and geography, instead of processed, imported materials.
02
Skills anyone can learn
No trade background required. The techniques rely on pooled labour and practice, not specialist tools.
03
A different way to build together
Raising a wall by hand, with other people, builds a different kind of community than hiring a contractor does.
Wattle and daub, one of the core techniques
“The power in our ideas and collective action is capable of influencing the way our society thinks, talks, and acts regarding building and resources use.”
Michael G. Smith · Natural builder and author
It may be impossible to build a house with zero impact, but choosing local, natural building materials and techniques minimises your footprint and protects your local ecosystem.
The methods
Cob, adobe, rammed earth, and the rest of the family.
Our natural building course covers the full range of natural building materials used at Daruma: cob, adobe, rammed earth, poured earth, bamboo, clay plasters, lime plasters, straw bale and wattle and daub, along with the foundations and roofs that carry them.
Foundations
Preparing the site and setting out the base your walls will stand on.
Wattle & daub
Bamboo preparation and wattle panel construction, then the daub mix and its application.
Adobe
Adobe brick making, then raising walls with the bricks you made.
Poured earth & rammed earth
Wood formworks, making mixes, and ramming. Both are in continuous everyday use around the campus.
Cob
Treading earth and straw together in the mixing pit, where hands-on most often becomes feet-on.
Bamboo
Pole preparation and panel work throughout the wattle sessions. Daruma also grows and processes its own bamboo charcoal.
Straw bale
Covered in theory, with living, working straw bale walls to study in the Mosaic School buildings.
Clay plasters
Meeting clay, testing mixes and applying coatings that protect the earthen walls beneath them.
Lime plasters
The same testing and application process with lime, a harder, more weather-resistant finish.
Roofs
An overview of the most common natural building roofs and how they keep earth walls dry.
Every day
Theory in the classroom, practice in the mud
This natural building workshop moves through the same stages a real build does: design and its relation to permaculture, site preparation and foundations, the different wall and partition techniques, the plaster styles that protect them, and an approximation of the most common natural building roofs.
Theoretical sessions
Natural building: introduction and context
Natural building I: techniques and materials
Natural building II: design and planning
The permaculture context
Foundations
Wattle and daub
Poured earth and rammed earth
Straw bale
Adobe
Roofs
Plaster
Practical sessions
FoundationsPreparing the site and setting out the base your walls will stand on.
Wattle and daubBamboo preparation and wattle panel construction, then the daub mix and its application.
AdobeBrick making, then raising walls with the bricks you made.
Poured earthWood formworks, making mixes and ramming.
PlastersMeeting clay and lime, testing mixes, applying coatings.
Each primary material can go deeper depending on your interests and goals, before you get your hands on it. Planning your own build? Tell us about it when you enquire and we'll look at tailoring your time here.
Who it's for
For anyone planning to build with their own hands.
No building trade background needed, any level welcome. The course suits several different reasons for showing up.
Start hereBeginners welcome
Owner-builders
Planning your own place
Learn the methods before you commit earth, time and money to your own build.
Costing a project
Pricing a cob or adobe house
Get a realistic feel for the labour, materials and time behind a real earth build.
PDC graduates
Adding building skills to your design
Pair the theory of a Permaculture Design Certificate with practical building experience.
Climate-specific building
Building for hot, wet climates
See how earth walls and roofs are detailed to work in a tropical, monsoon climate like Thailand's.
Course level
Open to any level, from a complete beginner to someone already building. Every method starts with the basics before anyone touches a mix.
The campus
Study walls that already passed the test.
The course runs at Daruma Eco Farm, established in 2007 on an abandoned farm with nothing growing above head height. The trees are now well over three storeys high.
You can see on-site, living, working examples of the same techniques you're about to learn: straw bale, earthen plastering, and both rammed and poured earth walls, in continuous everyday use in the Mosaic School buildings and Daruma's own accommodation blocks and teaching venue. Compressed, stabilised earth bricks make up the entire boundary wall, and have held for around a decade.
Daruma shares the campus with Mosaic School, a fully operational school for children, designed with permaculture principles from the outset. You learn among working examples, not in a classroom built to look the part.
Earth walls in daily useEstablished 2007A working school campus
Learn inside the straw bale cinemaAn earthen, clay-plastered wall in daily use
Course life
Bring clothes you are happy to ruin.
Practical days end muddy, and that is the point. When class and practical activities are over, you're welcome to use the natural pool, browse the campus library, or explore the wider area around Daruma, including the nearby lake, reservoir, Bang Saen beach and Si Racha.
Red oxide plaster going on insideIn the wood shopA fresh earthen brick out of the mold
Getting here
One hour from Bangkok Airport.
Thailand has always been a popular place to take a natural building course, and Daruma sits firmly in the tropics. The climate here still varies with elevation, from the coast to the hills, and is classed as wet and dry tropical, so what you learn applies across a range of hot, humid conditions rather than one narrow set.
Daruma is in Bang Phra, Chonburi, an hour from Bangkok Airport (BKK). We can arrange an airport pickup, or you can travel by taxi, train or bus.
Airport pickup, about 1 hour
Direct from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), for up to three people. Ask us at least one week ahead.
Around 1,200 baht
Grab or taxi, about 1 hour
Door to door from BKK or Bangkok. Install Grab before you travel, or agree the taxi fare first.
1,000 to 1,500 baht
Train, about 3 hours
Weekday train from Hua Lamphong at 6:55am to Bang Phra, opposite the farm.
30 baht
Bus, about 2 hours
From Ekkamai (window 15, marked "Sri Racha") or Chatuchak, then 10 to 15 minutes by tuk tuk.
97 baht, plus a tuk tuk
What students say
The walls speak for themselves.
"There are many natural building techniques employed on-site, from straw bale to rammed earth (my pet favourite interest), poured earth, and compressed earth brick walls running hundreds of metres around the farm. It is a fascinating place to come and learn, both from a hands-on practical, and academic and theoretical point of view."
Darren Roberts · InterConnected
"Neil is an encyclopedia of Permaculture wisdom, providing Permaculture Design Courses at Daruma Eco-Farm and also traveling internationally to teach and consult."
Kyle Holzhueter PhD · Permaculture Center Kamimomi · Architectural and Regional Ecological Design Studio, Nihon University
"I took a sabbatical from Google and went to Thailand to study with Neil to learn about Permaculture. My time at Daruma was educational and hugely transformative in a life changing way, I cannot recommend Neil and the Agile PDC more highly. Go study with Neil and see for yourself!"
Sue Rae · New York
"As a graduate from the 2 week permaculture design course at Daruma Eco-farm, I could not recommend this experience enough."
Rachael Maysels · Environmental Science PhD student, Universidad del Cauca, Colombia
"The depth and breadth of Neil's permaculture knowledge, along with his obvious talent at teaching and mentoring, was something I very much appreciated. One of the best teachers I have studied with."
Two intakes: 14 to 16 December 2026, straight after our 4 to 14 December Permaculture Design Course, and 15 to 17 March 2027, after the 5 to 15 March PDC. Three course days, class capped at 12. See dates and prices.
Can I take this with the Permaculture Design Course?
Yes, and it's worth planning that way. Hold a PDC from any school, anywhere, any year, and the Natural Building Course is half price. Book both together and the package is ฿21,000, a saving of ฿3,000 on the standalone prices.
How much does it cost to build a cob house?
It depends, on the size, the site and how much of the labour you do yourself, so we can't give you a single number. On the course you'll learn how to estimate materials and labour for a build in your own context, so you can price your own project once you're home.
How long does it take to build a natural home?
It depends on the method and the size. A small cob wall might come together in a day; a full house is usually a project of months, done in stages around your own schedule. The course teaches those stages so you can plan a realistic timeline for your own build.
Do I need building experience?
No. The course is open to any level, from complete beginners to people already building. Each session starts with the basics before moving to hands-on practice.
Which methods will I actually practise?
Foundations, wattle and daub, adobe, poured and rammed earth, and clay and lime plasters, hands-on across the course days. Straw bale and compressed stabilised earth brick are covered in the classroom, and you'll see both in finished buildings around campus.
What are meals like during a course?
Breakfast, lunch and dinner during a course are served in the cafeteria, which has capacity for around 80 people. We have a full time chef, kitchen and domestic staff who prepare dishes typical of local, regional and national Thai cuisine, using fresh produce, including salad, vegetables and fruit from our own farm at Daruma.
Omnivorous (non-vegan, non-vegetarian) options are served as standard. Let us know when enrolling if you need vegetarian, vegan or other special options, and for any other dietary requirements, as our chef plans and orders produce for around 80 children plus all the teachers, staff and course participants at Mosaic School. Route dietary requests through your Course Coordinator before arrival so things run smoothly.
We also barbecue occasionally, using some of the bamboo charcoal grown and processed at Daruma.
Where do students stay?
Students can stay on campus in dormitory rooms which sleep up to 4 people, or in a tent if you prefer camping. Thai house rooms (shared or single) are also available as an upgrade. See dates and prices.
How many students are in a class?
We limit class sizes to a maximum of 12. That gives us time to fully explain anything we need to during class and address any questions you have throughout the course.
Is there Wi-Fi and internet access?
Wi-Fi is available on campus (exactly what's bundled into each accommodation rate is still being finalised, so ask us when you enquire). As an education facility, Daruma has a very high speed connection, roughly 500Mbps download and 100Mbps upload. Wi-Fi works well from the entrance gate, around the main buildings, and down to around the FarmLab area.
If you don't have your own device, you're welcome to use one of the internet-connected computer cubicles in Daruma's Learning Resource Centre and library on the 1st floor, or the open class area on the 2nd floor of the main building.
Can I get laundry done?
Laundry service is available at Daruma. Laundry bags for visitors are kept near the reception area at the foot of the main building stairwell. Drop your filled bag at the bottom of the stairs in the morning and it reappears the next day, laundered, dried and folded, in a basket in the reception area. There's a 50 baht fee per bag. Pressing and ironing is also available, see the announcement board at the main building stairwell area.
Can I explore the local area?
Bicycles are available if you want to ride to the local night market or explore the area (not suitable for off-road riding). We use an honour system, with an honesty box in the cafeteria for bike use. Prices are 20 baht for single use, 50 baht for a half day, and 100 baht for a full day.
Can we come as a group?
Yes. For group bookings, enquire and let us know how many are in your group, and which course or courses you want to enrol in. We can accommodate groups of up to 100 visitors for single day tours, or for weeks at a time if studying one of our courses.
Is FarmLab really trademarked?
No. At least, not yet. This is a humorous reference to the copyright and trademark troubles one of the founders of permaculture ran into. FarmLab t-shirts will be available once we're cool and hip, with a YouTube channel, thousands of subscribers, and a "merch" store.
Next intakes · 14 to 16 December 2026 · 15 to 17 March 2027
Your teacher
Neil Willmann
Physicist, teacher & founder of Daruma
