Miranalla Farm to Host Hands-On Earthbag Building Workshop in Bohol This November

BOHOL, PHILIPPINES — What if one of the most useful materials for building was already beneath our feet?

That question is at the heart of Miranalla Farm’s upcoming Earthbag Building Workshop, a seven-day hands-on natural building program taking place from November 23–29, 2026, at the working permaculture farm in Guindulman, Bohol.

Earthbag building is a construction method in which sturdy woven bags are filled with damp local subsoil, stacked in courses, tamped until solid, and secured between layers with barbed wire. The completed walls are then protected with natural earth or lime plaster. 

The method is relatively simple, but its relationship with the land is what makes it especially relevant to Miranalla Farm.

As a working permaculture farm, Miranalla is built around observing natural systems, using resources thoughtfully, and finding ways for people, food production, structures, and the surrounding environment to work together. Hosting an earthbag workshop extends those same principles from growing and caring for the land into the way spaces can be built upon it.

Much of an earthbag wall can be made using subsoil sourced directly from the building site, reducing the amount of material that needs to be transported in. Its thick earthen walls provide thermal mass, while the construction process itself uses simple tools and repeatable techniques that allow many hands to participate in building. 

The workshop therefore goes beyond demonstrating an alternative construction technique. It gives participants an opportunity to explore a larger question central to permaculture: how can we build in a way that responds to the resources, climate, and conditions already present in a place?

Leading the program is Rebecca Whan, an Australian architect, natural-building educator, and founder and principal of Auwa Earth. Whan’s work spans earth building, eco-design, and sustainable construction, with training in bio-architecture, bamboo construction, agroforestry, and specialized earth construction.

Over seven days, participants will follow the process from soil to wall, beginning with soil testing and earth-mix preparation before moving into foundation and circular layout, earthbag filling, laying and tamping, door and window construction, natural plastering and finishing, and principles of sustainable building. 

The hands-on format is intentional. Instead of only discussing natural building, participants will experience how earth is prepared, shaped, compacted, protected, and ultimately transformed into a built structure.

For Miranalla Farm, bringing the workshop to a working permaculture setting creates an opportunity to connect how we cultivate land with how we inhabit it—treating buildings not as something separate from their environment, but as another part of how people live and work within a landscape.

The Earthbag Building Workshop will be held at Miranalla Farm in Guindulman, Bohol, from November 23–29, 2026. Participation is limited, with 10 slots remaining.