The Perfect Earth Plaster Course
Turn Raw Clay into Stunning Walls!
Stop Guessing. Stop Cracking. Finally Master Earth Plaster With The Clay Right Under Your Feet
“This course really the best of both worlds: extremely detailed hands-on guidance to see and feel how the materials behave, and better information than in most books because it’s grounded in real experience.”
— Rebecca, clay plasterer, Australia
Learn the Art and Craft of Earthen Plaster
Earth plaster is one of the most satisfying, useful, and beautiful skills I’ve ever learned.
It opens up a world of possibilities — from plastering walls and restoring old stonework, to sculptural details, cob ovens, wattle and daub, paints, mosaics, and more. Some people come to this work to build entire houses. Others come because they’re drawn to the material itself — its texture, behaviour, and quiet beauty.
This course supports both.
You’ll learn how earth plaster actually works, not through recipes (which often fail), but by understanding how clay, sand, fibre, climate, and substrate interact. Once you understand that, you can make good plaster almost anywhere, with the materials around you.
A Practical Course Grounded in Experience
Earthen plaster is amazing and beautiful when you know what you are doing. The trouble is a lot of advice out there simply doesn’t work once you leave the conditions it was written for. Recipes are a completely inadequate way to teach the art of earthen plaster. What you need is to understand the fundamentals of how the materials work, and how to apply them to your particular wall, in your particular climate.
This course exists because of my own experience. Back in 2011, I was stuck on a remote hill, unable to buy books or materials, with plaster that kept failing, and no clear explanation as to why. What I needed then was not theory, but seeing and feeling what works.
That’s why this course is taught through video, demonstration, and explanation together. It works far better in a digital format than in books. It's fully downloadable too, so you can take it away with you
“Hi Atulya, I started the course and I think it is guaranteed money well spent. Thank you!”
— Nick R, Mexico
Who This Course Is For
- People plastering their first wall
- If you're plastering cob, straw bale, sandbag, or other natural walls, understanding how materials behave will save you a great deal of frustration.
- Natural builders rendering a house.
- Renovators working with old buildings.
- People desiring beautifully textured, natural, non toxic walls.
- Creative people and artists who want to make all manner of beauty from the earth beneath their feet.
Once you understand the material, earth plaster opens the door to sculptural walls, natural paints, mosaics and decorative finishes.
This entire painted wall sculpture was created from clays I found on my land.
What You’ll Learn
This is a comprehensive, practical course that takes you from raw materials to finished surfaces.
You’ll learn:
- How to find and test clay
- What each ingredient does in a plaster
- How to design mixes that actually work
- How to prepare different substrates
- How to mix, apply, and finish plaster
- How climate affects your results
- How to troubleshoot common (and uncommon) failures
- How to protect, maintain, and finish earth plaster well
There are also additional lessons on:
- Burnishing
- Sculpting and mosaics
- Clay paint
- Insulating plaster
- Lime in plaster and lime wash
- Using earth plaster as a building material (wattle and daub, cob, mud mortar)
This is not a skim. It’s the nuts and bolts explained clearly enough that you can work out why something is going wrong, not just copy instructions.
"Thanks Atulya, I'm going through your videos and finding them very useful!" — Muriel Kakani, plastering a school in India.
“Very informative and good instructions in the text and videos!”
— Nanda Doornik, Ireland
Success Stories
Camilla's farmhouse in Germany, "I've fallen in love with clay."
Jen's gorgeous plasterwork in Australia
Cath Coffey's earthbag house in London. Cath took the Perfect Earth Plaster Course before applying this render. "This course was invaluable," she said.
Help Desk
You will receive a reply within 2 working days (usually much faster).
FOR THE FULL CURRICULUM CLICK ON THE ARROW AFTER SECTION 2
DISCLAIMER:
The author is not responsible for any damages, accidents, or injuries that may result from creating and applying natural renders, or by living with them. Testing all earth plaster mixes on the substrate you intend to render is always necessary.
Your Instructor
Hi! I'm Atulya. I've lived off-grid and built with mud for over ten years. My love of natural building arose from nowhere. Back in 2011 I was living in a field in Turkey. Bit by bit, out of necessity I taught myself to build with mud. It became a creative passion. Within a year I had constructed a house. A year later I installed solar power. I have been in nature, mud building and writing about it ever since.
Today I am founder and author of The Mud Home natural building and off-grid freedom website. I also write about natural building for publications such as Mother Earth News and the Owner Builder Magazine.
Course Curriculum
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PreviewVideo Overview: Introducing Your Ingredients. (18:08)
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StartLesson 1: Understanding the Basics of Clay, Straw and Sand (11:49)
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StartLesson 1 PDF: Understanding the Basics of Clay, Straw and Sand.
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StartHow To Do A Soil Test. (2:45)
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StartPractical Assignment: Find Some Clay. (4:29)
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StartQuiz.
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StartLesson 2: Mixing Your Plaster (6:30)
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StartLesson 2 PDF: How to Mix Your Plaster
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StartExtra: Percolating Your Plaster Mix (Do You Really Have To?) (2:26)
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StartExtra Tip: Plaster Consistency. How Much Water Should You Add? (3:13)
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StartExtra Tip: How to Use and Slake the Clay from Your Land (2:53)
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StartPractical Assignment: Test Your Dirt.
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StartQuiz