Earth Song

Plaster and Finishing Workshop

May 29 - June 1, 2025 | Phelan, California

Join us for a three day Plaster and Finishing workshop at Grief to Action.

Get dusty with us while learning plaster recipes and techniques through hands-on experience at our Grief to Action Sanctuary. Techniques may include lime plaster and three dimensional sculptural elements. We will gather each evening to harvest learning and sing around a fire.

Arrival: Afternoon/Evening of Thursday, May 29th / Departure: Monday, June 2nd

This is a camping event; 1 meal a day (dinner) included.

Questions?

Reach out to Siri at grants@holisticresistance.com

Who is teaching?

  • Aaron Johnson (he/him), founder of The Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project, integrates deep questioning, music, and superadobe technology into sustainable earth-building practices. As a visionary earth builder trained at CalEarth Institute, Aaron now connects these elements to The CUT Project, fostering transformative spaces that embody resilience and community. Currently, Aaron is building cuddle pods — small earthen structures for Black-bodied people to hold each other, cuddle, and be held by the earth, emphasizing that natural building is shelter, home, and sanctuary.

  • Siri Gunnarson (she/they) is a natural builder, plaster artist, teacher, facilitator and coach. Siri first learned about the science and craft of plaster in 2009 while working on an earth bag Council Hut. In 2012 and 2013 Siri taught and led natural building ‘peace hut’ projects with peace and permaculture projects in Kenya. Siri is a returning guest steward and plaster teacher with the Three Creeks Collective, rematriated land in Payahunaduu. She is passionate about creating plaster art out of local materials that highlight the human-nature relationship. Currently Siri is settling in the Mojave desert, supporting Grief to Action’s building projects and fundraising efforts. 

Financial Commitment + Registration

  • We have two pricing structures for this workshop.

    For white-identified folk
    Access Ticket - $450
    Break Even Ticket - $700
    Redistribution Ticket - $1000

    For People of the Global Majority (PGM)
    Access Ticket - $300
    Break Even Ticket - $450

  • We have one work trade, one PGM scholarship and one White-Identified scholarship available.

    Apply for work trade or scholarship in your application.

  • In order to continue protecting ourselves, our families and the most vulnerable members of our extended population, we are still asking everyone to take COVID-19 home test before you leave for the retreat (before getting on an airplane or starting your drive). We understand it costs about $10 for a test kit; please consider this part of your cost for attending. Some libraries and government buildings are offering free test kits. 

    We ask anyone that is feeling sick or has tested positive for COVID-19 to not attend this retreat. 

    • If you need to cancel within 48 hours of the start of the retreat due to illness, please contact us immediately. 

    • We will do our best to fill your spot if we have a waiting list, in which case the above refund policy will apply. 

    • In case of sudden illness, if we are unable to fill your spot, half of your retreat funds will be non-refundable, half will be transferable to a future retreat (within 1 year). *Note: retreats can fill up fast. It will be your responsibility to contact us to register for a future retreat.  

    Please contact us if you have any questions about cancellations. We do our best to be flexible and want to honor individual needs.

  • Submit your online application and we will respond within 5 business days. APPLY NOW.

    Transparency around Pricing
    The cost of this workshop covers your use of the venue, one community-sourced meal per day (dinner), supply costs, and the time and travel of your teachers. Grief to Action keeps the cost of our workshops incredibly low. We directly match the cost of the retreat to the cost of the expenses.

    We honor that everyone’s level of financial accessibility is different and subject to various factors. If we can further support your accessibility through payment plans or access to scholarship funds, please let us know. 

    Sponsor a Student
    We also recognize that some people have the funds to allow them to support the spiritual work of those with fewer financial resources. So, we welcome donations to “Sponsor a Student.” Donations to this program will be used to assist us in offering scholarships. Please consider whether you can give more in order to support the practice of everyone in our community, regardless of financial situation. To contribute to our “Sponsor a Student” fund, contact us at info@holisticresistance.com.

  • If you have more questions, please contact us and ask! We’re happy to chat about your upcoming workshop experience.

    Contact grants@holisticresistance.com with any questions about the workshop or fill out an application if you would like to attend.