This advanced workshop is an opportunity to deepen your practice and understanding of Tadelakt.
Tadelakt is a rare and highly specialized natural plaster, requiring both technical control and material intuition. Once the fundamentals are understood, the real depth of the craft comes through practice—learning to read the material, anticipate its behaviour, and respond to subtle changes in pressure, moisture, timing and surface.
This workshop moves beyond the basic introduction to focus on refining technique, developing greater control and exploring the possibilities of Tadelakt as a material. Through hands-on work, we will investigate more demanding applications and forms, while addressing the small details that make the difference between a good finish and an exceptional one.
The emphasis throughout the day will be on observation, experimentation and exchange, allowing participants to bring their previous experience into a deeper exploration of the craft.
What you’ll learn / do
We’ll spend our time working on a complex project; a shower or complicated objects such as hanging lamps, larger ceramic pieces, or sgraffito tiles/spheres.
During this six-hour advanced course, you will:
Refine your technique
Build on your existing Tadelakt experience, focusing on pressure, timing, consistency and polishing techniques to achieve a more controlled and refined finish.
Develop your material intuition
Learn to read the material through touch and observation, understanding how changes in moisture, pressure and timing affect the final surface.
Explore more demanding applications
Work with forms and surfaces that require greater technical control, exploring how Tadelakt behaves beyond simple flat applications.
Troubleshoot and refine
Learn to identify common problems during application and develop strategies for correcting and refining the surface at different stages of the process.
The workshop will be highly hands-on, with plenty of time for individual practice, observation and direct guidance.
You receive:
- 6 hours of advanced hands-on training
- Materials and tools
- Individual guidance and supervision
- A focused opportunity to refine your existing Tadelakt practice
- Vegetarian lunch, coffee and tea
Who this workshop is for
This is an advanced workshop for practitioners with previous hands-on experience in Tadelakt or intermediate to advanced plastering skills.
It is intended for:
- Natural builders
- Plasterers
- Artists and makers
- Architects and designers
- Experienced DIY builders
Participants should already have a working understanding of the basic Tadelakt process and have ideally previously applied the material themselves.
This is not an introductory workshop.
Places are intentionally limited to maintain a focused and intimate learning environment, allowing for close individual guidance and meaningful hands-on time with the material.
Practical information
Date: Sunday, October 25th 2026
Time: 10 AM – 5 PM
Duration: 7 hours (1h lunch included)
Location: Forniçô
Language: English (translation into Portuguese is possible upon request)
Price: 125 EUR
What’s included
- All necessary materials and tools
- Guidance and supervision throughout the workshop
- Individual feedback and technical guidance
- Vegetarian lunch, coffee and tea
- Your finished Tadelakt object / work produced during the workshop
What to bring
- Comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Notebook and pen
- Any questions, challenges or techniques you would like to explore further
About the facilitator
Gregory Crawford has nearly two decades of experience in Permaculture Design, having taught and consulted on a variety of projects across four continents. He co-manages The Panya Project, a permaculture education center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and has worked as a design lead with Surplus Permaculture and Locus. He is also the co-founder of Win/Win Reactor, an urban permaculture project based in Detroit, USA. His specialties include methodology, urban permaculture, seed saving, and natural building.
Gregory began studying Tadelakt in 2015 under Ryan Chivers, one of the first to introduce the technique to the United States after learning it in Morocco. Since that formative workshop, he has steadily expanded his practice as a natural plasterer, developing a particular interest in exploring the material beyond its traditional applications.
His work includes the construction of four Tadelakt showers, as well as a period of study in Japan to deepen his understanding of traditional craft techniques. He later established an atelier in Siena, Italy, where he produced over fifty lime and clay spheres and tiles, along with lampshades and a range of experimental Tadelakt objects. These explorations extended the material into unconventional forms, including glass bottles and chairs.
Registration
Places are intentionally limited to ensure a high level of individual attention and hands-on guidance.
Advance registration is required via email: cursos@escolaregenerativa.pt
