For hands-on practice we will build cabins and composting toilets for students and volunteers in a beautiful private reserve that is being developed as a food forest and learning centre. Other materials covered include wood, natural rope, palm and grass thatch, lime, linseed oil and beeswax.

We will introduce you to the key topics of disaster resistance, compost toilets and grey water recycling. We will also take a green building tour to explore the many natural buildings in the village of San Marcos La Laguna.

By the end of the course you will have the confidence to begin designing and building your own house using the most ecological materials on the planet.

Charlie Rendall has been building houses and landscaping gardens in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala for over seven years. He tried just about every natural building method he could before settling on bamboo and adobe as his favourites. He gave his first Bamboo Building Course in 2008 and loves helping others learn how build their own houses.

Originally from London, England, Charlie holds a Masters in Social Anthropology, and has studied Buddhism, Yoga, business and social development in India. For several years he taught transferable skills development to postgraduates at University College London before meeting his wife and becoming technical director at her arts education project, La Cambalacha. He also built this website.

Shad Qudsi has over 12 years of organic gardening and farming experience. He is certified in Permaculture and currently runs his 2.5 acre highly diversified, beyond-organic farm, Atitlan_Organics in Tzununa, Lake Atitlan. The farm is driven mainly by Shad's devotion to the collection, adaptation, and disbursement of useful indigenous and exotic plant and animal species. The farm's centerpiece is a large, diverse plant nursery that boasts over 60 useful plant species. Huevo Verde also sells rare breed poultry, rabbits, ducks.

Prior to living in Guatemala, Shad graduated from Johns Hopkins University with degrees in Applied Mathematics and Psychology, and worked in agricultural technology consulting before realizing he wanted to get his hands dirty and start farming full-time. Shad is also a keen fermenter, preserver and home-brewer.

The course takes place in two picturesque Mayan villages on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.The natural building week is held in San Marcos La Laguna (population 3,000), a village well known for its natural beauty and as a place to learn meditation, yoga and alternative medicine. It has several well-established hotels, restaurants, bars and shops. Classes are held in La Cambalacha's workshop spaces and at Finca Paraíso, a farm and learning centre under development about 15 minutes' walk up the valley - a moderate level of fitness is therefore recommended to get the most from this course.

The forest gardening course is held in neighboring Tzununa (population 1,000), at Finca Huevo Verde - a minivan will transport participants the 10 minutes' drive along the lakeside each day. We will also visit other food forests and permaculture sites around the lake.

Both Tzununa and San Marcos have a growing population of foreign residents, many of whom learned how to build by building their homes and businesses with the help of local craftsmen. The absence of building codes has led to a huge variety of architectural styles and techniques and it's a great place to see this diversity, as well as what not to do! Many residents are also keen gardeners who have created beautiful and productive gardens, some of which we can visit during the course.

Lake Atitlán is situated right in the heart of Guatemala's western highlands and thus makes a great jumping-off point for exploring the rest of this small but incredibly diverse country. See Extras for further ideas on where else to visit.