Apprentice Program

March 28 - April 30th, 2023

Apprentice Program

The Mojave Center Apprenticeship Program provides an unique experience for a motivated individual looking for tangible skills to build and design sustainable human settlements.

Currently, The Mojave Center offers a variety of specific building courses throughout a season in an abbreviated length to fit the needs of our students in the regional southwest. In order to create expert natural builders ready to take on their own builds or design for others, a longer intensive experience is necessary to cover as many topics as necessary in a season. The MC is proud to offer an in-depth opportunity to learn from a variety of natural building masters throughout a 5-week experience.

What to Expect

At The Mojave Center, we realize the need to develop professional natural builders at a reasonable cost to the student while providing the best educational experience possible. Students will learn side-by-side with other Mojave Center staff members and teachers as we continue on our mission to become an environmentally-focused demonstration site.

Many of our teachers that instruct courses at The Mojave Center come from numerous backgrounds like CalEarth, Ojai Permaculture, Watershed Management Group, Quail Springs Permaculture, Canelo Project, Simple Construct, and Cob Cottage. All of our teachers have a variety of experience in natural buildings, permaculture design, rainwater harvesting, agroforestry, wilderness medicine, and professional facilitation of group experiences.

We are confident that upon acceptance into the Apprentice Program, an apprentice will leave their 8-week tenure feeling confident, skillful, and inspired to continue implementing natural building into their life..

The Apprentice Program is truly designed to engage students on a deeper level with the main goal of fostering their personal development. Not only will an apprentice have a holistic experience while at The MC, they will also have the opportunity to learn from a group of dedicated individuals determined to sway the global consciousness towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

We hope you will consider the following information and please feel free to reach out to The Mojave Center team for more details.

Learning Outcomes

Building:

Construction of one, 10 ft Superadobe Domes - Foundations, Compass Installation + Usage, Bag Laying Techniques, Barb-Wire, Soil Analysis, Material Mixtures, Windows + Door Installations, Rainwater Catchments
Exterior Base and Finishe Plasters - Mixture Recipes, Application Techniques, Color Schemes
Earthen Floors - Types of Floors, Mixture Recipes, Application Techniques, Color Schemes
Interior Base and Finish Plasters - Clay + Lime Recipes, Wet + Dry Locations, Tadelakt Burnishing.
Installation of windows and doors into Domes - Construct and install custom doors and windows.
Assistant Lead Instructor for Natural Building Workshops - Use SuperAdobe & Natural Plaster building practices along side a MC staff member lead a workshop.

Rainwater Harvesting, Composting Toilets and Electrical Layout Preparation:

Rainwater Harvesting - Rain Basin + Infiltration Designs, Water Storage Techniques, Greywater and Blackwater Systems
Composting Toilets - Portable Batch Compost System and Permanent Batch Compost System
Electrical Layout Preparation - Design and Implementation of a small-scale solar electrical system for off-grid installations

Final Apprentice Project

Complete the interior of a dome
With the help and approval of the MC staff, implement your own design into the interior of a student dwelling dome. The dome will be completed in the structural phase and ready for you to install its windows, doors, base plasters, finish plasters, bed & storage design. Add your design flare on top and receive ample practice with natural plasters & finishes.

Apprenticeship Schedule

Almost every weekend, we begin a new course with participants from around the country. You as an apprentice are enrolled in these building courses listed below. Once a week, you will have a day off to rest and take care of any personal needs. Below is the schedule for this seasons workshops:

3/28 - 4/1 - Dome Job Site Set Up & Foundations

4/2 - 9/8 - Dome Build Workshop with Guests

4/10- 4/14 - Straw Bale Foundation Prep, Begin Dome Interiors

4/15 - 4/16 - Intro to Natural Building Workshop with Guests

4/17- 4/21 - Dome Interiors, Doors, Window, Electrical

4/22 - Straw Bale Immersion Workshop with Guests

4/23 - 4/30 - Dome Interior & Exterior Completion

Daily Schedule:

8:30 - 12:00pm - Morning Work Party

12:00pm - 1:00pm - Lunch/Meetings

1:00pm - 4pm - Afternoon Work Party

4pm - Rest Free Time

Practical Hours

6 Hours/5 days a week

27 Day Apprenticeship

Natural Building Packet

INFOrmation PACKET

What to expect, what to bring and where to go, listed in the packet below! :)

Location:

Our Mojave Center!
Charleston View, CA
1 Hour West of Las Vegas
Exact Address will be send upon Sign up!

Logistics for Program:

Water & power is available
Service is LTE and widely available
Bring plenty of work clothes/closed-toed shoes/2x leather gardening gloves/1x working gloves
3 positions available

Current Structures on site:

Composting Toilet
Outdoor Shower
9 Domes finished in the structural phase
3 Completely finished Domes
The HUB - shipping container for storage & electricity hub
Community Kitchen

Lodging

Domes: At this time we have 3 domes for rent. If you'd like to book one please do so in your sign up form. Domes have electricity with lighting and outlets. They were designed for individual students but two people can sleep in there if they enjoy cuddling :) Please bring your own bedding.

BYO Lodging :Please bring your own tent/van/rv for lodging. We can see extreme winds out in the desert, please make sure your tent is wind resistant. No large "family style tents", these will not hold. Ex. no coleman tents. If you need to rent a tent, please let us know in you sign up form.

Nearby Rentals:

3 Moons Project - 1/2 Mile away

Use code : 7BGPY1UR for 25% off

Shift Pod for rent

Book 3 Moons

Lodging, Accommodations + Surrounding Area

Student Dome Rentals are available for $300 during your entire 5 week stay. Please treat these domes as your own. You will be responsible for cleaning upkeep, washing bed linens and damages that could occur while you occupy the space.
If you choose not to stay in a dome, please bring your own living accommodations. This could be your RV or car camping. Do not bring a tent as your lodging and expect it to withstand our wind. Please bring your own vehicle to transport yourself!
We have an outdoor composting toilet, shower dome, community kitchen, solar power with charging station.
Food is not included in your stay. Please be prepared to cook your own meals. A community kitchen is available with individual storage space.
Recreational opportunities around the area include, China Ranch Date Farm, Hot Springs, Organic Farms and 30 Miles from nearest city of Pahrump, NV and 1-hour from Las Vegas Downtown. We are also 1-hour from the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area with plenty of hiking/climbing.

Cost

$2100

with own lodging

$2400

with Dome lodging

5 Weeks

3/28/23 - 4/30/23

Apply

$500 deposit to acquire spot
Remaining payments can be made in a custom payment schedule
Deposit made via website, remainder can be paid via ; Venmo (mojavecenter), Paypal (mojavecenter@gmail.com) or CASH PREFERRED! :)

Application Process

An in-depth interview process is necessary in order to sustain our positive learning environment for all students. After filling out the registration form below, The MC staff will schedule an interview to talk more about apprentices hopes + goals for the program.

Thank you for your continued support in our mission to create sustainable change. We recognize that we can’t grow without YOU! You are helping us pave the way to make a lasting impact for many generations to come!

We can’t wait to CREATE, EDUCATE & COLLABORATE!

-The MC Team

Prerequisites:

Participants should be at least 18 years of age, in good health with health insurance. A high level of worth ethic and focus on active job sites is essential to a positive learning environment and a successful acquisition of our learning outcomings.

Student Disposition:

The participants interested in joining the apprenticeship should have high energy, love to work with building materials, be able to stay positive in challenging environments, have a happy outlook on life, and be energetic during long work days. They should be organized within their own personal life to be able to focus on the learning environment. Projects at The MC can be dynamic in nature and willingness to wake up early and finish late. The student should be the kind of person who doesn’t need vices like drugs and alcohol to relax.