Apprentice Program

Why become an Apprentice at The Mojave Center?

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 in our Apprenticeship Program?

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.

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.

What you will learn:

Strawbale Foundations + SuperAdobe Natural Buildings

Through your 5-week program here at the MC you will have hands-on experience building + completing the following projects:

Building Learning Outcomes:

• 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 Weekend Workshops - Using SuperAdobe building practices to complete & lead a small team to

Rainwater Harvesting, Composting Toilets and Electrical Layout Preparation:

Learning Outcomes:

• 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, impliment 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 recieve ample practice with natural & finishes. 

Info Packet

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

Natural Building Informational Packet

Dates

March 28th - April 30th, 2023

Cost

$2100 (5 weeks of learning opportunities)

Practical Hours

6 Hours/6 days a week,

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. Each Thursday you will have a chance to rest and take care of any personal needs. Below is the scheudle 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

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.

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