August 7-9, 2027
10am - 6pm
Saguache, CO
Join us for a hands-on, three-day community workshop in the art of Earthen Floors, taught by Jess Michelle, hosted by Santi Phillips at Moon Valley Retreat in Saguache, CO.
Participants will learn the traditional, sustainable art of crafting beautiful and durable earthen floors. Together, we’ll discover how to mix natural materials like clay, sand, and straw to create a stunning, non-toxic, and breathable floor finishes. This intentional hands-on community workshop covers:
Material selection and sourcing
Proper mixing techniques
Application and troweling
Curing and natural finishing/sealing
This workshop will be hosted at Moon Valley Retreat, an off-grid community space (in the making) tucked into the rolling green foothills of the San Juan Mountains. Come and enjoy the 360 mountain views, scattered pines, wildlife and serenity of our sweet home.
Lunch is included in the workshop price.
Accommodation upgrades: Moon Valley has 8 beds available in shared glamping tents with full bedding available for an additional $150 per person (3nights stay) and our near by neighbors may have glamping sites available as well. Light electricity and wifi are available on site for charing phones or other small devices.
Email OESDirector@CrestoneEnergyFair.Org or call Goldie at 303-903-0968 with any questions.
Community Price: $300
For low-income participants
Supporter Price: $400
Pay for yourself
Sustainer Price: $500
Support low-income participants & pay it forward
Jess Michelle, Teacher
With a background in Environmental Geoscience from Texas A&M University, Jess spent five years as a field biologist before discovering a profound calling in the world of natural building. Her journey took her across the United States and Mexico, where she’s gained hands-on expertise in a diverse range of sustainable techniques, including adobe, strawbale, hempcrete, papercrete, and clay and lime plasters. This practical experience in regenerative architecture has now evolved into her most ambitious project yet: the creation of her own sustainable eco-village. Driven by a commitment to holistic living, she is currently deepening her knowledge of permaculture and local food production to develop a truly resilient, self-sufficient community.
Santi Phillips, Host
With a listening heart and a series of serendipitous, divinely guided alignments, Santi became the steward of this land alongside her brother Thomas in 2022. After many visits spent camping, praying, and listening deeply to the land, the vision for Moon Valley began to emerge—an off-grid retreat space built through community connection and for community connection.
Moon Valley is a place to slow down, remember our truth, and reconnect—back to ourselves, to Spirit, to the land, and to one another. It welcomes the full spectrum of the human experience, inviting us to rediscover our aliveness and remember how to move from love. With devotion, grit, and countless helping hands, this dream has been steadily taking form over the past two years, proving to be one of the greatest undertakings of Santi’s life—and also the most rewarding.