Grant’s Story

My name is Grant, I’m an architecture student from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and stayed at Finca La Tierra from May to August 2014.

While at Finca La Tierra I gained experience at every stage of superadobe construction; from mixing the earth and lime to applying the final wall finishes. It was great to get my hands dirty and be apart of transforming a mound of earth into a piece of architecture. For me the most captivating aspect of the domes is the interior spaces they create.

The circular geometry and handcraft of the domes creates a serenity and balance unachievable by traditional construction techniques. Watching light stream in from the oculus and change with the time, weather, and season gives the space a connection to nature unlike anything else I’ve experienced.

The surrounding landscape of La Finca is as equally captivating. Some of my favorite memories involved mulberry picking in the countryside, stork watching, and hiking the nearby Sierra de Gredos. Despite its rural location, staying at Finca la Tierra feels like your traveling the world.

During my stay I met people from five different continents and ate some of the best meals I’ve ever had. There is a sense of place at La Finca that is unparalleled. Something about the house being composed of the earth that surrounds it, or the optimism and collaborative effort that resulted in its design.

Staying at Finca La Tierra will give you reassurance in architecture, sustainability, and the human spirit while leaving you eager to return.

Nele’s Story

At the first sight you’ll have a hard time spotting the adobe houses in the hilly Spanish country side. It fits so seamlessly in the scenery, that one wouldn’t think, it was manmade. Because it is not machine made. It wasn’t just put there. It grew slowly, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, shovel by shovel, hand by hand. And once you walked into them you can tell. It’s such a unique feeling to have the walls curving over you. Not being able to tell where they stop and where the ceiling starts.

You can see how much effort and energy was out into them and how many people put their love and perfection into this house.
So if you want to learn how to build such a unique place, if you want to spend your time under the bright Spanish sky, if you want to sit by the campfire and listen to the silence, make music with fantastic people and eat pizzas from the stone oven, this is where you want to be! Enjoy it! Peace.

Nele Dora, 21, Germany
Stayed for 3 months in the summer of 2014