Back to Nature
Welcome to Turiya- a non-profit leading Panama and the world in natural building preservation and education. Turiya is a resource for all those interested in sharing and preserving global ancient sustainable practices, offering online and in-person skill-building workshops in mud home design and lime plaster. We teach natural building technologies combined with modern science and are building a community around connection, with the Earth, with others, and with ourselves.
Turiya is Panama's first natural building school. We educate architects, children, DIY home builders, and locals in natural building techniques.
Connect with others through creative, collaborative, sustainable projects such as permaculture gardening, art, music, and more.
Through service and reflection, we hope to provide a space that empowers others to embrace new possibilities for self-growth.
Meet Kristina Barile and Yashar Mehrabani
In 2017, we quit our jobs, without a plan. Yashar, a special needs teacher, and Kristina, a rocket scientist, were both called to a simpler life. With only a backpack of belongings, we finished a pilgrimage in Asia and followed our hearts to Panama, a place we’ve never visited but felt called to. Living fully within nature on our farm, deep in the countryside, we explore natural building, organic farming, and permaculture design, and support our community through education, employment, and empowerment. Kristina engineers and creates natural buildings made from purely natural materials and is passionate about environmental health, environmental justice, cultural preservation, ancient knowledge, and plant-based Ayurveda. Yashar is the spiritual center of the project, offering visitors in search of peace and happiness his compassion and wisdom.
Natural Building Workshops
We offer both in-person and online intensive workshops. We are currently focused on building our online offerings, while we raise young children, and will return to live in-person workshops in 2027!
Learn Natural Building!
Want to understand how to build a mud home? Want to transform your home with breathable sustainable materials like clay and lime? Check out our upcoming course offerings here!
Community Support, Health, and Education
Turiya is dedicated to serving our Panama community. We are the only employer in our small village of 100 people and are so fortunate to be able to provide opportunities for work in an isolated area.
In our 6 years in Panama, we’ve learned that the natural building tradition here, as well as knowledge on organic farming and native plants, has disappeared almost entirely. We have been teaching natural building skills to local people and Panamanian nationals and have opened our doors to global learners in 2024.
We are in the process of creating community spaces for organic farming and natural building education as well as natural guest spaces (made of bamboo, clay, sand, straw, and lime) to host global students. For more information and to donate, please click below!
