Kleiwerks collaborators
Argentina
Carlos Straub
Jorge Belanko
Diego EugenioRuiz
Kate Bloom
Blanca Rosa Alvarez

Through this work relationships evolve and new projects are born. From each new project, more relationships grow and the cycle continues. It is wonderful to imagine (and hard to keep track of) how the family tree multiplies. We are part of a worldwide movement of Natural Builders and Permaculturists, people and organizations working with each other on the ground for social justice, collective wellness, and an obvious love of our beautiful living planet.

Kleiwerks International Collaborators are people and organizations with whom Janell Kapoor has worked with through the years. Collaborators play a core part of event teams, whether as coordinators, instructors, designers and/or general support. Some collaborators are previous participants who've continued the cycle by initiating their own projects, others connect with Kleiwerks International through years of their own involvement in the field. All Kleiwerks International and affiliated events include one, if not more of us.

Carlos Straub is an outstanding Permaculture instructor and designer, inventor extraordinaire, and leader of the seed-saving initiative in his region. He shares his knowledge through classes, presentations, and networking both in Patagonia and throughout Argentina. Since 1995 he has been an active member of CIESA- A Center for Research and Education of Sustainable Agriculture in El Bolsón, Patagonia. Carlos has built many greenhouses, composting toilets, and other structures, has extensive electrical skills, and enjoys running a small seed-saving business from his abundant home garden. Carlos has been Kleiwerks International main Permaculture instructor in Argentina since 2003.


Jorge Belanko is a recently converted full-time mud man, after many years of building and masonry. He teaches people how to construct Russian heating stoves, efficient and affordable adobe barrel ovens, solar cookers and dryers, as well as earthen buildings- with adobe, wattle and daub variations, earthen plaster, and passive solar design. Jorge is considered a local permaculture maestro, and is often collaborating on projects, teaching courses, and sharing his knowledge. His octagonal house is a marvelous design, with a greenhouse that wraps around three sides. He has been an avid member of the local humanist party and was a main instigator in the creation of the barter economy in the El Bolsón valley where he lives. Jorge has been an instructor with Kleiwerks International events in Argentina since 2003.

Diego Eugenio Ruiz entered the mud as a participant in the Argentinian workshop at La Escuelita in El Bolsón, 2003. Kleiwerks International is blessed to have Diego as our web maestro and main contact in Argentina. Diego is very enthusiastic about living harmoniously with our planet. He wants to help people have their own houses, grow their own food, have time to enjoy life, and be aware of the magical relationship with The Environment...all of which he is beginning to remember and practice now. Diego, with his partner Nathalia, created the following website based on their participation in Kleiwerks International workshops in Argentina: www.leyendo.com.ar/escuelita/. Diego is an alumni of, and has been working with Kleiwerks International since 2003.

Kate Bloom discovered her love for permaculture and Natural Building through her extensive travels in Latin America. She was a crucial participant in the construction of La Escuelita- an adobe, cob, and strawbale Waldorf Kindergarten in El Bolson, Argentina. Kate has since worked on other earth and straw buildings, in both Patagonia and the United States. She was born and raised in Vermont, is fluent in Spanish, and has years of experience in peer leadership and group facilitation. She has led trips both internationally, and in the backcountry of the United States. Kate is an alumni of, and has been involved with coordinating, facilitating, and building with Kleiwerks International in Argentina since 2003.

Blanca Rosa Alvarez brought together several families to form a community on a barren piece of land on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile some twenty-seven years ago. As an ecological educator, she set up a small community school, led revegetation efforts, planted native trees, fruit trees, and gardens to grow the community's own food. More and more families came to join the community. The once barren land is now one of Santiago's most attractive neighborhoods. Blanca Rosa has spent this past decade working as a permaculture designer and consultant. In the past three years she established a permaculture institute in the Ecuadorian jungle. The center's main goal is to help the local community to stop selling their trees for income. They are developing and demonstrating ways to grow food in the jungle, as well as build shelters that are natural and sustainable. Blanca Rosa instructed and coordinated at the Kleiwerks International Practicum in Argentina in 2005.

Back to Main Page | Back to Top

Stay tuned for updates and new workshop information.