Mariah Ashley

NATURAL BUILDING INSTRUCTOR

Mariah is Diné, Tsinaajini, born for Ta'neesahnii. They are from Chichitah, New Mexico and currently reside in Flagstaff, Arizona. Mariah has been learning and practicing the art of natural building for 5 years after she inherited the “Strawbale House” aka ‘Strawberry Home’ from her late grandmother. Since then her love for earthen plastering and natural building has evolved into providing sustainable housing solutions and bringing communities together! 

As we enter a changing environment, the need for community and adequate housing is critical. With natural building we can build relationships to each other and to the land, foster community care and cooperation, and empower ourselves to build our own homes without being reliant on loans and mortgages. Mariah’s dream is to see Indigenous people’ reclaim their matriarchal and ancestral homelands by sheltering one another with sustainable housing that is non-toxic, fire resistant, breathable, humble and made from the earth as our ancestors intended.