Yep. I bought this game Feb. 1, I lost my 1st tribe the 1st day as I left and THOUGHT I had enough food, NOT, and I'm having the SAME problem with my ADEPTED builders. I have my Master Scientist, Master Devotee, and STILL NO Master builders or Farmer. I pick my tribe with SOME of the building skills as others have in here. I have coverted several. MOSTLY children AND the ones with their arrow in the middle of the Devotion meter. God Power is up to Bloom. I have destroyed ALL totems that can be HIT by lighning and the kids totem. I have L2 in Science and Construction. I am working on my 3rd hut. NONE of my peeps are of elderly YET. They DO seem to age SLOWER in this one.
The trick I found, and it's BORING and FUSTRATING, is to keep my nursing moms as the ones being chased, as they are EASIER to pick up with the baby, to get the builders to build, but as others stated in here, they DO work SLOWER in this VV as it's NOT the case in the other VV's. I SWEEP the tribe with the nursing moms to get ALL the yellow maskers down to the lake area,as this is the area that I found will make the yellow maskers LONGER to get back to their areas. I have paused the game when I leave and the buildings are STILL at the % level when I returned.
I can't think of ANY OTHER way to get my builders to the Master level.

Happy VV gaming.