Samantha Lewis

The Wheaton Labs boot camp made these two dish washing stations for events.  We can easily get 40 or 50 people through here washing their own dishes after every meal.    Folks stand around and talk while they wash up.  




Fresh water is stored in the white jug.  We use a foot pump to get the water to come out of the faucet.  The sink drains into the steel bucket.
The wash stations are easily movable so they go outside for summer events and are inside here in the classroom with the rocket mass heater for winter programs.

Come visit The Red Cabin!



This fun little cabin sleeps two or three people.  It is heated with a beautiful rocket mass heater.


This is an excellent cabin for folks who want to be right in the heart of things here at Wheaton Labs.

Only a few steps away from the the classroom, workshop, willow feeder out houses and showers.




A beautiful morning view of the sunrise over the mountains, turkeys in the field, birds flying over berms, and on route to a short hike up the side on the volcano.


Come check it out!

Vickey McDonald wrote:Where I live in Alaska outhouses are a normal thing. Would love to help convince others to change to a more useful system that could provide a useable compost as well.

Hello Vickey!

What kind of a system do you have in Alaska?
Do you use wood chips and sawdust or do you have another material you prefer?  
There are so many options, it is neat to hear what people have found that works for them.

I live in a pretty dry pine and oak forest.  We have a lot of debris that builds up on the forest floor so I just rake that up in summer and use it as my carbon source all year.  

Elizabeth Echeverria wrote:I would totally back this movie! My question is that it seems that the willow feeder method is based on sort of storing the poop for a while and the whole thing drying/staying pretty dry while being stored (apologies if I don't fully understand, and all the more reason for the movie, but that's my understanding anyway). So I would really like to know how well this would work in a humid summer climate--the kind of climate where stored poop might stink more and things don't dry out.

Hello Elizabeth!

You can have a willow feeder in a humid climate.   I would take a little extra care to be sure my wood shavings are nice and dry.    Be sure each deposit is well covered with shavings and be careful not to pee in the can.   If anybody has an oopsie or things ever seem wet or stinky just add more shavings.

If you have a little bit of land you can have a few sheep.    

They will mow and prune for you.   Just two or three sheep are almost no trouble.  




Then you can have wool to make your own clothes.

Shear them in the spring


Spin some yarn


Knitted garments are fast and warm



This is a fun little instructional video about how to make and repair clothes and rugs!
https://permies.com/t/250722/Natural-Textiles-Samantha-Lewis-Opalyn

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:Does anyone know how to decaffeinate homegrown coffee beans?

You can decaffeinate coffee by soaking the whole roasted beans in cold water.    A 12 hour soak in cold water will get most of the caffeine out.   Then dehydrate the beans and you can grind them as usual.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:The first substitute I have looked into, is chicory. I seeded and planted it last spring, so it’s about a year old now. I just don’t know when I should dig up the root. The research I have done, says to dig it up when it’s done flowering, and in general has died down. Well, mine has been flowering for over 6 months now, and leaves keeps coming back. I think it might be perennial where we live. Does anyone know when I should harvest the root?

I would harvest the root in the winter when the plant has gone dormant.  That is when the most energy is in the root.    If the plant stays green all winter I would still harvest it then.  In the spring and summer the energy is up in the above ground parts and the roots will be more woody and likely have less flavor.

This is my favorite way to make coffee.  

https://permies.com/t/16387/eco-coffee-maker-cowgirl-coffee

A nice pyrex 4 cup measure


And an extra fine tea strainer




When I am on the road I do it like this in a mason jar

When it is time to put a new can in the willow feeder, This is what it looks like.  



We have a clean plastic trash can. These hold about 32 gallons.  Put a few inches of sawdust or wood shavings in the bottom and a plastic pipe that reaches to about the top of the can.

It is such a simple system, easily repeatable and scalable.  No specialized parts, everything can be found locally.

Melissa Silverline wrote:Once again tempted, very very tempted, to sell everything and thumb it up to Montana.

Hello Melissa!  

You don't have to sell everything.  You could just visit.

Come out and have the experience for a bit.  Maybe rent a cabin.


A perfect mix of peace, privacy and community.

Here is a link to the Sepper program:
https://permies.com/wiki/sepper

Here is a picture down the hall to the bathroom in Cooper Cabin at Wheaton Labs.  



Cooper Cabin has an indoor Willow Feeder and you can see more of this bathroom and get a bit of an idea how it looks from the Wheaton Labs Tour Movie.
Here is the link:
https://permies.com/w/tour