nicholas thomas

Due to September Weekend Craziness, I will not be able to do any weekend events this month. October is much less crazy for me though. Does anyone have a good weekend in October?

https://permies.com/t/287704/Spokane-Dirt-Church-Monthly-Permaculture#3244228

I am moving this topic to this new Regional Thread link above. Please lets all post further Spokane Dirt Church meet-up info there to reduce confusion, thanks!

This is a new thread home stemming from The successful August 2025 Spokane
Hoping to have 2 meetups in September! Sept 6 Group outdoor mass Canning Day and Sept 27 Rockety Things Build Day (perhaps the latter could be a 2 faysat-sun workshop? In an effort to git er done?)

I think we should plan on Sept 6 and Sept 27.
September 6 canning day in Rocket mass heater prep, like laying out the riser design with firebricks/superwool, followed by a meal. we can make chili or something. September 27 start building a Rocket mass heater. Or We could also do a cottage Rocket assembly line and build a bunch. I also kind of like that idea better as everyone can take one home. The better design is a 6 inch system inside a barrel. basically. It is great for heating up a smaller space like a shed or tiny house or skoolie. could it possibly work OK for a bigger space as well?

Can someone help make a new Spokane Dirt Church thread on Permies?

Claudia Shimkus wrote:Sept 27 works for me
Snacks sounds good, then we aren’t trying to herd cats
My offer still stands, however, it sounds like RMH is of interest. And since Nick wants to build one on his patio, let’s do that. That is if Nick can assemble material by then. I have plans from Ernie and Erica for “TheAnnex 6” diameter RMH” and the 4 dvd set for DIY RMH from Paul that I can share

I have everything except stovepipe, Super Wool, and fire bricks. that is I have clay, straw, and sand and a steel 55 gallon barrel.

another option for September 27 (or earlier) is a canning party.

Does Sept.27 work for you guys? I think I am busy every other weekend besides the first weekend of September.  October will be much less busy. Maybe still time to do some garden stuff or definitely time to do a Rockety thing. by late October definitely time to start planning some indoor activities.

September 6 works for me. Curious if anyone would prefer a set day once a month? Im then we can all plan better. Like the first Saturday of every month at 9 AM? There could be a few hours of work/project time, and and a one hour lunch,
or it could be an afternoon thing as the weather is cooling off--like, an afternoon work party with dinner after? The third option is more of a snack as you go option. I have seen work parties where pretty much not a whole gets done --other than perfectly wonderful hanging out and eating, which is fine, just not exactly the whole vision of this group, at least not every meeting, ha!.

if anyone is missing towels and a girls swimsuit, I left them in my driveway on the rain barrel. There is also a pair of swim trunks.

Thank you all so much for coming out and being part of this new Spokane area club. thank you for bringing all the delicious food and veggies. Samantha and cedar thank you so much for driving all the way up from Yakima.

Part of this groups point is I want to do better and make things better that are more appropriate. And work much better working with nature and natural systems instead of against. and learning from each other's mistakes as well as our successes.


What projects would you guys like to work on? Together? And when?
1. Gardening/planting day
2. Mulch Day
2. Canning/dehydraying/preservation day.
3. rocket day: either cooktop-canner/
Rocket mass heater day/ rocket oven/ hot water heater. As we are moving into fall and winter. I would LOVE to put my Rocket stove hat on and get ONE of these up and running in the Spokane city area as a functional example before its too cold for Cob to cure.
4. Compost/soil/mycelium Day
5. Appropriate technology Day  (solar cookers etc)
6. Build a willow feeder day
7. Other ideas?

Who would like to host the next meeting?

Paul suggested a project work day, followed by a potluck. Folks could come to either or one or the other.


AND a big thank you, Paul, for coming and sharing your knowledge, experience and refocusing the Permie perspective. Check out the new kickstarter for a Willow Feeder Documentary (one week left to fund stretch goals). Thank you for the new SKIP  book donations. I definitely encourage folks to look into the WL Boot Camp program as well, and if you know any young people or anyone in a period of transition where they are not tied down to jobs or mortgages yet or if they were trying to get out of that for a while, be sure to mention the amazing opportunity at Wheaton Labs. Wheaton Labs is only a reasonable drive from Spokane and I encourage folks to contact them to arrange a visitation experience (sepp) or as a boot (one week minimum). We also could arrange a group visit whenever there is a good time for that for people or something going on there already preplanned. (Please do not go by unannounced, and do not share WL exact locations, for privacy reasons.)

i am the brick house with all the sunflowers!