Alexandra Malecki

It might be assumed that the jenkins list would have to be done at wheaton labs since... where else is there an official "willow feeder".

However, add coat hooks to a willow feeder is also in the jenkins list and there's currently precedent for someone doing this in a place that maybe could be a willow feeder but not officially? who knows. The BB doesn't require you to prove that it's a willow feeder. I recall looking at this BB submission and passing up on it to allow someone more qualified to evaluate:  https://permies.com/wiki/156725/pep-greywater-willow-feeders/Add-Coat-Hooks-Willow-Feeder#2932468

Rebekah Harmon wrote:I'm including detail on this meal because I know most of you would feel lucky to eat this permie food at my table with me. I'm proud of it! Or at least, I was.

Rebekah Harmon wrote:Yeah, I'm giving up, sadly. I suppose the last hundred meals could be meals I make myself, three times a day. 😞

My heart breaks for you. When you cooked for the Garden Master's course, you made the most delicious, nutritious food!! I definitely felt lucky to eat your creations! I get your burn-out, cooking for a family that doesn't FULLY appreciate how much work you put into the entire process of feeding them day in and out. I'm talking the procurement (sourcing, growing, hunting), the planning, and thennnn the cooking. It's so hard for highly nutritious whole foods to compete with convenient, highly processed alternatives.

You've been doing SO MUCH food prep that it's also easy to see why you have burnout.

I hope you continue to put in the good fight. Not necessarily for the BB but because you know it's better for your family. Maybe you need a heart to heart or accept feedback on what your family members can handle or not? My personal approach when nothing else works is something more like: you're going to eat it and like it but if you keep complaining then I'm only making this for the next week. I'm not proud of it but I also have an extremely low tolerance for complaining. Anyway, hugs to you.

Are you pursuing PEP?  This will be a central repository for Otises to shop for PEPpers (or SKIPpers) that have successfully completed at least 60BBs.  To see a list of all the participants, here's the Leaderboard.

Some day this may be automated to sort the list based on how far along in the PEP program you've gotten.  For now it will be a bit clunky and manual.  To get your name added to this post, add a reply with a paragraph about why you're doing PEP, if you're looking for property, where that property would need to be for you to be happy, size of property, etc so that Otises can determine if you might be a close fit for them.

PEPpers:
PEP2:
Mike Haasl
Alexandra Malecki PEP 2 Badges

PEP1:
Opalyn Rose PEP1 & 22 Sand Badges and details below
Rebekah Harmon PEP 1 Badges
Cheryl Loomans PEP 1 Badges

BB60:
Ashley Cottonwood
Edward Norton
Luke Mitchell
Kevin Harbin
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
L. Johnson
James Rhodes
Raphael Blais
Nikki Roche
Patrick W Kelly
Tina Wolf
Tim Norton

BB100:
Joy Hancock

Note: if you're looking for a place to practice your PEP skills, check out this thread: Locations to do PEP

Today's the day! Yippee!! I'd like to officially request my PEP2 badge!

Requirements:
1 Wood badge:   Rocket
7 Straw badges: Natural Medicine, Foraging, Food prep and preservation, homesteading, Community Living, Tool Care, Gardening,
14 Sand Badges: Woodland Care, Greywater, Animal Care, Metalworking, Earthworks, Dimensional Lumber, Textiles, Oddball, Nest, Round wood woodworking, Plumbing, Electricity, Natural Building, and Commerce.

100 BBVs: I have certified 102 BBvs to date

I quit my corporate job in March 2024 and committed to completing PEP2. At that time, I had 20 BBs that I had completed for fun but had previously given it up because suffering through an early rejection made it not fun. So when I committed to it completing it, I also knew that there would be many challenges that I'd have to get through. No matter what. There wasn't a choice to give up because my husband and kids were counting on me. Speaking of family, my husband and kids are the best. They have been my greatest supporters. They've literally rooted for me and helped me when things were challenging. They've hustled to get photos for me, read the requirements for me when my hands were full, and, honestly, countless other ways. My name is on here getting the glory but my husband and kids have been along there with me every step of the way. I think, in many ways, I wouldn't have made it this far without them to motivate me. The hope of getting to move to a homestead is a shared dream that we all have.

I've undertaken the PEP2 goal like it was my full-time job. Okay, maybe less like a job and more of an obsession since I also worked most evenings and weekends. I've kept metrics on my progress, assigned time estimates to completion, kept to my timelines, and created many smaller, achievable goals along the way. I've printed updates and posted it to our walls so that my family could also take part in celebrating every row that we crossed off! I've also declined many, many other opportunities so that I could stay focused and committed to this goal. I also want to point out that I have had the luxury of not having to worry about bills, feeding my kids, acquiring all of the tools and materials, travel costs, and incidentals. My husband and I have looked at this process as an investment for our future. I feel fortunate that I have the resources to expedite my journey to PEP2 and I also strategically picked my Straw and Wood level badges based on my goals of expediting my timeline and then feasibility. Going the Rocket wood level route wasn't my first choice, I much prefer to garden, but I wouldn't have been able to guarantee an expedited timeline. As intimidated as it was to do the rocket wood badge, I also knew that it could give me and my family a pathway to a future livelihood and because it wasn't totally dependent on seasonality.

I can also say that my life has opened up new, unforeseen opportunities because of SKIP. It's forced me out of my comfort zone, connected me to new people I otherwise wouldn't have made connections with, given my family (and myself) new experiences, and so many more delightful outcomes. I committed to SKIP in part because I wanted to feel confident that this city gal had what it took to homestead. I feel that I've accomplished that goal and now feel certain that I'm ready. I'm excited, emotional, and hopeful for this next part of our family's journey. I hope it's lovely and that I can give back to those after me.

I'd be remiss to not also acknowledge all of the permies staff that have seen me through this journey. I'm grateful to each of you and the care that you have in other humans that you don't know and, even more than that, each of the individual parts you play in making the world just a little bit better. Many thanks!!

As much as I have looked forward to not doing SKIP any longer, it turns out that each of my kids plan to do SKIP when they grow up. I'm so proud of those little monsters I created. I think this is enough blubbering for now. I guess I'll be continuing to post the next parts of this SKIP journey

Thank you, Nancy, you’re so kind!

Today I plan to meet my husband to camp at a place that I call heaven on earth. It’s midway between my friend’s farm and home. It’s been far too long since we’ve been back there so, for me, it’s a perfect way to relax, recharge, and celebrate!

600 posts? Funny, that is coincidental and feels like a lot and a small amount at the same time!! I have even more to celebrate now ;) thanks Mike!!

I went to Wheaton Labs in October 2022 for a rocket mass heater workshop. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to put all of this knowledge to use! I’ve learned so much in each of these builds:



heat a space with a rocket mass heater for one month

build an 8 inch j-tube rocket “engine”

build a second j-tube style rocket mass heater

build a j-tube style rocket oven

build a j-tube style unpressurized rocket hot water heater

build a j-tube style rocket cook top

build a j-tube style season extender in a hugelkultur

This is so exciting for me to submit for this badge!!!

Thanks for reviewing!

I’m amazed by the amount of food required for this BB! I bet you and your family are loving the fruits of your labor!

Also you caught a lot of fish!! I don’t think my disposition is compatible with fishing though I do love eating fish!

This j-tube style unpressurized rocket water heater was my last BB task before reaching PEP2. Of course, I'll still need to submit for the rocket wood badge then the PEP2 badge to officially have obtained PEP2.

Of all of the tasks I've done, this was the most challenging. I'm so relieved that running this rocket went so smoothly while so many other aspects of the build weren't nearly as smooth.

My BB countdown is now at ZERO!

I'll have to think about what to rename this thread.

Dave Burton wrote:This BB requires you to build a j-tube unpressurized rocket hot water heater.

To get certified for this Badge Bit you must provide:
  - 5 pics of build in progress
  - very clear description of how it is not pressurized (if steam happens it can't blow up)
  - 15 second long video of cold water going in and steaming hot water coming out
  - 2 minute video of starting the fire and proving there are no smoke leaks

I ran about 8-10 iterations of design concepts by my husband and every time my objective was to make it simpler and safer, simpler and safer, simpler... and safer. What I built is essentially a double boiler system. I have a ~20gal stock tank that is directly exposed to the hot air above the riser. I then dropped in a copper coil that exchanges heat with the hot stock tank water. If the stock water were to reach boiling point, the water in the copper coil would reach up to boiling but not exceed it since it isn't in direct contact with the heat source. I also installed a pressure relief valve above the section of copper that takes cold water vertically down as an added safety measure in the event that water wants to rise against the intended direction. Meanwhile, the water on the other side where the copper coils vertically up, the pressure would escape via the intended direction of the hot water. The diaphragmatic pump is on-demand and will turn off when the valves are closed. Until this system can be integrated into the neighboring structure differently, I put the valve in between the pump and the copper coil.

About the rocket: I built an 8in system with a 6in exhaust juice-boxed into the air void next to the j-tube. Take a look at the last photo attachment. I positioned the exhaust as low as possible to make the system as efficient as possible. Because of this, you'll see that I made sure the chimney was very primed before priming the riser in the 2min video below.

Stock tank water and cistern water (water supply) was at 54deg. After 2hrs11min run time of the rocket, the stock tank was at 187deg and the copper heat exchange output was 154deg (as noted in the video). I used about 2 5-gal buckets of wood.

I figured a water temp above 140deg would be considered safe from legionella bacterium and close to 160degFwould be even better.

15 second long video of cold water going in and steaming hot water coming out:


2 minute video of starting the fire and proving there are no smoke leaks:

Everything is complete with the water heater build (minus a bit of cob around the feed because it was slumping). Today, I will finish the cob then fire the beast for the first time. I wonder how hard it’ll be to get it started given how low my exhaust pulls within the structure (for increased efficiency) and because approximately 10% of the mass is still wet.

Last night my son watched the stock tank fill. I told him to watch the float valve to see what happens when the water gets to it. Together, we figured out that it wasn’t a dragon egg, it won’t dissolve once submerged, but, wait, it actually floats and then stops the water! That was fun.  We also got to see all of the insects rise who were trying to make the stock tank their home.

Hopefully things go smoothly today.