Come visit Wheaton Labs: The Seppers Program!

Samantha Lewis wrote:
It would be great to have you all visit this spring.  
We do have a bunch of options for being here, trying to make it work for everybody's schedule and their needs.

It sounds like the sepper program would be perfect for your group!

Tuesday is our community night when we all get together.  We share a meal and talk about community business.

Boot camp:  The work here is pretty easy going and at the pace folks are comfortable with.   We encourage people to take breaks and have a great time.
When someone is here as a sepper they can jump into the boot camp projects if they want to.

If you rent Cooper Cabin your whole crew could stay there together.  It is big, has lots of bunks and is right near the sauna!

Sadly we won't be there on a Tuesday, but it seems like one of your sepper rentals will work for us. How far are Cooper Cabin and the Fisher Price House from a place we can park a 45ft bus? Either of those seem like they could be a good fit for us. Can some of us stay in our bus(/rv) while others stay in sepper accommodations? When I pay to reserve the cabin or house bunk room on your website, how do I specify which day(s) it's for? I am expecting we'd arrive around 4PM on Sunday March 24, explore and possibly pitch in on some boot camp projects before dinner, stay overnight, then depart in the morning. Would it be possible to get a tour and/or arrange to sit down for a conversation with some of your longer term community members in that timeframe?

Sparr Risher wrote:
Sadly we won't be there on a Tuesday, but it seems like one of your sepper rentals will work for us. How far are Cooper Cabin and the Fisher Price House from a place we can park a 45ft bus? Either of those seem like they could be a good fit for us. Can some of us stay in our bus(/rv) while others stay in sepper accommodations? When I pay to reserve the cabin or house bunk room on your website, how do I specify which day(s) it's for? I am expecting we'd arrive around 4PM on Sunday March 24, explore and possibly pitch in on some boot camp projects before dinner, stay overnight, then depart in the morning. Would it be possible to get a tour and/or arrange to sit down for a conversation with some of your longer term community members in that timeframe?

Hi Sparr,

While we wait for Samantha to chime in more, I thought I could answer some of your questions.

Cooper Cabin is up at the Lab, a couple of miles from the Base Camp. I'm quite sure that driving a bus up there is not possible.

The Fisher Price House in the other hand is close to a parking spot. And yes, some of you can stay in the bus (camping fees apply).

At Base Camp, there also is the Solarium which could be a nice option, it has 6 bunks in total, and a nice rocket mass heater. It will be soon added to the SEPPer page with pictures from the inside.



The bootcamp runs Monday through Friday, so there will be no bootcamp activities for you to join in on Sunday. A tour can be arranged for a fee.

If you want to pay for the whole thing (camping fees for people staying at the bus and the SEPPer stays for others + a possible tour) the easiest way would be emailing us at bunks (AT) richsoil DOT com.
If paying through the links at this SEPPer page, we will email you to confirm the dates. There is availability on the dates you are planning.

Samantha Lewis wrote:Hello Sparr!

Sounds like a really fun trip!

It would be great to have you all visit this spring.  
We do have a bunch of options for being here, trying to make it work for everybody's schedule and their needs.

It sounds like the sepper program would be perfect for your group!

Tuesday is our community night when we all get together.  We share a meal and talk about community business.

Boot camp:  The work here is pretty easy going and at the pace folks are comfortable with.   We encourage people to take breaks and have a great time.
When someone is here as a sepper they can jump into the boot camp projects if they want to.

If you rent Cooper Cabin your whole crew could stay there together.  It is big, has lots of bunks and is right near the sauna!

Come on out and play with us!

Sadly I wasn't able to coordinate a cabin or bunk stay; the pricing for one night vs ten was somewhat prohibitive, and I was told that having a tour or visiting for our intended times would be too short.

We're still going to be driving through Missoula. If you or anyone else in your community would be up for meeting us off-site just to have lunch or dinner and a conversation about your community, I'd still like to arrange that, even if we can't come on-site.

Hello,
I just signed up to come to the jubilee and I wondered if I can be a sepper at the same time July 1st-12th, maybe longer. Is that possible and if so, do I just click and pay?
Thanks, Eve

Eve Fischer wrote:Hello,
I just signed up to come to the jubilee and I wondered if I can be a sepper at the same time July 1st-12th, maybe longer. Is that possible and if so, do I just click and pay?
Thanks, Eve

Hi Eve, we have discounted prices for rentals during events. We will contact you about the bunk rentals after the ticket blitz is over if the 24 tickets are all sold. Staying as a SEPPer after the event is possible.

Sparr Risher wrote:

Samantha Lewis wrote:Hello Sparr!

Sounds like a really fun trip!

It would be great to have you all visit this spring.  
We do have a bunch of options for being here, trying to make it work for everybody's schedule and their needs.

It sounds like the sepper program would be perfect for your group!

Tuesday is our community night when we all get together.  We share a meal and talk about community business.

Boot camp:  The work here is pretty easy going and at the pace folks are comfortable with.   We encourage people to take breaks and have a great time.
When someone is here as a sepper they can jump into the boot camp projects if they want to.

If you rent Cooper Cabin your whole crew could stay there together.  It is big, has lots of bunks and is right near the sauna!

Come on out and play with us!

Sadly I wasn't able to coordinate a cabin or bunk stay; the pricing for one night vs ten was somewhat prohibitive, and I was told that having a tour or visiting for our intended times would be too short.

We're still going to be driving through Missoula. If you or anyone else in your community would be up for meeting us off-site just to have lunch or dinner and a conversation about your community, I'd still like to arrange that, even if we can't come on-site.

Hello Sparr!

Do you know the dates you will be in the area?  Paul just opened up a block of freaky cheap tickets to our next event!

https://permies.com/w/ptj-tix-blitz#2301183

Saana Jalimauchi wrote:

Eve Fischer wrote:Hello,
I just signed up to come to the jubilee and I wondered if I can be a sepper at the same time July 1st-12th, maybe longer. Is that possible and if so, do I just click and pay?
Thanks, Eve

Hi Eve, we have discounted prices for rentals during events. We will contact you about the bunk rentals after the ticket blitz is over if the 24 tickets are all sold. Staying as a SEPPer after the event is possible.

Thanks so much, Saana!

Hi!

I'm really interested in staying with you all for a month in the SEPP program for the month of July if that's a possibility this summer. I'd also love to get up there for 5 days or so before the end of May to come be a SEPPer and make sure we're a good fit. I do have a tow behind camper that I could bring this spring if there is not a structure available. I also have a sweet dog who I am really hoping I can bring along as well. She comes with me everywhere and is well behaved. Would these things be a possibility? If so, how shall I reserve dates?

...I also am open to the bootcamp. Not exactly sure what route I should take! In July, I would have to leave for strong wifi 2-3 days per week for my mental health therapy job, but otherwise would really like to participate in learning with you all!

Frances Saalfield wrote:Hi!

I'm really interested in staying with you all for a month in the SEPP program for the month of July if that's a possibility this summer.

Hi Frances,

Unfortunately during July Wheaton Labs hosts the Permaculture Technology Jamboree and the SKIP event, and the SEPPer program pauses for that time.

hi
is boot camp still exists? last message dated 2016! who I may contact to discuss visiting boot camp? a little about my aim to visit, I'm from Kazakhstan completed PDC 2015, skilled in a lot of fields, running regenerative agriculture project 6ha, planning to travel 43° lattitude(and close to it) with similar climate to my place.
wishes
Askar

Askar Seitbattalov wrote:hi
is boot camp still exists? last message dated 2016! who I may contact to discuss visiting boot camp? a little about my aim to visit, I'm from Kazakhstan completed PDC 2015, skilled in a lot of fields, running regenerative agriculture project 6ha, planning to travel 43° lattitude(and close to it) with similar climate to my place.
wishes
Askar

Here is a thread where you can find all info about the bootcamp!

https://permies.com/wiki/bootcamp

My husband and I are interested in learning more about visiting your Wheaton Labs to see the Rocket Mass Heater that was featured in ‘Homestead Living’ magazine. We live in the Bitterroot. How can we schedule just a day visit?

We are not currently set up for day visits, but we encourage you to rent a cabin and fully experience a rocket mass heater.

as luck should have it, we recently posted a 2 minute video of 41 rockety things we have built



And recently we made this infographic about heat https://permies.com/heat   and i like what we did with our movie page here https://woodheat.net/

Within the last few days I priced a tent site at a KOA in nowhere special Iowa.  It was $50.00 a night.  That did include electricity, but my tent isn’t wired for110. On the flip side, it did not include firewood.

Hello! We're looking to come out to Wheaton Labs from 7/19-7/26 and had a couple questions: What will everyone in the bootcamp be working on during these days? Will there be a bootcamp work day on 7/20? Thanks!

~Russ and Emma

R Nay wrote:Hello! We're looking to come out to Wheaton Labs from 7/19-7/26 and had a couple questions: What will everyone in the bootcamp be working on during these days? Will there be a bootcamp work day on 7/20? Thanks!

~Russ and Emma

The bootcamp is 40 hours a week monday through friday.  They meet at 8am sharp, and 1pm sharp, in the library.  Seppers are welcome to join for each half day segment when they are in the mood!

Right now, stephen (the high commander) is focused on building soil.  This involves getting water to a lot of stuff designed to not get water.  Combined with testing the soil and adding mulch.  

There are also a lot of other projects going on each week.  Junk pole fence, and timber work at allerton abbey.  We are doing some harvest combined with drying food and canning.

Seppers can have some influence on projects.  Once you are here, let stephen know what skills you would like to try your hand at.  We don't guarantee it will happen, but there is a decent chance!

R Nay wrote:Hello! We're looking to come out to Wheaton Labs from 7/19-7/26 and had a couple questions: What will everyone in the bootcamp be working on during these days? Will there be a bootcamp work day on 7/20? Thanks!

~Russ and Emma

Do you know what cabin you want for that time frame?

paul wheaton wrote:

R Nay wrote:Hello! We're looking to come out to Wheaton Labs from 7/19-7/26 and had a couple questions: What will everyone in the bootcamp be working on during these days? Will there be a bootcamp work day on 7/20? Thanks!

~Russ and Emma

Do you know what cabin you want for that time frame?

Hi Paul, thanks so much for the info! Looking forward to learning more soil improvement skills, harvesting, preserving and natural building.

We'd like to stay in the RMH tipi.

click on this https://permies.com/pp/250.00/tipi-7-nights

Hello.  My daughter and I would like to visit for two weeks in September.  She is interested in working in the boot camp but because of health issues I will only be able to partially help with things. She is studying architecture and is very interested in sustainable design so is really excited see and learn about everything you are doing.  We are both very interested in rocket mass heaters. I’ve been wanting to build one for years but would like to get some hands on experience first. We are also very interested in the wafati buildings.  We can’t decide if the tipi or the abbey would be better or if you would allow us to stay in each for one week to get the experience of both.  Is there a time in September that would  best to come to get experience with building rocket mass heaters?  We are interested in everything, but if possible would like to arrange our time there when those types of things are being worked on so we can get some hands on experience.

my guess is that your daughter is 18 or older?

If you are interested in wofati stuff, then allerton abbey is your best choice.

Rocket mass heater builds don't happen all that often.  If you want to build experience with cob - then some of our rocket mass heaters could use some updating.

Hi, does anyone know if an original Ants cabin is still in existence? It was built by Jesse Grimes in 2018. An Oahler style, since he lived with him for awhile, it looked like a huge bike ramp with an indented front.
Jesse passed last year and I just want to sit in the only house he ever got to build. Thank you for any info!

Chelsea Mae wrote:Hi, does anyone know if an original Ants cabin is still in existence? It was built by Jesse Grimes in 2018. An Oahler style, since he lived with him for awhile, it looked like a huge bike ramp with an indented front.
Jesse passed last year and I just want to sit in the only house he ever got to build. Thank you for any info!

Oh my goodness, this is so sad. I loved watching all of Jesse's videos of building his house. He was a huge inspiration to my son (who was only 5 at the time). I'll see what I can find out.

I'm looking at his old permies thread, and I found a video of him finishing it up.

Maybe someone at Wheaton Labs can see if this is still standing?

Nicole Alderman wrote:Maybe someone at Wheaton Labs can see if this is still standing?

Yep, I can confirm the "ramp" is still standing. Just by glancing at the thumbnail on that video, I recognize the door.

Chelsea Mae wrote:Hi, does anyone know if an original Ants cabin is still in existence? It was built by Jesse Grimes in 2018. An Oahler style, since he lived with him for awhile, it looked like a huge bike ramp with an indented front.
Jesse passed last year and I just want to sit in the only house he ever got to build. Thank you for any info!

I checked with Paul Wheaton and found out that, since it's not one of the normally rented cabins at Wheaton Labs, you only need to pay the camping price. It looks like $250 gets you up to 15 days of camping. If you wanted to install something to memorialize him there, you could do that (as long as it's "organic or better," so no plastics, chemically treated wood, synthetic paint, etc).

I'm not at Wheaton Labs, so I'm not sure how good of condition the house is in. It might be good to bring a tent, too? The most recent picture I found of it was from 2021:



I hope that helps, and I'm so sorry Jesse has passed ♥

paul wheaton wrote:I think I understand the question. So the answer is: if a person does the Sepper  program, it is as if they have paid the gapper fee. So when their stay is complete, they could choose to stay on longer as a gapper. Or, they could go home and return later as a gapper - the $100 gapper fee would be waived because they already know the lay of the land. Just as no gapper pays the fee more than once.

I don't know if I or anyone has record of me sending in money to rent a cabin back when you had a deal when your neck was injured. I don't care about the rental, I just want to know if I have to hunt down another $100 to pay my bootcamp fee. If you need the Paypal address used I can get that and pm it.

Daniel Schmidt wrote:

I don't know if I or anyone has record of me sending in money to rent a cabin back when you had a deal when your neck was injured. I don't care about the rental, I just want to know if I have to hunt down another $100 to pay my bootcamp fee. If you need the Paypal address used I can get that and pm it.

Hello Daniel!

We can look into this.  You can email me at wheatonlabs@gmail.com with the email address you used and the approximate date.  We will get you sorted out!

Thanks

i think i found it ...

ten years ago ...  

something about "paid for by sister"?

Samantha Lewis wrote:

Daniel Schmidt wrote:

I don't know if I or anyone has record of me sending in money to rent a cabin back when you had a deal when your neck was injured. I don't care about the rental, I just want to know if I have to hunt down another $100 to pay my bootcamp fee. If you need the Paypal address used I can get that and pm it.

Hello Daniel!

We can look into this.  You can email me at wheatonlabs@gmail.com with the email address you used and the approximate date.  We will get you sorted out!

Thanks

My guess is that if you search, you will find the discussions from way back then!

paul wheaton wrote:i think i found it ...

ten years ago ...  

something about "paid for by sister"?

yes this is it. I've been hunting around for hours on mobile and been completely lost. I think things were split up because this wasn't a wiki back then. There was some deal to "dine with the duke of permaculture" with a cabin rental to hustle up funds when your neck was really bad. I got my bus ticket. Thanks for the help!

Daniel Schmidt wrote:

paul wheaton wrote:i think i found it ...

ten years ago ...  

something about "paid for by sister"?

yes this is it. I've been hunting around for hours on mobile and been completely lost. I think things were split up because this wasn't a wiki back then. There was some deal to "dine with the duke of permaculture" with a cabin rental to hustle up funds when your neck was really bad. I got my bus ticket. Thanks for the help!

I take it you wanna come be part of the bootcamp?  Do you have a time frame in mind?

I was told boots were being accepted on the first Sunday of the month in the bootcamp thread yesterday. I would have to travel in the heat today for 5 hours round trip by trike if I needed to cough up another $100. I was just trying to avoid an extra trip like that if possible. Thanks!

Are you saying that you would like to arrive with the new boots that are arriving on august 2?  Are you in montana now?  Your byline says florida.

I have a bus ticket to arrive 7am on the 2nd. I'm trying to pare down what I have to carry so I'm not beating myself up. I can always have more tools and stuff shipped up at a later date. I have a lot of inherited tools with no home to go to. Hoping to feed the tool monster at some point.

Daniel, I sent you an email.