changing tactics

paul wheaton wrote:

I would probably be interested in "How To" videos like How to Make a WOFATI Freezer but more likely if it was just a how to and not a video of a workshop.

Ten times more work, for 10% more income. In fact, the work to income ratio becomes so bad, that there is a really good chance that he final product won't be created at all.

I feel like rather than facilitating workshops, it would be better to focus our efforts on gappers and deep roots people.

So no WOFATI freezer workshop and no video? Do you think you'll still try it?

paul wheaton wrote:
And for all of that there is a huge expense which no workshop critic ever thinks of: if you don't make a first class web page for the workshop, people just don't wanna go. I agree that i have been to events where there would be a welcome party at the beginning and near the end. Very cool. And it does seem like that sort of thing is just what would make for a very good workshop. And the fact that I have zero interest in setting something like that up, is proof that I am not the person to set up workshops. I don't mind showing up and making a feeble attempt to share what little I know - but there is a mountain of workshop details I don't want to fool with.

This sounds like a part-time job/contract waiting to happen, preferably on profit-sharing so that the person has an incentive to promote, fill seats, and make it fantastic. Maybe some compensation based on feedback. Believe it or not, there are people who thrive on putting on events. I actually used to get a kick out of executing a perfect plan, and my instructors/leads (high level academics like the provost) would show up and do their performances, never worrying about the logistics. (Good food->happy funded site visits.) So Sir Paul arrives at the welcome party like a movie star making an entrance, with his favorite beverage on ice, waiting to be handed to him. But they deal with budget, website, promotion, interacting with attendees, housing, directions, name tags and handouts, check-ins, crises and hand-holding. An advanced person can even do your slide deck. (And take quality photos/video, but that's asking a lot.) Done right, you just take the mike at the appointed time. But that's the level you want to play at.

If there isn't room at the base camp for another body, I would bet that there is someone at UofM in Missoula who already does this for soul-sucking academic conferences, and would be thrilled at the chance to do it part-time for a worthy cause. I would have, in my time in academia.

A really on-the-ball person would also be looking for ways to bring the team into Missoula. Example: condensing thee meat-smithing workshop into a "poultry processing for beginners" half day workshop. Do it in Missoula, not on the property, recruit from Whole Food type restaurants, your local eco-rags, food clubs, etc.. I got the worst reaction from our extension agent about offering such a course which means we really need it for people who have never hunted or slaughtered. I needed it. A half-day program a month (not all by Paul - it would probably be a good opportunity for some other folks to learn to present) could add to the kitty in a non-trivial way, while getting the word out that cool stuff is happening at Wheaton Labs. That kind of community engagement and support is hard to put a dollar value on, until you need it when something goes whacko. Again, you aren't setting it up, just show up to do the presentation. Or sending Emily, Sam, etc.

So no WOFATI freezer workshop and no video?

I think it is possible that there might not be workshops. And if there are, they will probably be managed a different way.

Wofati freezer: that is still on my plate. At the beginning of this year, I was sure we would be building one this year. But now it could be postponed to 2016.

Video: If we had less financial stress, we would make more videos.

Apple for you Ann.

I think it would be great to have somebody here who can be the ultimate workshop coordinator. Somebody that would line up the ultimate instructors and make a rich schedule showing amazing detail for each day. Do it all.

With a good workshop coordinator, we should be able to do a dozen workshops in 2015 and maybe two dozen in 2016.

And maybe this person can get paid 20% of the take for the minum class size and half the take after that.

This person would have evening activities planned for every evening, plus there would be a little frosting for before and after for those people that can stay a little longer.

I used to do that kind I f thing when I was at uni - I love it, but live in Spain

It is really really important that you guys don't burn out. While what you do is important, it is more important that you keep wanting to do it. One person cannot a ave the world alone - but he cannot save the world at all if he burns out

It's like the instruction about the oxygen masks on the air-plane: Remember to put one on before you help others put theirs on.

Just finished the PermaEthos podcasts in which Paul, Jack Spirko, and Josiah Wallingford talk tons about their experiences with gappers, wwoofers, and wwopfers. Pretty interesting discussion they get into.

Podcast 297 - PermaEthos Part 1
Podcast 298 - PermaEthos Part 2

Bob Jordan wrote:I'm in Texas so attending events is out, but
I would purchase access to online videos, about specific topics, accessible 24/7.
Bob Jordan

Personally, I like the idea of offering our workshops to perhaps just a handful of in-person, hands-on people, and having video in place to offer it in webinar format - both live and accessible 24/7.

It means having the people and equipment for that available. When I mentioned it to Paul, it was akin to mentioning we'll build a taj mahal because we're still simply trying to get some basics in place.

John Thames wrote:For me personally, living in the "general" area, I've asked Sam before if I could schedule a weekend to come shake hands and help out doing whatever needed to be done for a weekend since I can easily drive there and pack supplies in my truck and I was told you really didn't want visitors (however, if you did to kick me off for some reason you wouldn't even need to drive me back to the airport!). This was before the gapper issues you were having earlier, too. I know you're horribly busy and probably don't want or need people stopping by to be a possible hindrance, but it would be nice if locals could come and see the happenings there.

The free workshops have been really nice for this though the last one was a week long, not a weekend. It might be nice to look at scheduling a weekend free workshop at some point.

Ann Torrence wrote:This sounds like a part-time job/contract waiting to happen, preferably on profit-sharing so that the person has an incentive to promote, fill seats, and make it fantastic. Maybe some compensation based on feedback. Believe it or not, there are people who thrive on putting on events.

I had hoped this would be my role here at wheaton labs, with the assistance of one or more of our PAs. I even started a calendar at one point, listing eco events (now seriously neglected) in my dream of doing this work back when I lived in the Seattle. Currently, my multiple roles as wheaton labs bookkeeper, household/communications manager, back up cook, and groceries and household supplies procurement officer, in addition to still taking care of my own accounting clients, leaves me precious little time for workshop/event management.

Paul really likes the idea of someone taking this on and making it sing. Which would be very cool.

I heard someone - was it Ianto? - who did "working weekends" - where people could show and work, but had to bring their own tents (and their own food?). That might be an idea.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:

Ann Torrence wrote:This sounds like a part-time job/contract waiting to happen, preferably on profit-sharing so that the person has an incentive to promote, fill seats, and make it fantastic. Maybe some compensation based on feedback. Believe it or not, there are people who thrive on putting on events.

I had hoped this would be my role here at wheaton labs, with the assistance of one or more of our PAs. I even started a calendar at one point, listing eco events (now seriously neglected) in my dream of doing this work back when I lived in the Seattle. Currently, my multiple roles as wheaton labs bookkeeper, household/communications manager, back up cook, and groceries and household supplies procurement officer, in addition to still taking care of my own accounting clients, leaves me precious little time for workshop/event management.

Paul really likes the idea of someone taking this on and making it sing. Which would be very cool.

Jocelyn could any of this be put on a gapper? Like someone setup to be a gapper and then while they are there you can put anything that needs done to them. Like you/and pauls go-fer person to be around for whatever comes up? At least they could pick up the kitchen help and pickup etc or be there to help and make things go faster. Then if theres none of that to do for a day or something they can do more outside planting/building help.

I know i would be up for anything that needs doing when i finally can make it out (:

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:

Bob Jordan wrote:I'm in Texas so attending events is out, but
I would purchase access to online videos, about specific topics, accessible 24/7.
Bob Jordan

Personally, I like the idea of offering our workshops to perhaps just a handful of in-person, hands-on people, and having video in place to offer it in webinar format - both live and accessible 24/7.

It means having the people and equipment for that available. When I mentioned it to Paul, it was akin to mentioning we'll build a taj mahal because we're still simply trying to get some basics in place.

The webinar piece is the space I have been putting a lot of thought in lately. I think some of the How To's lend themselves nicely to this format. What if this was presented in a Power Point style with short videos embedded? Or the videos could be on YouTube and accessed by the facilitator. I think the webinar would eliminate the travel / time constraint on folks.

The videos would take some time and commitment from people at the lab. But.... I don't think all of the work would have to be done from there.

If I were to do something like "How To Hugelkultur" it would look like this:

Session: 90 - 120 minutes.

Agenda:

What is Hugelkultur?
What wood to use or avoid?
How do you layer it? (5-10 minute video for this)
Small scale / broad scale.
How the heck do you keep the sides that steep? (5-10 minute video for this)
On contour versus not on contour? (5-10 minute video for this)
TEFA (10-15 minute video for this)
Sun scoop for microclimate. (5-10 minute video for this showing the sun angle calculation to warm that specific area two months before planting)
How to create a Cooling microclimate?
Hugelkultur combined with a terrace. (5-10 minute video for this)
Seed mix for 3 climates. Cool to cold, Dry, Tropic

Resources:
Books
DVDs
YouTube
Podcasts
Threads

Q&A at the end with Paul

The Power Point slides could be sent to the people that attended. So they would have a take away. And the software used to show the Power Point can also be 'recorded'. So that people could watch it over and over and people that didn't attend the live session could still watch. That would give it 24/7 availability.

A.J.

I know you are burnt out at the moment but what about partnering with an event planner?

No one want to eat yucky food. I'm sure that organic food from the area can be sourced locally and prepared by a camp savvy chef with an assistant.

Flashy websites go along way.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:
my multiple roles as wheaton labs bookkeeper, household/communications manager, back up cook, and groceries and household supplies procurement officer, in addition to still taking care of my own accounting clients

I finally just shortened my last job description to "other duties as assigned" because I never knew what would hit me each day. My calendar was always empty, because as I used to say, "firemen don't have appointments." Jocelyn, should we call you Major Domo? Majorette Doma? Chatelaine of the dukedom?

I'm sure you'll find someone great to do this, and maybe some more useful stuff too. It's actually a cool opportunity for the right part number.

kadence blevins wrote:Jocelyn could any of this be put on a gapper? Like someone setup to be a gapper and then while they are there you can put anything that needs done to them. Like you/and pauls go-fer person to be around for whatever comes up? At least they could pick up the kitchen help and pickup etc or be there to help and make things go faster. Then if theres none of that to do for a day or something they can do more outside planting/building help.

I know i would be up for anything that needs doing when i finally can make it out (:

You are awesome, kadence! The short answer is yes, we do put a lot on the gappers, and no, some if it can't be delegated, or is still being learned.

The long answer involves many things. For example, we had a gapper kitchen assistant, but he left to go to the Rainbow gathering, and our cook took the weekend off, so we were short-handed for a bit again. Then we had some new gappers arrive, one who has been happy and awesome cooking, but they are just here a week or so, and have barely learned where/why/how the kitchen operates and they will be gone.

We had gappers assigned to be "commanders" of different parts of common areas of base camp (responsible for keeping them clean, etc.), but some of those folks left, and those roles are dropped during workshop times - like now, the whole month of July.

Sam has been doing a great job assisting with communication, including fielding gapper requests, picking them up at the airport and bus station, running some errands for us, though he's also our Kickstarter fulfillment guru right now as well as videographer, janitor, and administrative assistant just to name a few roles.

Bookkeeping, my own accounting client work, and large-$ shopping trips are all on me. Not something we can delegate just yet.

Plus, with so many young people, some (most or many?) of whom have never kept their own household (well, beyond a dorm room perhaps) before moving here, there is a LOT to learn. In many ways.

So if one comes as a gapper.. as a "got no plans, stay until i want to leave or they want me to leave" pretense... the person could very well be there several months and have plenty to keep busy filling in for varying commander people.. am i right?

Currently i am tying up ends and saving money. I could very well see myself in this scenerio. Haha and i know what ya mean about people not runnin their own place before! I havent full on run my own house with any amount of people but i am runnin our tiny place currently. And i grew up with tons of people always comin and going and am used to that.
((And boy do i get bored now just cookin for one or two!))

From reading others posts it seems to me that you have a lot of busy people, which is true for most of the world. I think you can use this to your advantage. I think the DYI for first timers is such a good idea. We all wish we all could attend workshops, but time and money limiting what we can attend. It seems a lot of people will not consider attending a workshop until Wheaton Laboratories is mature and Krameterhof like. I personally wish I could be there to see the beginning of all the things that work, and all the things that don't. That information would be priceless, and would save a lot of us who plan or own property a lot of time. Once your place is more established you could start focusing more on workshops again.

I know you said it is not worth the time and effort to produce how to videos. What if you tried the following?

1. Put a vote out for the top five videos people want to see made next year. Then what areas they would like to see for each topic that wins.

2. For each topic figure out what would be a $ amount that would be profitable for each video.

3. Do a Kickstarter, or some type of prepaid service. Only make the videos that are profitable and worth your time.

4. Let everyone at permies know you are looking for a video/editor, and have this person be responsible for it all. ( Organizing the shot list, information that needs to be covered, footage, etc.) There are so many videographers that are talented, and would love to do something like this, especially if you were paying them. If possible find someone more local. University of Montana, and Montana State both have film programs, and if a student could pay for some of his/her schooling by shooting video, I am sure they would be excited. Another option would be a Summer internship at Wheaton lab for a film student.

5. Streaming only, so you do not have to deal with DVDs.

First, we followed a lot of advice in this thread for the rocket mass heater workshop and we filled the class in about three days. So I'm really glad that we checked in here about this. Out of 25 student spaces, 14 of them are paid. And it looks like we will run in the red again. But we are still reworking all of this and building our infrastructure.

I heard someone - was it Ianto? - who did "working weekends" - where people could show and work, but had to bring their own tents (and their own food?). That might be an idea.

I think we have room to do something like that once in a while. I know that we had some projects where we thought "we need 20 people to do this so it will be done in two hours instead of two weeks" - so we put the word out and it worked great!

I've been calling these "informal workshops". The idea is that folks will provide a heap of labor and we will put a small amount of effort into mixing in something interesting also.

I know you are burnt out at the moment but what about partnering with an event planner?

I think that is the key.

So if one comes as a gapper.. as a "got no plans, stay until i want to leave or they want me to leave" pretense... the person could very well be there several months and have plenty to keep busy filling in for varying commander people.. am i right?

I think we are getting close to the point where we can be pickier. We are getting the best results with people that have been here for months. I'm looking forward to people that have been here for years. Plus, people that are here for just a week and have listened to all the podcasts have been great too.

Right now I think it is possible that the kitchen commander position could dissolve into something that is managed by the group.

It seems a lot of people will not consider attending a workshop until Wheaton Laboratories is mature and Krameterhof like.

I think there is a huge amount of truth to that.

Put a vote out for the top five videos people want to see made next year. Then what areas they would like to see for each topic that wins.

I think there is something to be said for that. But I prefer to create stuff based on what I think would be cool rather than what the masses want. The masses have some influence - but I just always feel like if you chase "what would be cool" everything ends up awesome. And when you chase what others want, or chase the dollar, then everything usually ends up icky.

Do a Kickstarter

Part of what I thought with the past kickstarters is that i could take, say, the cards and use them to infect more brains via commercial channels. Only I haven't quite figured that out yet. And I think I should nail that down before starting the next kickstarter.

Erica at Northwest Edible has just posted a link for buying the cards with the discount. That's excellent strategy - she has big numbers. I'm curious to see what that generates.

I handed out a few coupon codes. This is a huge learning experience for me. I was hoping that I could see which coupon sold how many, but so far I have not found a way to find that out.