2015 super weeks, may, june, july and august

These are gonna have a strong focus on ants and ant village. The idea of having a super week is the idea that people would like to gain a sense of community by having many like minds together at the same time.

No food is provided, so folks will need to bring/buy some. And, the flip side is that folks don't have to do a damn thing. They can watch the clouds go by or chase butterflies if they want. They get a spot to pitch a tent and they could use a bunk if one is available. Wofati 0.7 will be kept open for the community and has propane burners and an oven for cooking. Wofati 0.8 might be available too. Bunks are a sort of first come, first serve thing.

For those folks keen on projects, you can help ants get their fences up, food systems in and maybe build some wofati. People could also choose to help build infrastructure that's for ants and gappers. I hope to have a long list of projects with price tags that I could use some help on - maybe folks can chip in on those a bit.

I just talked to Evan - he's glad to run point on this. Maybe even get lots of help on his ant project.

Yes, people will need to pay the gapper fee (unless they have been here before). In return, they get a ride to and from the airport, a full tour, a spot to put a tent (and maybe a bunk), a place to poop, access to the showers ... A cut of the fee is handed over to Evan. I think the fee is important to weed out "our people" from folks that just want to camp somewhere.

We might put limitations on how many people we can have on certain weeks. The super week in July is also the permies.com staff gathering. Several of the staff will definitely be here, I'll let them give a shout out if they want folks to know they will be here. If people with certain skill sets will be here on certain days and those folks are open to running point on a project, they might wanna give a shout out in this thread.

may 11-17

june 15-21

july 20-26 (permies.com staff)

august 24-30



What have I left out?

I have my tickets booked for the staff week!

It's going to be a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime trip for me, but I can't go through my whole life without ever visiting the lab and finally getting to meet everyone. Some things just have to be done...

paul wheaton wrote:

What have I left out?

A promotional flyer to share?

I'll be there too for the staff gathering!

So excited you will be having "super weeks". I am a learner, no land, wanting to spend time at your location. For those of us who have not been there, what are the fees, how do you guarantee a bunk, and what projects do you think a new PDC grad (middle aged) and Master Gardener would be a good fit? Can't believe I might really get to come!!! Looking at June unless the Permies week allows newbies. My best, Natalie

what are the fees,

Send $100 via paypal to paul at richsoil.com.

how do you guarantee a bunk

My official policy is the clearly state "we don't guarantee a bunk" and then when somebody shows up and says "I was a guaranteed a bunk" we point and laugh.

That said, we do have 14 bunks currently open. And it is possible that there will be more soon (when Tim and his family move out of wofati 0.. And we have two tents and one more tipi in storage.

Of course, if a person is shelling out something more like $100 per day, then I think we could arrange a lovely stay in the tipi with the rocket mass heater - a sort of glamping experience. Complete with plenty of blankets.

what projects do you think a new PDC grad (middle aged) and Master Gardener would be a good fit?

By June .... I'm going to pretend that we have three ants by then. So you will have three ants to guide you to projects. From a horticulture perspective, I've always thought that june is a very good time for mulching: the soil has warmed and the rains will be stopping; gather up mountains of twigs, sticks, needles, etc and layer them onto your growies; for hugelkultur one might want to come up with fifteen clever ways to mulch the steep sides.

But I would think that a recent PDC grad would like to experience a little bit of everything.

unless the Permies week allows newbies.

Newbies allowed.

Let's see the smoldering mean streets of Las Vegas at 115 degrees this summer or the cool inviting skies of Montana ... hmm .. tough call ... are kids allowed ?

Enrique Garcia wrote:are kids allowed ?

Supervised children where the children don't disturb the adults are fine.

I like the idea that a kid zone (peanut village) on armin and lori's land (west) gets created at some point. So then that would be a ways away from the adult stuff.

I like the idea that the peanut village is a place where designs consider kids first. And then other spots are where innovation has priority over "think of the children!"

Is it possible to come for most of the week but leave early if you need to get back home?

Sam Hubert wrote:Is it possible to come for most of the week but leave early if you need to get back home?

Fine by me. The $100 gapper fee helps me be apathetic about stuff like that.

Sam Hubert wrote:Is it possible to come for most of the week but leave early if you need to get back home?

More on the topic: People can come for a month or two if they want. Or an hour or two.

The idea of the "super week" is so that people who want to come when there is a bigger crowd can come when a lot of other people are also looking for a bigger crowd.

I am coming in July. Just priced the ticket and it is almost $700.00. Whoa. Glad to be coming though. I have some questions about logistics so do I get in touch with Evan directly? Many thanks.

Natalie Manor wrote:I am coming in July. Just priced the ticket and it is almost $700.00. Whoa. Glad to be coming though. I have some questions about logistics so do I get in touch with Evan directly? Many thanks.

Sure.

Thanks Paul. How do I get in touch with Evan?

Natalie Manor wrote:Thanks Paul. How do I get in touch with Evan?

Send him a purple moosage: https://permies.com/forums/user/profile/154819

So...I would like to come to the July super week and hang with and contribute to the process of the place, but with no food or a place to stay, then it does not seem feasible to me.

I am not sure of the cost to "guarantee" a bunk, but Evan stated it would be exorbitant. I guess I am missing the point of coming, contributing, learning and taking the learnings back to where I can then "learn" others.

I am looking forward to following the narrative of how it all goes.

Evan, thanks so much for the info...you are going to be a terrific ant.

Natalie Manor wrote:So...I would like to come to the July super week and hang with and contribute to the process of the place, but with no food or a place to stay, then it does not seem feasible to me.

I am not sure of the cost to "guarantee" a bunk, but Evan stated it would be exorbitant. I guess I am missing the point of coming, contributing, learning and taking the learnings back to where I can then "learn" others.

We will probably have something like 15 bunks. I have no idea if 47 people are coming, or zero. If 47 people are coming, how many bring a tent?

If somebody absolutely needs a bunk, I suspect we can pick a number out of the air and nail something down. And then somebody has paid for a bunk, in advance, for certain days. Of course, if there are lots of spare bunks, then it will seem weird to have paid for that.

As for food: yup, we have totally changed the way we do the gapper program. For now. No food. And on the flip side, you don't have to do a spec of work.

The issue if that if a person shows up and is fed $200 worth of food, does $30 worth of work, causes $400 worth of damage and slows down the rest of the group, then that isn't really progress. On the other hand, if a person shows up and is fed $200 worth of food, does $1500 worth of work and causes $2 worth of damage - totally worth it.

Some day, in the future, I think there might be an ant that is really great with people and will state that he will feed anybody that comes along. But we aren't there yet.

I am open to the idea of paying somebody to build a fence around one acre of land so that that spot can grow food for future gappers. So then when gappers come in the warm season, they might be able to have 70% of their food needs met.

At the same time, if somebody comes and is willing to take on a project, I am willing to pay to have certain projects done. So people fly in, buy groceries in town, get a ride out here, and by the time they go home they have more money than they spent on groceries.

And if people want to fly in, grab some groceries, and spend their time here watching the clouds pass by, they can do that too.

paul wheaton wrote:
may 11-17

june 15-21

july 20-26 (permies.com staff)

august 24-30

I'm coordinating potlucks each super week at base camp. We'll set up banquet tables in the auditorium/shop.

I'm thinking 6 p.m. Saturday each week: May 16, June 20, July 25, August 29.

We'll also have a tour each week, date/time to be announced. (Since I announced this, if no one else wants to lead the tour, I will!) There is a LOT to see, discuss and learn about. I think we currently have 9 rocket stoves (6 at base camp and 3 on the lab) and 3 pocket rockets, massive hugelkultur berms, the two wofatis, the tipi, the porta-cabin, the skiddable showers, two poopers, sepp holzer grain, haybox cooker....you know.

Here's Cassie's awesome overview of things here at wheaton labs this last winter.

this year I can't afford the trip but once in the next years I'll for sure fly over the ocean and visit the labs! For someone it's Varanasi in India, or Santiago de Compostela in Spain, for me it's Wheaton labs in Montana and the Krameterhof in Austria, just different perspectives.
give us tons of photos!!!

I'm Planning leaving after the PDC finishes out, but coming back for the Super week in July. I wanted to make sure there wasn't a population cap in place for that one =). Hopefully I'll be able to get a little done on my own place and have something to share.

No cap and we'd love to have you back!!

July 20-26 is looking to be pretty amazing.

Not only are some of your favorite permies staff visiting, plus the four ant villagers and other cool people here, we will also have Ernie and Erica here for the week!!

We'll be doing some way cool things to upgrade the wofatis - maybe cob walls, maybe straw bale walls. Don't quote me on this part because things are changing almost daily and I have this annoying habit of tuning out the construction talk. (A non-construction-minded gal can only take in so much. )

Here's a pic Josh posted showing the new tractor forks in action in front of wofati 0.8. Note the new siding on the front by Jesse - lookin' good!!

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:July 20-26 is looking to be pretty amazing.

Not only are some of your favorite permies staff visiting, plus the four ant villagers and other cool people here, we will also have Ernie and Erica here for the week!!

We'll be doing some way cool things to upgrade the wofatis - maybe cob walls, maybe straw bale walls. Don't quote me on this part because things are changing almost daily and I have this annoying habit of tuning out the construction talk. (A non-construction-minded gal can only take in so much. )

At the moment, it does look like for July 20-26 we will have

about eight of the permies.com staff here,

Ernie and Erica Wisner, guiding people on natural building,

some active cob projects,

some active straw bale projects,

the excavator will be running and there will be earthworks,

I think there might be solar stuff.

And, of course, all the stuff that the Five different ants are working on.

Overall, I think that if we had our shit together, we should be charging people some serious coin for this event.

Just a reminder, if you have been here before, you don't need to pay the gapper fee again.

If you have never been here before, you need to either pay the gapper fee or make arrangements through a current resident.

Your July super week is done, and I hope a good time was had by all.

It's been awhile since any mention was made of what might be going on, and I curious if you have any particular plans or agenda for the August super week?

I'm trying to decide when in August to come see the neighboring property. Like Jocelyn, I'm an introvert, and a large group might be exhausting.

I've been listening to the podcasts about the changes from gappers to ants, your experiences of the 20 month party, and I heard mention of farm animals. One of the options I've wondered about is what to do with my two milk goats in my absence. I assumed there were not predator proof shelters for night time, so my portable electric fences and solar shock box would be of no use. But if you had sheep and pigs, possibly there is an artifiact? If I did bring the goats with me, and there was a space, I could make cheese while there. Feta, Chevre, and Queso Fresco would be the easiest, I just need a clean space to work in, and water to clean up.

Is this an option?

Whom can I communicate with directly about visiting animal facilities?

Thanks
Thekla

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Your July super week is done, and I hope a good time was had by all.

It's been awhile since any mention was made of what might be going on, and I curious if you have any particular plans or agenda for the August super week?

I'm trying to decide when in August to come see the neighboring property. Like Jocelyn, I'm an introvert, and a large group might be exhausting.

I've been listening to the podcasts about the changes from gappers to ants, your experiences of the 20 month party, and I heard mention of farm animals. One of the options I've wondered about is what to do with my two milk goats in my absence. I assumed there were not predator proof shelters for night time, so my portable electric fences and solar shock box would be of no use. But if you had sheep and pigs, possibly there is an artifiact? If I did bring the goats with me, and there was a space, I could make cheese while there. Feta, Chevre, and Queso Fresco would be the easiest, I just need a clean space to work in, and water to clean up.

Is this an option?

Whom can I communicate with directly about visiting animal facilities?

Thanks
Thekla

Hi Thekla - good questions! I think the July super week was excellent. From what I hear, the ants and other participants loved learning from Ernie and Erica. There are loads of pictures in other forums/fora of all the cob stomping and such.

As for animals, we don't yet have predator-proof housing for critters. That's something Tim and Kristie had built for their animals and they took those sheds, etc. with them when they moved.

Evan is housing Sir Chops (a pot-bellied pig) though Sir Chops' housing is a brush pile for now. Evan has a mobile coop he plans to use/build for ducklings arriving in August, though again, that's not exactly shareable with goats.

Making cheese, even a milking demo would be super, super cool, though you would be unfortunately on your own, I think, for keeping your goats safe. I'm not sure if you'd feel comfortable using whatever transport (a livestock trailer?) as their nighttime housing when here.

As for introvert planning, current residents include: Paul and myself at base camp; Evan, Fred, Josh, Curtis, Jesse, Carol-Anne, Brian at the lab. Brian has been here part time at times, though his girlfriend Tasha might move over here as well which would be a bit more full time. Chris, ant #5 will be in August, too (on the lab, of course).

Paul and I don't generally join in on the workshop / work party stuff because we are fairly mired in the management (plus household and cooking stuff for me) of not only wheaton labs and permies, but other business things as well.

Slightly OT for this thread, but FYI: we have a couple visiting Jul 31-Aug. 20th (more or less), plus a family of 3 visiting on Aug. 3-4 and Aug. 21-22, though these folks, I think, will primarily be at base camp with Paul and myself.

Some folks share meals or cook together, though for the most part, each person is on their own for food and meals. I like the idea of a big Saturday night pot luck at base camp for everyone to come together near the end of the super week.

super week Aug. 24-30 - no head count for additional folks just yet.

super week Aug. 24-30

Who would be interested in a beekeeping workshop on August 30th? (Click a thumbs up on this post or reply!)

We want to harvest some of the honey in our hive on the lab as part of a class taught by Jacob Wustner of Sapphire Apiaries. (See more about the classes Jake put on last year in this beekeeping classes thread.)

Hi all! I'm hoping to get some directions aboit visiting the Lab! My partner, I and our 2 littles just got to Montana and want to participate in the super week but also have interest in visiting the Lab before then and getting some bearings. We are self contained and have our gear and can help with many projects and meals.

Rachel Rickard wrote:Hi all! I'm hoping to get some directions aboit visiting the Lab! My partner, I and our 2 littles just got to Montana and want to participate in the super week but also have interest in visiting the Lab before then and getting some bearings. We are self contained and have our gear and can help with many projects and meals.

Rachel,

I was assuming that one of the residents would contact you. Did they?

We've split off a new thread just for our last super week: see Our last super week of 2015! August 24-30!

Are there any plans for super weeks in 2016?

Danielle Peck wrote:Are there any plans for super weeks in 2016?

Click here to see some potential options.