Mike Haasl

natural building
instruction, regulation, insurance, safety, etc

This badge is about building big things. Build experiences with several styles of natural building that work in a cold climate, with the grand finale being a wofati.

Natural building means no plywood, OSB, waferboard, particle board, commercial glues, paints, cements or man-made materials.  Go easy on the dimensional lumber and fasteners.  

Lots of round wood timber framing, cob, dry stack rock, straw bale, clay based paints, adobe, linseed oil, slip straw …

sand badge
(“lloyd list”) do 3 of the following:
   - create 12 adobe bricks 12x6x3
   - make a clay paint and paint a 4x8 area
   - make white wash and use it on a 4x8 area
   - use low grade cob to fill between logs in a wofati - 20 feet
   - create a rock foundation under a skiddable structure to level the structure
   - add 25 square feet of roof (cedar shakes or similar style of wood roof) to a structure


straw badge
complete all the BBs in the “lloyd list”

Find and assess clay sub-soil for making cob/adobe bricks, try different mixes, keep notes, test them to destruction (smash with hammer, toss in fire, etc), choose best mixes.
build a tiny shed on skids
   - 6 feet wide, 3 feet deep, holds garbage cans and some tools and has a bench on the back side
Build a cob sink
(Donkey’s list) complete 2
   - tree stand
   - Build a solar finder, locate true solar south and leave a permanent marker
   - Hang a door using handmade wooden hinges
   - Build garden gate from found or harvested objects
   - Earth plaster a wall, with varying patterns and color
       - Minimum of 7 feet tall, 10 feet long, at least 2 colors and you made the plaster/paints
   - dirt and linseed oil floor
   - Fill Slip/straw (slip/fill) wall
       - Must be minimum 7 feet tall by 8 feet long by 8 inches thick
   - Build short, dry stack rock foundation
   - Build adobe brick and cob bench
       - 2 butts wide minimum
   - Clay paint a room or rooms
       - Make the paint and cover a minimum of 80 linear feet of wall (equivalent to 20X20 room, all walls)

wood badge
Finish the Donkey list
Build operating window, including frame from scratch
straw bale wall in a wofati
home made wood ash cement
   - build one of the following:
       - 5 gallon plant pot
       - 5 gallon water trough
       - combination bird bath and insect watering station
       - 3 flow form water aerators
Build freezer wofati
   - at least 100 square feet of freezer space and at least 100 square feet of root cellar space
Complete One Of:
   - Cob floor
   - wattle and daub wall for a berm shed
   - Lime plaster a wall or set of walls
   - tree house
       - Must be at least 10 feet off the ground, 70 square feet and have 7 feet of head clearance
   - Build a cob bench with a roundpole construction roof.
   - Build adobe doghouse (or faerie house) with Nubian vault roof
   - Cob sun trap
       - Wall is at least 15 linear feet, height at least 6 feet, arched pass through with door or gate
   - a piece of an outdoor classroom with a rumford fireplace

iron badge

build a wofati and live in it for a winter
   - minimum of 200 square feet interior
   - structure must be 100% complete by October 15.   “live in it for a winter” means October 15 to March 20 with being gone for no more than 7 days

Wisconsin hardy pawpaws?  That's kinda impressive, isn't it?  

How do you modify the reciprocating saw?

Sounds like that method might work on arctic kiwi too...

Maybe don't yell the next time and they'll have a better chance of putting two and two together?  I think the worst they'll get is some light burns on their feet, nothing serious.  But I could be wrong...

I think the simple yes/no answer is gonna be a no.   I think a definitive yes/no answer would require bribing Paul with some coin to drag him away from his work on other things.

        $23,404!

Granted!  You only needed one kidney, right?

I wish that the weather forecast would actually be correct for the next 72 hours so I could plan my homestead work a bit better.

Vandana Shiva?