Sepper Program: Theme Weeks

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Hugelkultur Gardening

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Quilting

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Earthworks

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Timber Framing

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

One of the SKIP aspects (Please add the one you would be interested in as a new post for others to vote on!)

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Rocket (Mass) Heaters (in the fall)

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Woodworking

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Junkpole fence / dog pen week (Happening in June!)

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Wofati week

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Pond Building week

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Health week (relaxing, sauna sessions, exploring the nature)

Rocket Mass Heaters and Ponds leading.. But with just one vote!

I would be interested in combining a few of these! Maybe a skip earthworks badge bit for pond building? Excavating for a WOFATI structure?
I would part with coin to rent time on Rex, if it’s in working order

It looks like we have a theme for May 5th: Hügelkultur Gardening! I'm bummed I'll miss it

My week though, May 19th, is still unplanned.
It seems like a few folks might also be interested in REXcavator Week, and I seem to remember Paul mentioning on the podcast wanting to build more ponds. Like way more ponds...

Before seeing this thread, I had made a thread of my own for discussion about SEPPer + WWOOF week Spring '24.
I have a few random ideas in there (power tools, loaning things to the library, etc) and open to more!
Really hoping to work on fun projects :)

Click thumbs up /+1 to vote for
Metal work Welding, forging and forming.  Making hand tools, bladed tools such as scythes. Fire pokers and shovels for example.

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Food Preservation - Dehydration, canning, etc.

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Foraging

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Natural Medicine - Tinctures, salves, etc.

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Spending the Thanksgiving at Wheaton Labs

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

If you would like to come to Wheaton Labs for Thanksgiving and would enjoy cooking!

click thumbs up / +1 to vote for:

Spending the Christmas at Wheaton Labs

click thumbs up for:

    anything to do with finishing allerton abbey

click thumbs up for:

    appliance/electrical maintenance and repair week

click thumbs up for:

    fat camp week

(Over the last couple of years, I have lost 133 pounds. Maybe we can do some light physical boot activities and some talking about food stuff.  Dunno, kinda gauging interest)

click thumbs up for:

    the ugliest, darkest, most challenging things that need work


(what can i say, we get people that are really good at taking on the most challenging things - they are not particularly interesting, or particularly permaculture ...)

Paul Fookes wrote:Click thumbs up /+1 to vote for
Metal work Welding, forging and forming.  Making hand tools, bladed tools such as scythes. Fire pokers and shovels for example.

I would come to make a scythe! Wood working also...? In order to create a scythe. If we paid for or brought metal, could we then take it home?

Finishing the chicken pens! Let's get chickens at wheaton labs!!

While I understand that many of the many things lying around basecamp and the lab are due to people making them for BB's and the like, I think it's absolutely possible to have a course or week learning how to build something else than yet another a kindling splitter or three-log bench. As Clay suggests, package a week where people can maximize BB's while building something with a long-term benefit to the lab.

Some of the things always needed at a place like Wheaton Labs is materials for projects.
It's a great place for people to come learn how to set up  their own place.
Like running a solar sawmill, to learn the basics of different types of wood, grain, and how best to harvest and use them.

Why not have a week where
Day 1
Felling trees (JR or Mike would be great for this!)
debark trees and sort for roundwood (lay to dry)
Day 2 set up the sawmill and start sawing 4x4's
Day 3 continue with 2x4's
Day 4 floorboards and siding
Day 5 shakes and shingles

You could bring in Jim or Justin to help build a machine for shakes, because honestly, few people are going to froe their way to anything else than shakes for a very small shed. Now that would be a whole other week/month, learning the basic engineering of old farm machines, how to build, run and fix them. The mechanics are similar for the running of many of them, while the use is different. Like splitting wood for firewood, or making shakes. Same idea, different setups.

Here's an example of a shake machine (I'm sure they've got a name, but I've got no idea what they'd be called in the US).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4S8RnoNfAc

How fun would it be if Wheaton Labs had one of those? Tamarack is an excellent tree for shakes, and I know that those grow on the lab. Only don't take down the ones by the sauna, those are excellent shade trees! There could be a shake shed full of bundles of shakes, dried and ready to go for the next project that needs a new roof or siding.

Of course, more drying sheds would have to be built for this to happen, else all that wood would just be warped and destroyed, wasting all those resources.

I think it's important that each event is part of a context rather than just isolated experimentation, so that there's a clear goal that each action contributes to. Setting a system up so there's future lumber available for builds is exactly what you'd do when setting up your own homestead. Building sheds to keep things dry and not let your stuff go to waste is taking care of the resources you already have.
Having these building materials ready and available makes it super easy to come back six to twelve months later to build some more houses. Not multiple month projects like the wofatis, but another type of earth-friendly eco build, like a well insulated tiny house using very local lumber and alternative insulation, whether that's Beau with mycelium blocks, Uncle Mud with clay-slip and straw, or something else.

Comfortable, rodent free housing is a great gift that lends peace of mind while you're busy doing 800 other things to make your farm better.
With all the materials in place, you could build a house like the love shack in a week.
Day 1
Foundation (plinths or skids, whatever you want)
Day 2
Framing (unless it's roundwood, that takes a lot longer)
Day 3
Insulation (if it's readily available with scaled up ways of making it, and ready to go when you need to install it)
Day 4
Roof and siding
Day 5
Windows and doors

In short, a series of weeks for SEPPers and others to come and learn things, while building momentum for future events at WL.
Then you could do quilting so each new house has a quilt made for that bed, and window quilts as well.
Once the root cellar is ready, you could have  week of building a path between it and Allerton Abbey, where much of the future produce will be made.
Then build a big, user-friendly outdoor kitchen in conjunction with the garden, right by the path to the root cellar. That way, you can host events for canning and such, have a place to prepare them, store them (root cellar) and a clear path to get to them for future use.

Attached a photo of a roundwood/dimensional lumber outdoor kitchen from a workshop last year, mid build, for inspiration.

Rebekah Harmon wrote:

Paul Fookes wrote:Click thumbs up /+1 to vote for
Metal work Welding, forging and forming.  Making hand tools, bladed tools such as scythes. Fire pokers and shovels for example.

I would come to make a scythe! Wood working also...? In order to create a scythe. If we paid for or brought metal, could we then take it home?

I am thinking that the theme week stuff is a shift from our workshop stuff.  A huge focus is to focus on getting our high priority stuff done.  

Highest priorities:

   - everything allerton abbey

   - berm shed repairs

   - get judy running

   - get four paddocks at basecamp complete (chickens)

   - get all gardens to produce more calories than are consumed on site

   - finish details with solarium

   - get in firewood

   - create a LOT of lumber

   - upgrade all willow feeders (for possible future kickstarter)





 

loooooooong meeting with stephen.  

Here are the dates for our first ever theme weeks!

harvest (sep 15 to 21)

rocket     (october 6-12)

wofati (oct 20-26)

round wood timber framing (nov 3-9)

thanksgiving week (nov 24-30)

junk pole fence / dog pen (dec 8-14)

winter + christmas (dec 22-28)

harvest (sep 15 to 21)

canning

running the food dehydrators

freezing

maybe some fermenting



what else?

rocket     (october 6-12)

rmh in the red cabin:

   put finishing cob layers on the cob hat
   get signage up
   tests

rmh in the fph:

   needs to have stronger interior supports
   rework a part that has some tiny gravel dribble
   add juicebox

new cob hat in bartell's bunkhouse

wofati (oct 20-26)

finish the wing walls

finish the window quilt 2.0 stuff

junk pole gates

gardening/mulching/hugels

round wood timber framing (nov 3-9)

wing walls at allerton abbey

a couple of spots in the berm shed could use some love

add to the pavillion?


what else?

thanksgiving week (nov 24-30)

all day thursday is off - cooking and stuff

run the sawmill

put up a bit of firewood

anything left to do to call allerton abbey 100%?

the day after thanksgiving is "wood box day"

maybe monday can be "bun warmer day" - to improve the rocket mass heater known as "the bun warmer".  This might be a bit of cob work.

junk pole fence / dog pen (dec 8-14)

maybe at allerton abbey

maybe at basecamp

probably at the dog star

winter + christmas (dec 22-28)

christmas is on wednesday  --  all day off

maybe monday can be "christmas baking day"

tuesday is christmas eve (a half assed holiday)

- I will go into missoula and get chinese take out for everybody
- egg nog
- fudge
- confections
- add an ornament to the tree
      o must be something that can be used for many years
      o says your name plus "christmas 2022"

maybe friday can be the half assed holiday "day of fire - a half day of improving fire stuff"

- build indoor and outdoor firewood racks
- do all rocket spots have
      o a kindling cracker
      o a poker
      o an ash bucket
      o ample fire starting paper and a propane torch
      o a nearby fire extinguisher
      o good firebricks for the wood feed
- find quick and easy ways to upgrade rocket mass heaters
- make improvements to the bun warmer space
- evening with the bun warmer
     o plus a tiny camp fire in the middle (with our little camp fire contraption)
     o smores
     o hot dogs
     o hot drinks (tea, spiced cider, etc.)

paul wheaton wrote:harvest (sep 15 to 21)

canning

running the food dehydrators

freezing

maybe some fermenting



what else?

Pickling, preserves (fits within canning)

Do you have enough holzer grain growing to have a harvest?  Corn?  Potatoes?

Could put up some meat & cheese with a good source of raw material