This is a free event to anybody that has been to wheaton labs before.  
if you have never been to wheaton labs before, simply pay the $100.00 gapper fee and you're in!


This will be our first ever PEP1 certification course.  I think that in the future, the price of the two week course will be similar to a two week PDC:  about $900 to $2000.   But for this very first time, we are still getting a lot of bits and bobs sorted out.  The teachers will not be getting paid to teach, and there might be a few projects where a student knows more than the teachers!


May 20th 2019- June 1st 2019
Wheaton Labs near Missoula, Montana
Free or $100
This event is limited to 12 students and 6 boots (from our permaculture bootcamp).


To get PEP1 certified, you must complete 16 PEP sand badges.  As an example, here are four of the PEP sand badges:


Woodland Care Sand Badge

drop 6” to 8” dead standing tree with a bow saw (action pic)
drop 6” to 8” dead standing tree with a chainsaw (action pic)
drop 6” to 8” live tree with a bow saw (action pic)
drop 6” to 8” live tree with a chainsaw (action pic)
limb 4 trees (4 completion pics)
peel live trees and put up off the ground to dry (2 completion pics)
split and stack dead standing wood as firewood
     o at least one half of a face cord
     o stacked to stay dry
     o completion pic
prep 10 junkpoles
     o cut, limb and stack off of the ground
     o completion pic
repair 24 feet of junkpole fence
cleave 6 shakes with a fro


Gardening Sand Badge

build a hugelkultur
  - 7 feet tall, 7 feet wide, 6 feet long
  - mulch it with at least 4 different kinds of mulch
  - seed/plant at least a dozen different species
  - mostly nitrogen fixers
  - at least three comfrey plants
  - at least three sunchokes
  - at least a dozen sepp holzer grains

chop and drop (50 square feet)

ruth stout style composting (2 spots)


Round Wood Woodworking Sand Badge

club style mallet (hand tools only)
compound mallet (smaller dry stick goes into bigger green stick (head)) (hand tools only)
carve a big, ugly, nearly useless spoon (hand tools only)
add one horizontal log to berm/hugelkultur scaffolding
  - you do the joinery work
  - you can have help positioning the log
  - low quality wood is acceptable
  - loose fitting joint is acceptable
dry peg in green wood project (build one):
  - coat hooks (4)
  - half log bench (six feet long) on four legs
  - saw horse
  - saw buck
  - stool
three log bench
  - 7 feet long
  - 16 to 18 inches high
  - peeled logs
  - saddle notches
  - hewn top
two coat hooks made from small trees and the hooks are the branches on these trees
  - no need for any joinery

Dimensional Lumber Woodworking Sand Badge

sign
  - wood burning
  - tung oil or linseed oil
crappy bird house
  - nails or brads
  - 1x4
lay 10 sticks for decking
  - wood screws with pilot holes


For more information on the PEP program click here.

Daily schedule:

   7:00am - Everybody starts making breakfast.
   7:50am - Everybody has eaten and cleaned up.
   8:00am - class begins
   Noon - Everybody makes lunch.
   12:50pm - Everybody has eaten and cleaned up.
   1:00pm - class
   5:00pm - Everybody starts making dinner.


Starting on Monday, May 20th and finishing on Saturday, June 1.  A day off on Saturday, May 25th.


For more info, reply to this thread.

To register if you have not been here before, click here.

To register if you have been here before, send an email to workshops at richsoil.com