WORK -TRADE 2016
- Office – Data Entry – names & contact information to a Main List. Publicity, email & phone messages.
- Grounds – wood harvesting, cutting, splitting. Mowing / scything lawns.
- Beauty & Order around Red Shed, Kids Cottage, Hobbit Sauna, Open Pole Barn.
- Fix It / Make It – Chairs in Red shed and Strawbale studio. Wood Storage in Red Shed. Garden Cart bicycle wheel and floor replacement.
- Insta Cob – A product we make to sell; bags of earthen Cob mix with project ideas.
- Gardens – prepare, maintain. Hops plant replaces bittersweet on Courtyard Arbor.
PROJECTS 2016 (proposed outcomes)
- Strawbale Studio – Finish Floor, Oil on Benches, Log beauty. Restore surfaces: Earth Plaster on exterior, details on interior.
- Hobbit Sauna – Exterior: Living Roof (west side), Rumford Fireplace exhaust piping, Earth Arch – remove form, Wood Bench in Cob – complete, Exterior base and finish Earth Plasters. Interior: Earth Plasters, Earth Floors, Wood Rounds Floor, make wooden benches, wooden door. Frame in all windows & openings.
- Identity Cabin – Strawbale & Hybrid Wall Systems, Thatched Roof on East, Window Wall on South – find, buy, frame, seal windows. Flooring – replace as needed. Screens – door and roll-up side walls on East Porch. Possible: Loft, Ladder, Band Shell from paper mache.
- Kids Cabin – Rocket Stove Mass Heater – complete construction of combustion unit, bench, and exhaust pipes. Finish Plasters, Earthen Floor & insulation.Site Drainage & Beauty. Stone Wall- finish construction, insulate, install window bucks. Windows – make bucks and complete walls around the bucks. Gene is making the windows. We will make the window bucks to his dimensions.
- Gardens – Agro Forest areas – mulch & label Permaculture Plants. Hay Bale Gardening – get bale, place & plant them in North Garden. Green House – clear and replant for 2016 season. Possibly Ginger, Tumeric, other TBD. Plan Winter Greenhouse – plants & schedule. Option for Aug / Sept – a workshop on Winter Greenhouses with Jared.
- Spiral Chamber: Jack up E side – repair foundation, Ridge Cap – take down and remake, put back up ! (2 Days)
- Design Charettes for the Round Pole Framing the Earth Oven area & West Wing Loft.
- Compost Furnace System – dismantle parts
- Woodshed – Finish living roof details & add support posts.
- Hops Trellis – add beautiful forages poles for support, bench construction.
- A Frame Woodshed by SBS – finish Thatching.
Each Monthly Internship will include THE BASICS + a UNIQUE MONTHLY FOCUS.
The BASICS
- Hands-on Activities based on current projects
- Earth Plastering, Cob, Round Pole, Foraging, Permaculture Gardening & more.
- A variety of additional skills will be offered depending on the focus of each month (see below).
- Classroom Sessions on Design, Site Considerations, Foundations & Framing, Wall Systems +
- Community Connections
- Permaculture Meetup, Full Moon Potluck.
- Events for the public are held during each month. Help prep, plan, participate !
- Food, Training & Materials, Lodging
UNIQUE MONTHLY FOCUS – 2016 schedule
- APRIL 2016 Focus: Strawbale Studio ~ Plaster, Earthen Floors+. Natural Building Outreach. Gardening/Foraging.
- Scheduled Events: April 10 – 15 MSU Art Project. April 13, Permaculture Meetup. April 17 Foraging Class. April 22-24 Rochester Earth Day Festival. April 22 Full Moon Potluck.
- MAY 2016 Focus: Hobbit Sauna ~ Living Roof Section, Earth Plaster & Floor. Gardening & Foraging.
- Scheduled Events: May 11 Permaculture Meetup. May 14 Foraged Brunch. May 21 Full Moon Potluck & Helping Day. May 28 Cob & Earth Plastering. May 29 Earth Oven Workshop.
- JUNE 2016 Focus: Identity Cabin ~ Strawbale Walls, Earth Plaster, Thatching. Garden / Forage
- Scheduled Events: June 8 Permaculture Meetup. June 12 Foraging & Plants, June 25 proposed Strawbale Workshop. July 20 Full Moon Potluck
- JULY * 2016 Focus: Kids Cottage & Earth Oven Round Pole Frame
- Scheduled Events: July 13 Permaculture Meetup July 19 Full Moon Potluck, TBD Exchange Time with Natural Cottage Intern in Ohio. July has Interships & 1/2 Pay Worktrade only. No Wwoof this month.
- AUGUST 2016 Finishing Touches ~ Completing all buildings & Surrounds. Gardening & Foraging. August has Internships and 1/2 Pay Work Trade only.
- Scheduled Events: August 7- 13 NATURAL BUILDING ESSENTIALS ~ 1 Week Intensive. August 10 Permaculture Meetup, August 18 Full Moon Potluck.
- SEPTEMBER 2016 Local Building /Local Resources from the Land. Gardens & Foraging
- Scheduled Events: Sept 14 Permaculture Meetup, Sept.16 Full Moon Potluck & bonfire. Sept. 24 proposed date for Strawbale Studio 20th Anniversary Celebration
On this beautiful rural wooded land 1 hour North of Detroit, experience Natural Strawbale Buildings with Thatched Roofs, Living Roofs, a Hobbit Sauna, Rocket Stoves & Earth Oven, Mushroom Logs, Composting Systems, developing Permaculture Gardens & more !
The Strawbale Studio is a place, and also a program with Internships, Classes & Outreach…seeking to joyfully weave into the Web of Life ! This is a uniquely rich experience.
Instructor & Coordinator, Deanne Bednar, is the illustrator of the Hand-Sculpted House & the Natural Plaster Book, and has 20 years of experience in natural building. Background: Art & Sustainable Futures teacher at the middle school level. Loves to forage, use materials directly from nature in an artful and practical way !
Attend one or more months April through September 2016 & January 2017.