We've now finished four (!) weeks of this program, and the amount of information my mind has absorbed in that time is hardly quantifiable. I'm still trying to figure out exactly where my skills fit best in in this small community and lifestyle, but I'm starting to realize that I have a lot of skills that have gone largely unused. I really enjoyed working with timber framing, round poles, straw clay insulation, and this morning, I actually dabbled in pottery for the first time since high school. Of course there's still the musician in there that really enjoys belting it out and thrashing, but I've really enjoyed getting my hands dirty (quite literally in most cases) on some other projects. The only problem is that I kinda want to pursue all of them, and I hate knowing that eventually I'm going to have to narrow my focus.
I thought I'd give a brief tour of some places around here, just to give you an idea of where I am. You've already seen the project site plenty of times.
This old rundown structure is what used to be one the main buildings on the campus here. The original cob house stood adjacent to it, and you can see the outline of its former shell on the siding. This building is currently unused except for storage, but one of our participants has decided to set up her massage table as you can see, and THAT has been of great value to most everyone here.
In the middle ground is our dormitory/kitchen/common building. The community meeting hall is just behind it. They have everything but toilets, which are outside and I didn't feel warranted a picture. You've all seen an outhouse before, right?
This is one of the previous shelter workshop buildings, affectionately known as the playhouse. Stone foundation, timber framed structure, straw bale and straw clay walls, finished with an earthen/linseed oil plaster and metal and living roofs.
The playhouse to the left with water catchment tanks and "The Boathouse" to the right.
And finally, a vegan breakfast I made myself this morning, including tempeh, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes and a bunch of other small ingredients. If I were better at painting, I would turn this into a still life project.
The owners of our project site are throwing a party tonight, and we're all invited! Cheers!
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