This week the topic of our daily conversations has been Permacuture. We've been talking about working with nature, not against it. Patterns in nature, culture and personal rituals. We've talked about bio-mimickery and the importance of biodiversity. This has gotten me thinking of examples in life that are good examples of Permaculture. My first thoughts came to Paul Stamets and his work with mushrooms and then meandered to Willie Smits and the reforestation  project he started in Borneo. I stumbled onto this video that seems to be a very good example of Permaculture.

This blog will have nothing to do with CR or Moab. I might as well be writing about accepting the reality of unpredicted weather or arriving places on time.

I flew home last Friday to catch a week of maple-sugaring season. My family cultivated a small sugarbush on our property where we have about three hundred and fifty taps. Normally, we make eight to twelve gallons a year finished maple syrup.

In the spring, sap that is stored in the roots of sugar maples rises to supply energy for leaf production. The process of making maple syrup begins by collecting this sap. Every year, we drill small holes into the trees and connect the holes into a network of tubes, which flow downhill to a central tank. We boil the sap in a wood-fired evaporator. It takes forty gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. It is really simple all you do is subtract water; nothing is added.

I met an old timer once. He said he had been boiling maple syrup since before I was a glint in my father’s eye. His face was deeply wrinkled and his hands looked like they had been constantly laboring for fifty years. I shook one of his gnarly paws and he told me, “Always be on time and never complain about the weather.”

Day 53

Pattern.  Edge.  Orders of Magnitude. 
These three words describe naturally occurring phenomenon everywhere.  They are also terms commonly used along with permaculture, which is basically the observance of natural ecologies and then the attempt to mimic them in our human habitats.  Simple, right?? 

Not quite.  Somehow we have lost touch with the attributes and cycles of nature.  But we are not too far gone.

I am reminded of a poem by Wendell Berry:

What We Need Is Here

Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.

This has been an exciting week, from a day of strawbale presentations and house tours by Doni and Laura Bartels, to tearing the plaster off an earthbag wall, to getting started on revamping a passive solar water heater for Drake and finishing up a big manly roofing job (if you're Hunter) and getting ever closer to our groundbreaking. 

Happy Sunday everyone! Last night we had our second potluck dinner, good food, good company, great time!  Thank you to everyone who brought some "love" to the table (since that was our theme).
Today the CR team is going to Castle Valley to look at different straw bale homes in the area.  I'm looking forward to a delightful day outside!  Dear Moab, think sunny and warm, please.

Cheers,
Sarah

Today saw me working at Drake Taylor's. Drake is a CR board member and is currently remodeling his house with a straw bale wrap. Working on his house has given us an excellent introduction to natural building. At Drakes, we have been able to apply Doni's "classroom" lessons.

Today, however, I was not natural building. I was roofing with Joel, a Moabite. Drake was kind enough to hire me to help with the roof. Our first CR build has not started yet and it is really cool to learn a new skill as we wait. The views from the roof are incredible.

-Hunter

Day 42

Coming to Moab was a leap for all

Of the Community Rebuilds interns,

Mostly due to the fact that we’re all acting on faith right now, waiting for

            that day in

March when we will finally break ground.

Unfortunate events in the form of snow and unforeseen delays have

Nearly dampened our spirits.  However,

In spite of our frustrations, we have relished in scenic hiking

Trips, involvement in local affairs, regular

Yoga classes, hands-on experience slipping and cobbing a

Real straw bale home, and

Encouragement from our vivacious project manager, who

Boosts our spirits every morning with his

Unfaltering charisma.  No matter what,

I’m convinced that we’re in for the experience of our

Lives, a chance to change a small bit of the world as we all

Desire to revolutionize the way homes are built.  Now if only the

Sun would melt the snow and let us begin.  

-Alicia

Moving to Moab has been an interesting experience. I have taken the opportunity to follow my passion. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with that. Although there have been unexpected challenges and expectations that were not met, I cannot deny that I have been learning a tremendous amount of information on natural building techniques. Doni has been an amazing teacher.

My most challenging obstacle so far has been being sick for a large majority of the month of February. Watching jealously as everyone else went to work on Drakes house, went on a hike or out for a run has been painful to say the least. I am very happy to say that I am now almost fully recovered.

So now it is on to bigger and better things. We will be breaking ground in the near future. The excitement has been building up for a month and a half and I am sure we will start off with a bang! Apparently this has been the worst winter in Moab in 30 years, so the fact that the ground is still frozen is another problem. Hopefully by next week the gods will look favorably upon us and we can begin our mission of affordable housing for all. In the words of Emily Nihaus, “ Thaw…please thaw!”

-Kat


“Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.” - Glade Byron Addams

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”  - Dr. Seuss

Hmmm. I just LOVE Dr. Seuss; Don't you?  As I sit here in the corner of the Community Rebuilds household I see six beautiful people.  Kate is sowing a newly screen printed fabric onto a second hand bag she picked up at the local and beloved Wabi Sabi thriftique, as she silently drinks from her 80's wolf coffee mug.  Molly and Alicia are sitting next to each other on the green love seat as they widdle away on their laptops... changing the world with one tap of the keyboard, I'm sure.  Jodi, also on her laptop, is undoubtedly working on something important either to Community Rebuilds, like our plot plan we recently took measurements for, or working on her portfolio, perfecting her work, as we architect students often do.  Hunter is at the opposite end of the table from Jodi, enriching his mind with the works of Issac Asimov, "The Gods Themselves".  Kat is across the Futon from myself discussing matters of utmost importance on her cell phone as she double tasks her social duties to Facebook and Twitter in order to keep everyone across the long and endless internet span connected to the Community Rebuilds world.  I am, as you can see, pit pattering away on the keyboard, typing to the beat and sounds of the Gin Blossoms that delightfully drift from the speakers on Alicia's computer.

This is a typical morning for the CR interns.  Colorful yet simple, we now begin the rest of our day.   


Cheers,
     
 Sarah

Following our project manager’s (Doni) advice, three of the seven students decided to go on an adventure to learn more about the dirt we will be building with.

            With dirt it is important to identify if it consists of mainly clay, sand or silt. To do this, we need to play with a lot of dirt to understand it. We are collecting dirt from all over Moab to try to compare it and identify its components. In our shed, we have almost 100 jars from Wabi Sabi to fill with DIRT!

             Alicia, Kate and I piled into the car and drove around Moab looking for good dirt. We went down Kane Creek Road stopping every so often to dig. We collected a good amount of samples over the course of a couple miles. Cars driving by took double takes to see what three ladies were doing digging on the side of the road. But, we have our samples and made it home without being questioned.

            Now we have to pour water into the jars and see what kind of separation occurs in the dirt to determine the components. Oh, the excitement of learning about natural building! At least we will understand what we are working with….maybe one day we’ll be as in touch with dirt as Doni…one day….

Molly

We've all just completed our third week with Community Rebuilds in Moab!  Here's a little summary of what we, the seven musketeers, have been up to:

1.)  Moving into the CR house, located conveniently off of Main Street, and equipping it with all the modern necessities of a livable space.  After rearranging, painting, cleaning, laying down carpet, installing the washing machine (thanks to Doni and Hunter), and a few other handy projects here and there.....VOILA! We now live in the most awesome communal house ever! Good job team!

2.)  Learning about conventional construction and building with natural materials and preparing ourselves for our first build!  Doni Kiffmeyer, our instructor and project manager, has been our source of knowledge and inspiration over the past few weeks.  He's not only teaching us about conventional construction practices but about making natural paints, natural plasters, cob, adobe, the list goes on and on....

3.) Working on Drake's straw bale house which is currently under construction.  Weather permitting, the CR team has been helping out on the construction site, spraying a slip coat along the straw bale exterior, among other things, getting it ready to plaster!

4.) Anxiously awaiting March 1st when we will break ground for our first build!  I know all the interns are excited and ready to build! 

5.) Exploring Moab, and our beautiful beautiful surroundings!  This is one of the coolest towns I've lived in thus far... Moab rocks!  Every day is an opportunity to try something new, meeting locals and getting to know the area.  Arches and Canyonlands are just minutes away... adventure and good energy is abundant here... you see it in the landscape, and you see it in the people you meet! 


- Let's meet the interns who will be speaking up over the next few months!

Kate Heath (Wisconsin) : Kate is our "Den Mother";  she is responsible for house intern community needs.  Kate is great!

Molly Wike (Illinois) : Molly is our "recruiter";  she is working to spread the word about Community Rebuilds through the student population and recruit interns for next term.

Kat Thompson (Colorado) :  Kat is our "social butterfly";  she is the link to our social networking as an organization, forming and updating our facebook, twitter, flicker, and utube pages!

Jodi Dubyoski (Maryland) :  Jodi is our "communicator"; she is the connection between the interns of Community Rebuilds and the board of Community Rebuilds.  Without Jodi, we'd all be lost in translation!

Alicia Cripe (West Virginia) :  Alicia is our "money maker"; she is in charge of fundraising.  Right now, she is working on some awesome new t-shirt designs for the CR Store!

Hunter Hague (New Hampshire) : Hunter is our "documentor";  He is in charge of documentation of Communtiy Rebuilds projects, discussions, etc through video and camera. Hunter's videos should be available through our utube page within the next few months!

Sarah Franklin (Tennessee) : Sarah is our "web master"; she is currently working on developing a new website for Community Rebuilds.


... Just a short synopsis... more blogging to come!...thanks to all our supporters!

Cheers,

Sarah