Invisible Structures

July 9-12, I took a course called Invisible Structures. It wasn't quite what I expected. The idea behind the course what that we would focus on a what a community needed to be sustainable other than highly efficient buildings. These need can be broken into spiritual, social, environmental and economic categories. I was a little frustrated during this course because of how much we designed to expand the social capacity. We focused more on intentional living facilities, or even non-intentional apartment buildings, than on towns or regions. I suppose this makes sense for a three day course, but I have to say, for my interests, this class was pretty unsatisfying. While there was definitely some great conversation and there were some interesting ideas and techniques that would improve an immediate community, it was just too small for my liking. Small scale and not focused on cutting carbon emissions enough. I am a student of Richard Olson, obviously. I have to remember (and I gave this note to my class) that my instructor and several of my classmates were from Canada in provinces that run primarily on hydroelectric power. They don't have to worry quite as much about cutting emissions.

Here are my notes from the class. Remember, you can click to make them bigger.




One thing that I starred to blog about was "the mythology of place." It's the attitude, or the declared vision. It's what the place is known for. For example, Berea's mythology (which doesn't imply that it isn't true) is of equality and progressiveness. Because of the history of the school and how they market themselves, this is what they are known for. It is possible that Berea is recognized as a sustainable school based greatly on this mythology of progressiveness. While Berea certainly is making some big efforts towards a more sustainable campus, they are nowhere near as perfect as a lot of people seem to think they are. The mythology, however, influences opinions and views of the school. A place will eventually gain a mythology - a mood or reputation - so it's a good thing to think of as a place is being developed. However, once a mythology is developed, it's hard to change, which is why coal mining communities are often so reluctant to try using a renewable source of energy - they have a mythology of pride in their work.

A Short, Concise Version of My Day.

Today, I made a small dent in my list of things to-do. I painted the holding portion of the composting toilet a dark brown (I couldn't find any black paint.) I climbed a tree to remove an old platform and line that was tied. I measured angles and sizes for a repair on a tent platform (but couldn't actually cut any wood because there was a class in the shop.) I cleared a new tent area, then moved my tent to it because there are plans to cut several trees around my campsite. I helped clean and set up studios for classes starting this weekend. It was a busy, wonderful, sun-shiny day.

This evening, I started my Invisible Structures course. So far, we have been talking about the definitions and markers of sustainable communities. More about that to come.

Refreshed After Vacation

I took a week-long vacation to visit Boston for a cousin's wedding, family and friend visiting and general relaxing and escaping from the day-to-day. The time off was appreciated and wonderful, but I was very excited to get back to Yestermorrow.

And now I'm back. I've been back for a couple of very busy days.

There are two new interns - Anna and Ashley (male.) Tim (1) and Kendall are no longer interns. Kendall is gone and Tim is playing the role of resident builder. The new interns are nice - haven't gotten to know either extremely well, but am comfortable. The chickens grew quite a bit while I was gone. I almost couldn't tell which one was Betty Davis.

There is a push to get a building site (on campus) ready for a fabric-cement cabin. I don't know much detail about the actual structure - it will be built by several classes, I believe - but I have been helping a bit with getting the site prepared. Yestermorrow now has a giant brush pile that will be the source of an epic bonfire. We're also moving a building that a class constructed to it's site, which involves some tree-cutting. Perhaps I will write more about that this weekend.

I have been working closely with Dave, overseer of interns and grounds committee. This morning, we walked around campus identifying tasks that needed to be done. I am now in charge of making sure they get done, directing work-traders when available. The list is long and random. Today, I worked on getting some of those smaller tasks done.

I look like an unhappy tree hugger in this picture. I am marking potential camp-sites. I have identified several tent-sites and one excellent platform site. I am hoping to head up the building of the platform.

The tree house needed massive cleaning. The pine needles were getting clogged in the cracks of the walkway, which can lead to rotting. While clearing them out with a pocketknife was a slow process, it was fairly easy and relaxing. I worked clearing the pine needles for a while, but then turned the assignment over to a work-trader so I could work on projects that required a little more skill or knowledge of the campus.

I thought I had gotten a before picture, but apparently, I did not. This ladder had a broken rung that needed replaced. Upon further inspection, I saw that the rung above the broken one had some rot issues happening. (These rungs are old - the tree is obviously growing around the rungs.) I spent the later part of my day repairing the two rungs using hardwood that had been cleared out of the concrete structure's site. The poplar rung (white) and the rung below it were my new additions. I'm actually extremely proud of myself for being able to do this without any guidance (other than what kind of wood to use.)

Anna, Ashley and I all went to visit the NBI project today. Last time I saw it, timbers had just been raised:

Today, it looks like this:

They started strawbaling today. It was a very exciting time.

In the picture above, Mike and Bryce re-tie bales. I apparently don't know the name of this mechanism, but it's very tight and precise. When I straw-baled for the studio that I worked on last summer, we used twine, tightening it by twisting it around a stick, then shoving the peg into the bale. Different approaches to the same problem.

The class notched out a corner of that bale and set it upright against a window frame. The notched corner fit the post.

Normally, bales are not placed vertically, but for lining the windows, it is appropriate.

The last two evenings for me have been lecture evenings. Yesterday was one of the Summer Lecture Series, which are free every Wednesday. Deva, the NBI instructor, spoke to us about natural building compared to green building. The room was packed.

Tonight, I sat in on the NBI's lecture on moisture content and heat flow in an earthen (primarily strawbale) structure. Took lots of notes (click to expand):



I am completely exhausted, but feel great. I've been running all day (I had breakfast duty this morning) but am very proud of what I'm doing. I've said it before, but I love being independent with projects - I love having the know-how to take on a project by myself. I feel confident with this list of things to do.

I start my Invisible Structures course tomorrow.

The Beginning of the Mystic Seventh

After the longest Greyhound ride ever, I managed to land in Warren, Vermont. This is where I will be spending the majority of my summer - in a tent on the campus of Yestermorrow Design/Build School. Here, I will play the role of the "Mystic Seventh."

There are six Yestermorrow interns who all have very impressive resumes. They were hand-picked from a competitive bunch of some of the coolest grad-student-aged people in the nation. And I, a to-be Junior at Berea College in Kentucky, am their "mystic seventh." I have just enough knowledge of natural building and friends who know important people to be the unofficial seventh intern.

I will be doing all the jobs that the interns here do. Which is a lot. From morning chores cleaning up the classrooms and bathrooms to making repairs to managing the food gardens to preparing for workships, I will be doing it all. Over the summer, I will be taking four classes: Green Development Best Practices, Constructed Wetlands, Invisible Structures: Strategies Beyond "Going Green" and Community Design/Build.

There are a lot of interesting people here. A three-week building intensive course is starting today, so there are a lot of people who are just getting to campus. I met several teachers and students, many of whom are working to get their certificate in Natural Building. There are many interesting backgrounds - a lot have their own environmental businesses/non-profits... Ages vary greatly. Currently, I'm sitting in on their first class - sounds great! I'm sure I'll be around these people a lot in the next three weeks.

I'll let you guys know more when I know it. Tomorrow is my first official day of work. I have to meet up with the group at 8:30, which is not a problem, except that there is no cell phone signal out here and my cell phone is my alarm... I'm going have to find a form of alarm.

Looking forward to this summer!

Waiting on the Greyhound. 8am, yesterday.