Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Audrey Voss on October 14, 2010 at 11:33am

Not that I can do all these but here is a list I made a while ago of skill shares I'd like to see. Stars by the one's I have some experience with.
Composting*
Raising chickens*
Canning - pickles, jams, salsas*
Cooking with fresh herbs/Raw food prep*
Greywater systems
Cob oven building
Bike maintenance
Herbal medicine making
Wine/Cider/Beer/Meade-making
Small solar projects like solar shower construction or solar phone charger
Composting toilet construction
Wild food foraging - maybe we can get Green Dean (eattheweeds.com) to do a class. He charges $20 I think.
Printmaking/screenprinting
Clothes-making/knitting
Participatory music - people with no music skills could be taught one group song with a variety of provided instruments and by the end of the session make a recording for everyone.
Youtube/short documentary making
Poetry writing
Any kind of folk art making
......

Permalink Reply by Eric Stewart on October 14, 2010 at 1:43pm

Great ideas! I wanted to bring up the cost issue. I said originally free classes, I think some things should be free dependent on the skill/equipment involved. Should the Teacher be allowed to charge a fee for his/her time? My thinking is yes- but no more then $30(Varying) and dependent on the skill being taught. I know personally that I would love to go around and teach as much as possible- but it's not fiscally possible for me yet.

For Example: I love mushrooms! I would love to do a mushroom growing class- but it would require expenses and things to be bought ahead of time( pressure cooker/jars/Vermiculite). By charging for the class I can constantly go around teaching it and it would be worth my time.

Permalink Reply by jungle jay on October 18, 2010 at 3:23pm

I do archaeological prehistory and natural history tours for free as a Pinellas County volunteer at Brooker Cr. and Weedon Is. Preserves. However, I also speak to other groups and societies. A decent docent should receive a stipend and expenses. The egalitarian way is to ask for a suggested free will offering in the invitation with a gentle reminder at the introduction of the speaker. The speaker can also opt to add a humerous reminder if she/he feels comfortable and so inclined. There is nothing wrong with a little "shame free (as opposed to shameless) self-promotion". Those who can contribute usually do, those who cannot may still benefit equally and everyone is the better for the experience. How utopian?
j

Permalink Reply by Stacey S. on November 4, 2010 at 11:09pm

OMG! Honestly, I created this list and when I pressed save, i saw my list next to Audrey's photo and thought it strange. When I looked closer, I noticed, wait, that's not my list. but great minds think alike! so i'm keeping my list here anyway. It's most of the topics for which I have some info on my own web site!
Here are some ideas if anyone is interested in learning enough (or already knows enough) to present.

• Composting methods (vermi, tumblers - make a tumbler, wire vs wood), building soil, the importance of mycorrhiza, sheet/lasagna mulching, toilet
• Creating a food forest
• hydroponics
• plant propogation
• capturing rain water (make a rain barrel)
• bees
• building a cob overn, solar dehydrator, worm bin
• preserving food: canning, solar ovens, pressure cooking
• harvesting and preparing your produce
• growing fruits (berries, apples, pears, plums, grapes, jujube, guava)
• growing perennial vegetables (sunchokes, heirlooms that self sow, katuk, chaya, malabar spinach, bay beans)
• growing and using herbs in cooking, medicinally, in crafts, burning
• keeping chickens
• making meade, wine, beer, vinegar, cider
• raising tilapia

can anyone else come up with some good ideas?

Permalink Reply by jungle jay on November 5, 2010 at 9:50am

Audry and Stacey have rocked out an amazing litany. We should all be encouraging everyone we know to participate in the "Great American Teach-In". All you need is a subject that you are passionate about and some time to visit a classroom. The event is scheduled for Nov. 18th in Pinellas. You can walk into any schools office and ask or go online and search "Great American Teach-In" to find out more. The skills and knowledge that we have to offer for a sustainable future could not be better spent than on those who will inherit it. jj

Permalink Reply by Stacey S. on January 13, 2011 at 9:29am

Dakota and I attended a great presentation by Rebecca Conroy on making water kefir... which opens the doors to all kinds of fermentation: kraut, pickles, milk kefir, kombucha, and more.

Also, we two of our newest members are aquaponics gurus... Tonya and Gina of Green Acre Organics.

And Deserie is our resident herbalist.