Introduction to Cob Building: Fri. July 10-Sun. July 12

We have finally reached the stage in our outdoor kitchen construction, to get down and dirty and start playing with mud! Join us for a weekend of stomping, and sculpting. Learn how to create your very own outdoor, wood fired pizza oven, garden walls, shed, barn or even a home, using a technique called cobbing. Cobbing is a traditional building technique in which you mix clay, sand, straw and water and then sculpt it into your desired form. Over the weekend we will teach you the basics to starting your own project. Please bring a small tarp (only 1 needed per group of two), wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty and if you prefer, shoes for stomping mud. We prefer our bare feet, but you are welcome to wear shoes, just keep in mind they will get muddy.

Friday July 10: 7:00pm dinner – after dinner join us for a slide show and discussion of multiple natural building techniques.

Saturday July 11: 9:00 am discuss necessary preparations for natural building i.e. roofing, foundation, drainage, soil testing
10:00 am – 1:00pm mixing cob and preparing the sand form for a cob oven
3:00pm – 5pm begin the first layer of the cob oven
7:00pm dinner – after dinner join us for a discussion of plasters and finishing touches.

Sunday  July 12 9:00am -1pm mixing cob and continue the building of the oven.

Cost: $100 and includes dinner and a bed to lay your head (Friday and Saturday)

Wild Fermentation: Saturday July 25 3pm

Jenn and Jon will teach the benefits and simplicity of making  living fermented foods. We invite you to join them in creating a few of their favorites such as kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, Jamaican style ginger beer, and pickled summer veggies. We have a few kombucha “mothers” to give away so you can start a culture at home, birth a new “mother” and introduce a friend to the magical world of kombucha. If you would like to take one with you, please bring a wide mouth mason jar with a lid. Bring a second jar for your ginger bug.

Cost of the class is $20, $10 if you donate veggies such as diakon radish, beets, ginger, garlic and cabbage, or any summer veggie such as beans and tomatoes you may be harvesting from your garden. If you plan on bringing veggies please let us know when you call to make your reservation.

It’s been a week of music here at the Hostel, with drum circles every evening as though we have been celebrating. But celebrating what? Well today that question was answered. One of the favored chickens, Milly had disappeared into the forest a few weeks ago. A few times she returned for food, but just for a moment and then again disappeared. Well today we understood where she had been and the reason the forest called for much celebration through the beat of the drum. Tough, brave, and mysterious Milly birthed four chicks and returned to the hen house today to show off her beautiful babies. They are being kept safe in the top coop. Recently many of the hens have been refusing to lay eggs in the hen house. We have learned that taking all of their eggs trigger them to hide them, thus protecting them from their predators, us. They may also be bothered by the fact that so many people on a daily bases go into the coop hunting.  So for the time being we have dedicated one staff member to be in charge of collecting in the morning.
 

The washing machine has been replaced, railings erected and stairs repaired. Much maintenance has happened this week, thanks to all who has lend a helping hand.  Many thanks to the wonderful yoga teachers who passed through offering morning classes and the many visiting chefs who gave the staff a  break in the kitchen this past week. 

May the Forest Be With You

The Hostel Staff