In addition to being the base for our programs, our Bushcraft And Sustainability Field School is also where we experiment with different technologies in order to achieve a simple, comfortable, rural life. It’s a demonstration site, but not in the sense that we create alternative ways of doing things and then revert back to the common way when nobody’s watching. Instead it’s an experiment in living simply and providing for our own needs with simple technologies and minimal off-site inputs. As there is no electricity or running water, we improvise. Below are some of the projects we’ve completed, are working on, and are planning for the future.
sunshower, bucket shower
Solar powered for day use, woodstove for night or cloudy day use.
domes (4 and 8 sided), cones, a-frames. Materials (except cover) gathered on-site.
bough beds, grass mattresses, rope beds. Gathered and made on-site.
humanure composting system, greywater on plants
Vermiculture with some food scraps to produce worms for fishing, garden, etc.
Solar, muscle-generated, gas generator (gas generator used sparingly and phased out)
Passive solar, wood stove, rocket stove mass heater. Using fresnel lens to heat a pile of rocks and transferring them into a shelter (like the coal pans under a bed)
Carry from stream or river, collection from roof, collection from tarps, hand pump well to be drilled.
Series of pools dug in stream, trash cans for rain water.
Solar showers, solar in black pipe, fresnel lens
Boiling on fire, solar with fresnel lens
Evaporative coolers (cotton, clay, etc.), spring box
Campfire, cook stove, fresnel lens
Solar ovens, fireless cooker, bean hole
Solar powered firewood dryer
large, small, barrel, etc.
hand washing, solar clothes dryer (clothes line)
Greenhouse, Row Covers
hoophouses made of saplings gathered on-site
Swales, ditch drainage for runoff in field
For use with fish, game and hides
Chairs, tables, etc. made from sticks and poles gathered on-site.