We bring nonindustrial subsistence technology to (over)developed societies. We exist at the nexus of ancient, ethnographic, and modern subsistence. We aim to 1) identify ancient and contemporary nonindustrial technologies appropriate for use in modern, small-scale, self-sustaining infrastructure; 2) create do-it-yourself, resource-light solutions to sustainability problems; 3) provide our findings to the public for free use; and 4) create platforms to share information related to sustainability, especially solutions derived from ancient or ethnographic sources. We prize simple solutions over complex ones and eschew needless complication.
For the last two years, we’ve been trying to breed mite-tolerant bees out of regular packages here in southern Wisconsin. Read more about our theory and methods in our grant application. Our project has been funded by the Blooming Prairie Foundation and the native-seed producer and plant nursery Agrecol, which also hosts our hives. We … More Bee-Breeding Project — Lab Note 3.02
Last year, we harvested industrial wheat by hand. We learned a lot from that process and decided to plant our own heritage wheat. In mid-July, we will harvest it using scythes and sickles. Then it has to get tied into sheaves and stood up in shocks to dry. Once dry, it has to be threshed … More Upcoming Workshop — Hand-Harvesting Wheat and Rye, Jul. 17( & 18?), 10 a.m.–4 p.m., $40 (CANCELLED)
In this three-part workshop, participants will learn to harvest, process, and spin flax plants into linen thread suitable for weaving. We have a small flax plot that we’ll be harvesting by mid-summer. Join us and learn to harvest this easy-to-grow plant and then walk through the steps to turn it from a dried stalk into loose … More Flax to Linen — Upcoming Workshop, July 10, 24; August 7, $85/class or $225/all three
Our friends over at the Madison Area Permaculture Guild are offering a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course, starting in June. If you read our blog and haven’t heard of permaculture, you should definitely have a look at this wide-ranging discipline that integrates agriculture, land management, animal husbandry, and other allied fields with an eye to … More Interested in Landscaping, Food Systems, and Land Management that Mimics Natural Systems? — Sign up for a Permaculture Design Certificate Course from Madison Area Permaculture Guild
We’ve had two of our hens going broody all spring, named Dolores O’Riordan and Billie Holiday. Most chickens today have had the instinct to sit on a clutch of eggs bred out of them. Broody hens don’t lay eggs, which isn’t great for industrial egg production. This leaves humans to take over the hatching process. … More Warning: Cute Chicks Ahead — Thanks to the Victorian Technology Institute for Help with a Broody Hen
We haven’t been posting on the blog lately because we’ve been really busy with spring planting. We also have an on-going bee-breeding project. We’re preparing for our upcoming timber framing work days. And we’re running a compost study. Our local paper, the Evansville Review, recently gave us a short write-up on the front page.
This year we’ll be building a timber-frame compost and garden hutch, and we’d like to invite you to come join us to get some hands-on experience. Timber framing was the dominant wood-based building method for hundreds of years before modern stick framing was developed to take advantage of smaller, cheaper pieces of wood. Instead of … More Timber Framing and Thatching — Upcoming Work Days — Saturdays & Sundays June–July, Free (Space is Limited)
Last fall I planted winter wheat and rye without any powered, mechanized equipment. This involved furrowing and seeding. Unfortunately, most studies of sewing density are for large fields worked by tractors. They also assume modern, dwarf wheat. Since I had none of these, I tried out various densities. I wrote it all up in a … More Update to No-Till Wheat Study
A chainsaw and log splitter can make quick work of a cord of firewood. But they’re dependent on fossil fuels. How do saws and splitting axes stack up? We tested it out this spring as part of our Low Tech R & D series. You can find this and other tests at the project page. … More Firewood: Saw and Axe vs. Chainsaw and Splitter — Low Tech R & D
In this episode, we summarize our comparison of a snowblower, snow shovel, and snow scoop for clearing a driveway. … More Saw & Axe vs. Chainsaw and Splitter — Low Tech R & D, Video No. 2