Efficiency vs. Resilience: Global Supply Chain Collapse – Part 3: (Pre)Historical Trade

November 15, 2021

People have created large, complex cities and societies without fossil fuels in history and prehistory. In only one case that I know of did they depend on the shipment of staple foods and goods — and that was precarious. Traders did regularly move light-weight, valuable, robust goods over long distances, but a collapse in that … More Efficiency vs. Resilience: Global Supply Chain Collapse – Part 3: (Pre)Historical Trade

It’s Porridge Time!

October 25, 2021

Back in 2016, I published a post about porridge. Since then, I’ve looked at warm cereal mushes in Japan and Mexico. I’m reposting the original post below, but I’ll add my new favorite oatmeal recipe, which isn’t just oats. Once upon a time in 1924, Gertrude Skilling Kavaner, of Manitoba, invented what would later become … More It’s Porridge Time!

Efficiency vs. Resilience: Global Supply Chain Collapse – Part 2: Natural Systems

October 22, 2021

Successful natural systems are resilient because they can withstand or adapt to changes in their surroundings. We could look at resilience in the animal, plant, and fungus kingdoms in many ways: pigeons and rats adapting to urban life, wood ticks expanding northward as temperatures warm, or polar bears trying to adapt to a world with … More Efficiency vs. Resilience: Global Supply Chain Collapse – Part 2: Natural Systems

Efficiency vs. Resilience: Global Supply Chain Collapse – Part 1: The Problem

October 20, 2021

If you have been trying to purchase anything lately — from a car or laptop to holiday gifts, or you’ve been watching the news — you’ll be aware of the disruptions in the global supply chain. This is an example of the inverse relationship between efficiency and resilience in systems. This week, we’re going to … More Efficiency vs. Resilience: Global Supply Chain Collapse – Part 1: The Problem

Learn to Spin: Fleece to Yarn — Upcoming Workshop, Oct. 17, 24 | $75/class or $130/both

September 20, 2021

In this two-part workshop, participants will learn to clean, card, and spin wool from a raw fleece, suitable for crochet, knitting, or weaving. We will use fleeces sourced from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival Fleece Show for this class, which will be processed from raw wool into roving by washing and carding in Class … More Learn to Spin: Fleece to Yarn — Upcoming Workshop, Oct. 17, 24 | $75/class or $130/both

Upcoming Workshop — Gathering Prairie Seeds, Oct. 16, 1–3 p.m., Free (Space is Limited)

September 1, 2021

Just down the road from the institute is the Danky-Schelshorn Prairie. Until 2003, this land was under agricultural cultivation, but Jim and Christine decided to turn it back into a prairie habitat. The Danky-Schelshorn Prairie was established when Christine took a workshop at the UW Arboretum. Through their friendship with Steve Glass, they accelerated the … More Upcoming Workshop — Gathering Prairie Seeds, Oct. 16, 1–3 p.m., Free (Space is Limited)

CANCELLED: Join us at the Wisconsin Permaculture Convergence this September — Sign Up Now!

August 24, 2021

UPDATE: The Permaculture Convergence has been cancelled for 2021. Check back next year. It is fall and that means it is time for the Wisconsin Permaculture Convergence, a weekend of classes and socializing with folks from across the Midwest — September 24–26. We’ll be there to facilitate a workshop on thatching and also to attend … More CANCELLED: Join us at the Wisconsin Permaculture Convergence this September — Sign Up Now!

Where Have We Been? Updates from Around the Institute

August 13, 2021

Our posts have been few and far between this summer and for good reason: spring, summer, and fall are our busy periods with crops going in, harvests coming out, and infrastructure and research projects to push forward. Today, we’ll be giving you a short update of the various things going on around here — with … More Where Have We Been? Updates from Around the Institute