Research Update — Deer Hide Tanning Instructions, Part 2

Continued from Part 1. So far, we have skinned, fleshed, salted, and rinsed our hide. Refleshing (optional) This is just a repetition of the scraping done in the first step. After salting and rinsing, more membrane (and a bit of fat and flesh missed before) can be scraped off on top of the hide-scraping bench … More Research Update — Deer Hide Tanning Instructions, Part 2

Research Update — Deer Hide Tanning Instructions, Part 1

I am continuing my first foray into deer hide tanning. In this post, I’ll outline the methods that I’m following. Tanning has three main steps with a few additions (given in parentheses): skinning and fleshing, (salting and rinsing, refleshing, hair removal,) pickling and neutralizing, and softening. We’ll go through these step by step. Before we … More Research Update — Deer Hide Tanning Instructions, Part 1

Polyculture: Letting Nature Do the Work — Contribution from Andrew Flachs

As gardening season comes to an end, many of us are coming to terms with an unwelcome competition for our fruits and vegetables. As much as we love a good tomato or cabbage, there are plenty of creatures who love them even more than we do. The fight against insect and other animal pests is … More Polyculture: Letting Nature Do the Work — Contribution from Andrew Flachs

A Look Forward — The Institute’s Move to Madison, Wisconsin

Right now, the Low Technology Institute exists largely online and in my tenth-of-an-acre lot in urban Saint Louis, but this is about to change. Over the next few months, we’ll be packing up tools, chickens, bees, and projects and moving them to our new home city, Madison, Wisconsin. Why Madison? My partner, Lauren, and I … More A Look Forward — The Institute’s Move to Madison, Wisconsin