Tag Archives: diy

Hand-Dug Earth Works at Edible Acres, Guided by Time & Observation

In this video, hand-tool powered earth works is used to make ponds throughout a landscape. Rather than use an A-frame and topo maps to lay out the excavations, time and careful observation guides engagement in the process, as Sean describes shortly into the video embedded above. Water and topography go hand-in-hand to describe and guide each other.

Taking a slow and deeply observant approach to interacting with Nature harmoniously is reminiscent of the TEK practiced by indigenous peoples, such as in tropical Mayan agroforestry. The human-scale care full engagement with land lends itself to the momentum of the forest. There are not a lot of examples left of this close-to-Earth approach, but thankfully life begets life and every lifeboat, ladder and lamp helps.

Learn Trade Skills

Motivational graphic for repairing, building, making (and don’t forget gardening!)

“An ally in leaving the world better than one found it!” – My own saying

“Build a better world by doing good things instead of being angry at bad guys.” – Paul Wheaton of Permies.com

Repair, Recycle, ReUse

Go to a Repair Cafe near you!

– Fun hobbies
– Fulfilling & educational
– Meaningful, build resilience
– Direct action to build a better world environmentally, socially, productively
– Save money

* Not all trade skill applications equal, YMMV

Crabapple Butter From Tree to Toast & Jelly

These crabapples we picked turned into crabapple butter and a good time with new & old friends.

We milled out the seeds and skins: we boiled the crabapples a bit then put them through the food mill before boiling the resulting mush further into the sauce/butter. The food mill took some technique to use efficiently, but I didn’t work on that ‘station’ much so I’m not sure what the technique was exactly!

A month or two went by with the canned crabapple in the cupboard, and I gave one can to my brother and enjoyed one in my house. Including crabapple toast!