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.
Shower
sunshower, bucket shower
Sauna
Solar powered for day use, woodstove for night or cloudy day use.
Shelters
domes (4 and 8 sided), cones, a-frames. Materials (except cover) gathered on-site.
Beds
bough beds, grass mattresses, rope beds. Gathered and made on-site.
Sewage
humanure composting system, greywater on plants
Composting
Vermiculture with some food scraps to produce worms for fishing, garden, etc.
Electricity
Solar, muscle-generated, gas generator (gas generator used sparingly and phased out)
Heat
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)
Water
Carry from stream or river, collection from roof, collection from tarps, hand pump well to be drilled.
Water Storage
Series of pools dug in stream, trash cans for rain water.
Hot Water
Solar showers, solar in black pipe, fresnel lens
Water Purification
Boiling on fire, solar with fresnel lens
Refrigeration
Evaporative coolers (cotton, clay, etc.), spring box
Cooking
Campfire, cook stove, fresnel lens
Ovens
Solar ovens, fireless cooker, bean hole
Kiln
Homemade
Wood Cooker
Solar powered firewood dryer
Root Cellar
large, small, barrel, etc.
Laundry
hand washing, solar clothes dryer (clothes line)
Greenhouse, Row Covers
hoophouses made of saplings gathered on-site
Earthworks
Swales, ditch drainage for runoff in field
Solar Dehydrator
Smoker
For use with fish, game and hides
Furniture
Chairs, tables, etc. made from sticks and poles gathered on-site.
What are we missing? Have any good ideas? Join our online network and let us know. You can watch this list as it grows on our field school page.
