2010 Emerald Earth Workshops

Back to the Future: Indian Traditional Landcare Practices and Modern Community-based Biocultural Restoration
May 15-16

Cost: $130 (includes camping and meals) *

This 2 day workshop at Emerald Earth will be taught by Dennis Martinez, a specialist in ecocultural restoration. He will focus on how the land looked when the indigenous Indian people were burning these mountains and valleys on a regular basis, and how this positively affected the integrity and health of the North coast ecosystems while providing a rich bounty for its peoples. Dennis will relate this ecologically healthier and fire-proof past with the degradation that has occurred since Indians were removed from their landcare roles, and share ideas on how to restore a semblance of the past while adapting to current environmental conditions. Fire as a restoration tool will be discussed, as well as how to deal with water loss, fire hazard, diseases like SODS, and the names and uses of native plants. Finally, Dennis will talk about intergenerational community biocultural restoration and restoration economy during these hard times. A tour of Emerald Earth community homes, gardens and on-site forestry/restoration projects will be included.

Dennis Martinez is of O’odham, Chicano, and Swedish heritage. He has worked in ecocultural restoration for nearly 39 years in temperate terrestrial, and tropical terrestrial and aquatic-marine ecosystems as a restoration and ethno-ecologist. He is Founder and Co-Chair of the Indigenous Peoples’ Restoration Network of the Society for Ecological Restoration International and is Co-Director of the Takelma Intertribal Project. He works internationally with community-based Indigenous Peoples on cultural rights, resource access and protection, climate change, forest restoration, and bridging Western Science with Traditional Ecological Knowledge. He is a well-known speaker and writer, has received awards in restoration and social justice, and was an awardee in the Ecotrust-Buffet Award for Indigenous Conservation Leadership in NW North America. He currently is focusing on climate change, is on the steering committee of the Indigenous Peoples Climate Change Assessment, and consults with the National Congress of American Indians and the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Network on Indigenous adaptation and mitigation of climate change.

Natural Building Intensive
August 7-14
Instructors: Michael G. Smith, Brent Levin, and Darryl Berlin
Fee: $640 (includes camping and 3 delicious organic meals per day) 10% discount for full payment by July 5

This workshop will familiarize students with the basic family of natural building materials: clay or earth, straw, wood, and stone, and what can be accomplished with each alone and in combination with the others. At least half of each day is spent on hands-on building with a high ratio of experienced instructors. This year's projects will focus on earthen infill techniques (slipstraw or light straw clay, slip-and-chip, clay wattle and wattle and daub) and on rough and finish earthen plasters. We will also build an earthbag retaining wall. Our site has examples of many other natural building techniques: cob, straw bale, cordwood masonry, adobe floors, round pole timber framing, living roofs, lime fresco, clay and casein paints, and much more. Lectures and discussions cover passive solar and other design principles for energy-efficient, compact natural homes. There will also be an extensive tour of the most complete natural building demonstration site on the West Coast, with an emphasis on natural materials harveting, off-grid electrical generation, greywater reclamation, composting toilets, and more. Evening slide presentations and videos, a sauna with a dip in our pond, and wood-fired pizza from our earthen oven round out this 7-day intensive experience. The workshop begins Saturday evening the 7th and ends Saturday afternoon the 14th.

Build Your Own Earth Oven
September 11, 9am to 5pm
Instructor: Michael G. Smith
Fee: $60 for full payment by August 16; $75 thereafter. Includes lunch.

Learn to build your own wood-fired oven from inexpensive natural materials including clay, sand, straw, and bricks. An earthen retained heat oven can be built in a day for less than $100 and will give you years of fun and the best pizza ever. Prized by bakers for making crunchy, chewy crust, these ovens are also great for vegetables, meat, and more. Build one in your backyard, school, or park. Also a great starter project for children and beginning builders. The workshop includes instructions on testing your clay soil for building and on firing and using the oven. Instructor Michael G. Smith has been building earthen ovens for more than 15 years.

Acorns for Food
November 13

Cost: $75 (includes lunch)*

What you will learn:
We will look at the important role that acorns played in the lives of Northern California's indigenous peoples and learn how we can use this nutritious, delicious food as a staple in our diets. There will be hands-on processing of acorns, food samples, and recipes to share. Learn to identify the primary oak species of Northern California and know which ones make the best food for you and your family.

Mushroom Foraging Workshop #1 Boletes, Coccoras & Shrimp Russulas November 20th ---------------------- Mushroom Foraging Workshop #2 Chantarelles & Matsutakes December 18th ---------------------- Mushroom Foraging Workshop #3 Black Trumpets Febuary 20th, 2011

Each session focuses on the species most likely to be abundant at Emerald Earth on that date. Other edible species may be encountered. Topics Covered: - How to read the landscape to find a particular mushroom. - Patch and forest maintenance - Basic mushroom identification - Tips on cutting, carrying, storing, cleaning, cooking and drying. Workshop begins at 9am and concludes at 5pm Sessions Consist of: - Morning and afternoon foraging walks - Cooking demonstration - Post lunch presentation - Debrief of walks Enrollment limited to 7 participants per session Cost: $75 (includes lunch and a portion of the day’s harvest)* Receive a discount by paying in advance for two or more of the series.    2 Workshops - $100    3 Workshops - $150

* 10% discount for full payment 30 days in advance and to local Mendocino County residents.

For questions and to register, email workshops@emeraldearth.org or call 707-972-3096

FOR A LISTING OF MORE COB (AND COB RELATED) WORKSHOPS BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.COBWORKSHOPS.ORG.