Class Descriptions
Everything Else:
Mad Skills for Urban Self-Sufficiency
listed alphabetically
WHY ARE THERE NO DATES?
New dates will be listed on February 15th, 2012.
Our 2012 session starts March 15.
Yes, the class you are interested in will most likely be offered again, we are busy making sure that happens right now.
The best way to know when your class is scheduled is to subscribe to our newsletter, which you can do using our contact form, link on left sidebar.
Thanks for your patience !!!!!
Additions and changes in RED. Classes in GREY not yet open for registration.
Classes without dates listed are curricula not happening this season, but will be offered in the future.
Pre-registration is required and exact location is given once you have registered.
Many classes will repeat if there is enough interest. If a class is past or you do not get in on time, please contact us and we will let you know if another session is forming. Classes are for age 12 and up unless other wise
indicated.
Cooking with the Sun: Building and Gooking With Solar Ovens
Instructor: David Glaser
Location : Berkeley, Curtis neat Dwight
Cost: $30-60
This class will be an introduction to solar cookers and food preparation with solar energy. There will be a lecture/discussion about the theory and practice of solar heating devices, how to build them, where to obtain specialty materials, and how to use them. Several devices will be on display, including a solar box oven, a parabolic cooker, a food dehydrator, perhaps more. EWe'll learn how to contruct them and, weather permitting, we’ll watch them in action. We’ll discuss some of the successes and failures in using them and sample some foods cooked on site in the oven.
Gifts from the Heart: Handmade Salts, Scrubs & Salves
Saturday December 3 2-6pm CANCELLED
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $45-75 plus supply fee
Using herbs from the garden and readily available natural ingredients from the grocery store, we’ll create beautiful handmade salves, facial scrubs and bath salts to nutrify and enhance the skin. We’ll also focus on artful presentation including resources for finding great containers and secret fancy label making techniques. These make great gifts, but you may be tempted to keep them for yourself!
Greywater Primer
Instructor: Laura Allen
Location:TBA
Cost: $30-60
In this course we will present options for disengaging from the water grid including rainwater, graywater reuse and composting toilets. We will learn about the most common, low-tech, low-cost, effective, residential greywater systems, visit several working systems and learn how they were built. We will check out materials and tools needed to build a system and learn some plumbing basics. Then we'll break into groups and help you plan a system for your own home. Participants will be emailed a greywater planning sheet that you'll fill out and bring to the workshop to help do this.
Hand Sewing Basics
Saturday October 8, 1-5pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $40-60, $3 supply fee
Learn some needle & thread skills in this new class offering! We will learn basic stitches and processes in hand sewing for mending and for making small gifts such as camera & Ipod cases, sachest pillows and more. We will learn proper threading and knotting of a needle, 3 or 4 useful stitches, different types of seams, & hems as well as how to sew a button, darn socks and patch the hole in the knee of your favorite blue-jeans. You can bring things to mend or make several small stocking stuffers. This class is a must for folks who want to beef-up their reuse and repair chops.
Hand Tools for Homesteaders: How to Hammer a Nail and Other Fantastic Stories
Instructor:Stewart Port
Location: Oakland, Embarcadero
Cost: $60-85 plus $12 supply fee to be paid on day of class
Ever wonder how a skinny pipe can hold up the corner of a three story building but your massively framed chicken coop keeps leaning no matter how many 2 x 4s and drywall screws you add to it? Or maybe you just sit at your window, watching it while it slides ever further towards the ground, because you lack the confidence to take up the tools. In this class we hope to demystify some of the basics of construction and repair, giving you a handful of skills to be more productive and efficient around the homestead. We will focus on tasks that can be accomplished with just the power of your body or a few basic hand tools: the hammer, the saw and the drill. We will learn about marking and measuring, (including straightness and how to get it), selection of materials, how to cut stuff up, how to put it together, and how to keep your fingers while doing it. We will learn proper and efficient use of the handsaw, drills, hammer and nails and put the skills to practice building a simple (yet elegant!) tool box to take home.
Lotions & Potions: Making Homegrown Shampoo & Toothpaste
Sunday October 2, 3-6 pm
Instructor: Serena Bartlett
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $30- 60 sliding scale plus $10 supply fee
Intimidated by the long lists of multi-syllable, chemical ingredients in your toiletry products? In this class we will learn to make shampoo and toothpaste from affordable ingredients that can be found locally or grown in your backyard. After a discussion of the healthy benefits of making your own and some of the problems with store bought bodycare products we'll dive in! The class will cover two methods of making a suddsing base, one from soapwort and one from castile. We'll look at how to modify the base to create a number of different products besides shampoo including pet shampoo, face wash and dish soap. You will learn the basics of growing, harvesting, and preparing herbal ingredients, which herbs are useful for skin and hair, and how to combine them with your homemade soap base. As an added bonus we'll learn about toothpastes and how to make them for yourself at home. You’ll leave with a comfrey or sage plant, a recipe booklet, a bottle of homegrown shampoo that’ll make your hair and scalp healthy and beautiful, and a sampler amount of toothpaste.
Intentional Communities: Urban Retrofit
Instructirs: Jessica Watson & Hank Obermayer
Location : North Oakland
Cost: $30-60
In current times people are seeking increased ecological self-awareness and more of a sense of belonging in their lives. Intentional communities are a growing response to this desire. This class is taught in the Oakland intentional community Mariposa Grove by two of its community members, and will address the questions: What is an intentional community? What is co-housing? How do they work? How do you start or join an intentional community in an urban setting... and why would you want to? Why do most intentional communities dissolve within ten years? Covering topics from vision & community glue to legal structure & finance, Hank and Jess will share stories, photos and wisdom about urban intentional communities. You will meet like-minded people and learn about resources available to people seeking to live in community.
Made BY Hand: Mosaic Making Intensive
February 25/26 Sat 10-4 Sun 10-1
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
cost:$175-250 supplies included limit to 5 participants
A thorough introduction to the wonderful world of mosaic tile setting. We’ll learn about substrates, adhesives and tools, options for materials including ceramic tile, glass and found materials, cutting and setting techniques, grout and how to use it. Each participant will create a finished 12 x 12 mosaic. Small class size and personalized instruction.
Made BY Hand: Ceramic Tile Fabrication
March 3/10/17 10am-1pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
cost: $175-250 supplies included
limit to 5 participants
In this class we will learn the process of tile making from start to finish. We’’l learn about both subtractive and additive sculpting procedures, mould casting, clay bodies, tile production and glazing. Each participant will complete one tile design and will press out a set to fire and glaze. Small class size and personalized instruction.
Made BY Hand: Introduction to Hand-building Ceramics
March 3/10/17 3-6pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
cost $175-250 supplies included
limit to 5 participants.
This class will introduce you to the wonderful world of earthen ceramics. We’ll learn about clay and glazes, tools, slab and coil construction techniques. You’ll gain a basic understanding of the alchemy of firing. With the techniques learned, you will be able to create both functional and decorative wares. Projects demonstrated will include, plates, cups and planters. You may also use the techniques to create you own designs. Personalized instruction. Course fee includes one bag of clay, one firing and basic glazes. Kiln rental is available for students who have completed this course.
Natural Building & Natural Plasters for Urban Dwellings
Instructor: Sasha Rabin
Location: El Sobrante
Cost: $50-80
This class is an introduction to the world of urban natural building. The class site is a 1/3 of and acre suburban lot, which currently has four structures built of different natural materials. Three of these buildings are small enough to not need a permit, and the fourth is the first-of-its-kind permitted straw-clay retrofit. The first half of the day will include an in-depth look at these buildings, as well as a slide show of other urban natural building projects and discussion of the possibilities for integrating natural materials into your urban lot and home. The second part of the day we will spend gaining hands-on experience mixing and applying earthen paints and plasters
Olive Oil Soap Making
Instructor: Kathleen Elliot
Location: Hillcrest Ranch, Sunol
Cost $35-60 plus suppy fee
Soap making at home is easy and fun, plus you get the satisfaction of knowing that your soap is made from 100% natural organic ingrediants. In this class you will learn how to make a cold-process soap using the fine Hillcrest Ranch olive oil, pressed from olives grown on the site. We will learn how to measure and mix the ingredients, how to safely work with sodium hydroxide (lye), attributes of different plant oils, options for molding, details on the curing process and more. We will make one heartwarming olive oil/lavendar soap together and you will take home a bar that has already been cured, plus detailed directions for getting started at home.
This class takes place at Hillcrest Ranch a 6 acres olive tree farm in Sunol, planted in the 1890s and still producing olives and olive oil today. The ranch is an approximately 45 minute drive from Oakland and is well worth the time it takes to get there. Come earlier in the day for a hike in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park (the Ranch is located within it's limits) and then enjoy the spectacular views from the Ranch during the class. Carpooling/caravan will be arranged, please let us know if you can offer or need a ride when you register.
Pond Dynamics: Constructed Wetland for Urban Habitats
Cost: $30-50
Ponds are both useful and beautiful. They can transform spaces into quaint or lush environments, treat water, provide habitat for many creatures and even help create micro-climates in your yard. In this class we will learn several options for building a backyard pond with consideration for purpose, budget and aesthetics. You will learn about construction materials from low tech quickies to more involved or more permanent installations as well as what kinds of plants and animals might be suitable. We will observe and experience a living pond ecosystem and construct a miniature pond on the spot to see how quick & simple it can be.
Rain Gardens: Rainwater Harvesting for Urban Gardeners
Instructor:Cleo Woefle-Erskine
Location: TBA
Cost:TBA
Simple, low-cost rainwater harvesting systems can increase your backyard harvest, reduce storm runoff, recharge the aquifer, and lower your water bill. This mini course in home water system design presents principles of rainwater harvesting, overview of systems that store rainwater in tanks and in the soil, and permaculture strategies for increasing food production and wildlife habitat by integrating rainwater harvesting earthworks. Participants will practice site assessment and design and construct simple water-harvesting earthworks.
The Buzz & The Bloom: Kids Day on the Farm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $20 - 40 per family
In this afternoon playshop we will explore and observe the growing world through the eyes of an urban farmer. We will observe honey bees and native pollinators, learn a bit about pollination and how flowers and bees interact. We'll hold a baby bunny, eat quail eggs, taste honey, look at natural beecomb, make bee headbands and color in the pollination coloring book. An array of delights for the budding urban homesteader.. This is a class for kids age 4-8 and their parents
Urban Permaculture Crash Course
Instructors: Patricia Algara & Giancarlo Muscardini
Location: West Berkeley
Cost:$70-100
Have you ever wanted to know more about permaculture, but can’t afford the time or money for a two week design course? This one day crash course will introduce you to the ethics and principles of permaculture and give you a taste of what it is all about. Contrary to popular belief, permaculture is not just about sustainable agrticulture. It stands for “permanent culture” and is a collection of three intersecting ethics and sixteen principles that can be applied to any system to close the loop and make it more self-sustaining. At its core Permaculture is about caring for and improving our world: leaving it in better shape than it was when we arrived, so to speak. Mixing it up with lecture, discussion, break-out groups, observation exercises and dynamic leadership, we’ll take you through the core concepts of permaculture using the Algarden and adjoining urban farm to observe permaculture put to practice. We’ll learn about stacking functions, slow and small solutions, urban food forests,, plant guilds and how to harness the power of nature to work less and produce more in our efforts to create a world of beauty and abundance..
Solar Homebrew: DIY Solar Electric for Urban Dwellings
Cost $25-50
Visit a "homebrew" solar electric home in Marin and learn the essentials in planning, design, and construction skill sets for setting up your own DIY energy system. The plusses and minuses of DIY will be discussed, solar resources and planning materials will be provided and there will be an opportunity to get some "hands on" with basic solar planning equipment. The site also features small scale wind generation which will be shown and explained time allowing.
Spring Cleaning! Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products
Cost: $25-50 plus $10 supply fee to be paid on day of class
According to big box stores and advertisers, we need to purchase a plethora of brightly colored bottles containing dozens of intense chemicals to effectively clean our homes. In this class we will learn the benefits and pleasure of making our own natural, yet equally effective cleaning products from just a few readily available, non-toxic ingredients.....and just in time for Spring Cleaning! We will learn to make everything we need, including window cleaner, oven cleaner, fabric softener, mold killer and furniture polish. Each participant will receive an illustrated recipe guide and will have the opportunity to make an all purpose cleaner, plus one or two others to take home.
WINTER OPEN HOUSE & Art Sale
Sunday December 11,1-6pm
Monday December 12, 6-9pm
FREE and open to the Public, Please use our contact form to have directions sent to you.
Join the party! Our year-end event is a celebration of the bounty. There will be tasting (homemade jam, bread, wine and more) , convivial people and shopping! Who could ask for more? Lots of cool handmade goodies and treats starting as low as $1. Come grab your sticking stuffers, Secret Santas and private stash. Enjoy the cheer and support the local economy. Win-win happy joy!