This week, under the tutelage of earthen floor master Sukita Crimmel, we installed an earthen floor in the garden shed. Sukita has written the foremost book on this subject, entitled Earthen Floors: A Modern Approach to An Ancient Practice. You can see more of her work on her website From These Hands. A well-made earthen… [Read More]
Archives for September 2015
Natural plasters
This week we learned about clay plasters, lime plasters, and clay-based paint. Clay plasters can be used on indoor or outdoor walls. Like earthen walls, clay plasters “breathe” – absorbing and releasing moisture. So, they are good for maintaining a pleasant and healthy indoor environment, but they aren’t best suited for use in high moisture… [Read More]
Rocket stoves and heaters
We start off with a tour of the rocket stoves on the Aprovecho campus. In the outdoor kitchen there is a rocket stove for boiling water (the Oaxaca One-Pot) and a rocket stove griddle (the Justa stove). In the Boathouse there is a rocket mass heater. The Oaxaca One-pot is essentially a rocket stove covered… [Read More]
Learning about fire
In these two videos, Max Edelson gives a demo on how fire behaves and how it is affected by various conditions. In the first video, he builds a model of a Rumford fireplace and in the second, he demonstrates the design of the combustion chamber and heat riser in a rocket mass heater. This week… [Read More]