Timberframe Bent-Raising at Wabi Sabi

NOTE: all photos are clickable for a larger view.

Two of the many things I love about Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage are these:

1. When you need help, folks come a'runnin'

2. A variety of building methods, techniques, and philosophies are embraced, encouraged and supported.

Yesterday was a good example. Wabi Sabi, a food cooperative with Thomas, Ziggy, April and Ali as members, hosted a bent-raising for their under-construction kitchen. Joined by work exchangers Jacob and Jonathan, they've been working hard getting ready for the big moment. 

It was an impressive set up.  I apologize in advance for the poor photos - I did the best that I could with my goofy outdated camera (hint to Kurt: I need a new one!) while trying not to be crushed to death under beams that surely weighed a zillion pounds. Additionally, April was shooting video that will soon (I suspect) be posted on Ziggy's blog,  at A Year Of Mud. 

The building is being built with the timberframe method: the method of creating structures using heavy timbers jointed by pegged mortise and tenon joints. So here was the challenge - to get this peg into this hole (one of these on the north and south sides of the building),

and this little piece of rebar into that little hole, on the middle post. 

Which doesn't sound like such a big problem until you realize that these pegs/rebar are supporting these mondo huge beams. Here is a view from the other side.

In the photo above you can see how they have rigged up a pulley. Attached to this crossbeam are the three posts which are being lifted into place. We hope.

Here (above) the crew of volunteers gets instructions from Thomas. He's the one on the right in the dashing bonnet. In the background you can catch a glimpse of Wabi Sabi's temporary kitchen, complete with "clerestory" windows.

Katie, Jordan, Claire, Jacob, Maikwe, Jenny, Marqis, Kate

About this time Thomas yelled "PULL!" and so they did. At the same time the other half of the crew, below, supported the beam with notched 2x4s.

Snack, Tim (boots only are visible!), Craig, Dan, Travis, Ziggy

This is when Ziggy called to the rope pullers "oh! Watch out for the sweet potatoes." OK, Zig. No problem. You can see that Jacob and Jonathan ran around the garden patch to pull while not stomping on dinner. Good job!

Meanwhile, Pug supervised. He did an exemplary job.

While the crew with the 2x4s supports the beam (the rope has been tied off at this point) Ziggy and Thomas check to see how close (or how far) the pegs are from the holes.

The pegs are close! First they adjust the one on the right (south), then move to the middle. This takes a lot of crowbar action and careful support from the 2x4s. Jacob get ready to grab the "persuader." Talk about perfect names for things. The Persuader must weigh at least 20 lbs, and is bigger than Rhode Island.

I realize that this looks like a photo of Ziggy's lovely behind, but it is REALLY a shot of all of the careful aligning being done. Jacob is persuading, Thomas is working the crowbar, BETsey and Marqis are supporting with a 2x4 (as are Snack, Tim, Kurt, DAn...). An impressive group effort!

The pegs pop into place. Kurt and Thomas screw in supports. 

And we're done! Which is when the playing begins. Below, Kate demonstrates the power of persuasion on Tim.

Thanks for reading. More soon! 

Love,

Alline

Discussing the Speak and On Foot the Walk

Milkweed Mercantile proprietors Alline & Kurt waiting for "meddlesome guests."

I have a Google alert for "Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage." Imagine my confusion, and then my delight, when I got the alert for this "article."

It clearly has been translated out of English into another language and back again. We believe that it is an article that began its life as a post written for Sustainablog by Brian "Ziggy" Liloila. What an incredible way to look at our lives here. I have bold-faced the passages that I like the best. Enjoy.

"Ever wondered what it felt similar to to live in a indeed tolerable community? Wonder no more, since Dancing Rabbit, an Ecovillage formed in northeastern Missouri may be a life varying experience for any person who’s peaceful to learn, live and work beneath their Eco-minded philosophy.

Dancing Rabbit was started to put the ideals of green communal living to action. In 1997, DR Land Trust purchased 280 acres of land in Rutledge, Missouri to emanate a residents of similar to disposed Eco activists and continually expands as the residents increases in its population. Nathan Brown, a long time proprietor and orator for Dancing Rabbit, sat down with me not long ago and talked about the expansion of Dancing Rabbit and why any person meddlesome in green office building should advance revisit and maybe even live as a member of this successful Eco village.

All Residents follow ecological covenants and discipline set onward by the community. Anyone who has an fascination in green living and office building are acquire to advance come together this bustling and peaceful community. The race has doubled since the commencement of Dancing Rabbit and Nathan surmises that race will twice from its stream race inside of couple of years.

This Eco encampment and zone is ceaselessly expanding as green living becomes more of a direction in the US. But the residents of Dancing Rabbit isn’t subsequent to a trend, to them, green living is a way of life, something that is ardent inside of them and they are discussing the speak and on foot the walk. Of march with any Eco disposed village, innate green office building is segment of their architectural plans.

Most of the office building materials are done of innate resources similar to staw scoop , cob, earth smear and earth floors. Dancing Rabbit moreover explores advance green technology and tries to confederate them in to the stream office building methods. Some of the office building methods that Dancing Rabbit hopes to implement are: made of clay flooring , rammed earth, earths hip, and living roof tiles where plants are planted on tip of the roof. All of the buildings on Dancing Rabbit are built with substitute energy.

A important e.g. of innate green office building is the Milkweed Mercantile , an Recyclable inn, green broad store and Organic grill that is segment of Dancing Rabbit. “Construction of the Milkweed Mercantile at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage began in the spring of 2007. We non-stop the store in July 2009, and had the authorized Grand Opening in April 2010,” says Alline Anderson, owners of Milkweed Mercantile. The two story strawbale residence runs only on solar power. The motel has 4 bedrooms and can residence up to 12 people. Visitors who are meddlesome in partial stays at Dancing Rabbit can stay at the Eco BB.

Green internships and green construction jobs are existing to any person who wants to live and work in the Eco village. The internships are jobs are not only paltry to green office building but moreover to organic gardening, green business such as the Eco Inn and Organic Cafe and moreover publishing."

In closing, I'd like to leave you with this: We look forward to your meddlesome partial stay. If you have something ardent inside of you please come visit us here where we are discussing the speak and on foot the walk.