Sustainable Berea

Events This May – Join Us!

Rustina Mullins — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:01:34 +0000

There are a few exciting things happening around our area. Join us for one or all of these events.

- Tuesday, May 8^th will be the premiere of a new film “Passive House Comes Home” at 6:30pm in Baird Lounge in the Berea College Alumni Building, 234 Scaffold Cane Road. It is free and open to the public. Panel discussion and reception with refreshments will follow.

Developed and now widely used in Europe, the Passive House integrates super-insulation, an air-tight shell, good windows, and a heat-exchange ventilation system to achieve reductions of 70% to 80% in energy use. This performance-based standard greatly exceeds Energy Star and Kentucky building codes, and represents the future of building design in an age of increasing energy costs and climate change.

Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Faith Morgan, The Passive House Comes Home documents the design and construction of Passive Houses in Europe and the United States, and provides an excellent introduction to this exciting new way of building.

Whippoorwill Festival – July 12 – 15

Rustina Mullins — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:57:03 +0000

Sustainable Berea is a proud sponsor of the Whippoorwill Festival which takes place this year Thursday, July 12th through Sunday, July 15th at Home Grown HideAways near Berea, Kentucky. There are 64 confirmed workshops and live music. It is going to be an exciting event. Discount tickets for the festival are available now.

For more information visit:

http://www.whippoorwillfest.com

Some of the workshops this year are:

Making Cool Stuff out of Junk – Growing Herbs – Eco-friendly Rain Barrels – Dendrology (Tree Identification) Walk – Egret’s Cove Intentional Community Tour – Forest Ecology – Earth Ovens Field Trip – Mushroom Innoculation & Cultivation – Primitive Nutrition – Hobo Stoves – Basic Bicycle Maintenance – Herbal First Aid – Gasifier Stoves and Biochar – Dumpstering Discussion Group – Deepening our Connections/Deep Ecology – Mushroom Wildcrafting and Foraging – Fruit Trees – Home Weatherization – “How To Survive Without a Salary” Discussion Group – Stick Tag – Natural Building and Earthbag – Waste Veggie Oil Diesel Auto Conversion – Cob Construction – Backyard Chickens – Forest Gardening – Fire Spinning/Poi – Humanure and Composting Toilets – Fermenting Kim Che and Sauerkraut – Foraging – Rocket Stoves – Repairing Cross Cut Saws – Old Time Ballad Singing – Home Schooling – Saving Your Trees – Deer Processing – Salamanders – Voluntary Simplicity Discussion Group – Weeds – Anarchy Discussion Group – Pirate Radio – Quantum Physics – Songwriting – Edible Wild Mushrooms – Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics – Making Hot Sauces – Unjobbing: Making Your Passion Your Livelihood – Hula Hoop Dance – Kids Activities – 3 Ways to Make Rag Rugs – Roots and Non-Timber Forest Products – Eco-Art – How to Play the Banjo – Hide Tanning – Walk: Reading the Landscape/Developing Your Natural Senses – Urban Gardening/Seedleaf – Auto Roadside Emergency Repairs That Anyone Can Do – Playing Native American Flute – Worm Composting – Creating Group Theater Performances – Silkscreening – Breadmaking

So join in the fun!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Rustina Mullins — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:11:40 +0000

Things are going great here at Sustainable Berea. The Local Foods Expo last month was a great hit. Everyone enjoyed themselves. As we all know, food is an important part of living and having access to local food is important to our local economy.

Planting time has begun now that the weather is getting warmer. Sustainable Berea is selling raised beds, composters, and rain barrels. For more information on these products check out our products pages.

It is getting to that time of year again! If you are interested in hosting a Neighborhood Food Feast this year, send us an email at info@sustainableberea.org and we will get you on the list.

Thank you all for your continued support. Enjoy the beautiful weather and happy gardening, friends!!

2012 Local Foods Expo – March 24

Rustina Mullins — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:08:34 +0000

Food Storage at the last RHP Meeting

Nick Mullins — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:29:11 +0000

Paul Giles presenting long term storage foods.

“There’s a lot that goes into a food pantry,” Paul Wells said as he addressed a group of interested local participants during the Resilient Household Project meeting on Tuesday February 7th. “You have to think of other things as well. My pantry is built wide enough for wheel chair to get into in case I need one when I get up in years. We used wire shelves to keep dust problems down, and painted it white for low light situations. It also has to remain cool, dry, and dark.” At least 15 people attended the meeting where they learned a wealth of information concerning food storage practices. Mr. Wells covered several topics including root cellars while passing around information he’d found on the internet from such sources as Backwoods Home Magazine.

Paul Giles presented various foods that can be purchased for long term storage including soup packets which only require water to be reconstituted. Participants were able to taste test some foods including a reconstituted chili, broccoli & cheese soup, and a potato soup. “That’s amazingly good!” one lady admitted after trying the chili. “It’s not what you’d expect for just adding water!” Among other topics discussed where bulk grain storage, diet fatigue, and water filtration methods such as Berka filter unit.

Several participants were eager to hear about the upcoming March 24th meeting which will be a collaboration between Sustainable Berea and Berea College to demonstrate raised bed gardening, cold frames, seeds and a host of other information in preparation for the spring planting season.

Stay tuned for more information on the event.