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Laytonville Ecovillage

A sustainable living community in Mendocino County, California

Workshops


2019 Workshops

FRUIT TREE PRUNING WORKSHOP with Richard Tootrees Jeske
Saturday, August 17th, 10am–2:30pm

In this outdoor workshop at Laytonville Ecovillage, Richard Jeske will demonstrate how to summer prune your fruit trees. He will talk about tools and techniques, how to successfully grow fruit in our area, where to plant, which varieties to buy, and how to care for your trees. Utilizing summer pruning techniques, fruit trees can be maintained at any size. Richard will also discuss winter pruning (invigorating) vs. summer pruning (de-vigorating). 

Richard Jeske is a backyard orchardist, and has been a professional fruit tree pruner, grafter, educator, fruit writer, and consultant for over 30 years.

Please bring pruning shears and a fruit tree ladder if you have one. We’ll break at noon for a half hour, so bring a brown bag lunch. 

Please RSVP by calling 984-6536 or emailing Dan at laytonville.ecovillage@gmail.com

 

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Past Workshops

A WALK IN THE WOODS at Laytonville Ecovillage
with KATE MARIANCHILD, author of Secrets of the Oak Woodlands
Saturday, July 13, from 9am to 1pm

Author and naturalist Kate Marianchild will help us hone our oak identification skills and deepen our understanding of these iconic trees and the many organisms that interact with them—from fungi and lichens to birds and mammals. We will watch butterflies and damselflies and discuss their life cycles and importance in the food web. Depending on what else we encounter along the trail, we might explore fascinating new information about lizards, squirrels, birds, manzanita, soaproot, poison oak… and more.

This is a free event. To register, and for directions, call (707) 984-6536 or email Dan at laytonville.ecovillage@gmail.com

Please bring binoculars, snacks or lunch, water, sunscreen and hat.

The following will be available for purchase:

Secrets of the Oak Woodlands ($20)
Award-winning book exploring the intimate lives and interconnections of 22 inhabitants of California’s oak woodlands

Identifying the Common Oaks of Northern California ($9)

Close-Focus Binoculars ($128)
Unique technology that allows focus within 20 inches of an insect, spider web or flower, revealing details of structure, color, texture and behavior; plus excellent distance focus

Prices include tax

LAYTONVILLE SUSTAINABILITY IMMERSION: SUMMER 2017
June 19 through July 14
Tuition: $1,200 for full four-week course ($1,000 for early-bird sign ups!) or $350 for week-long modules

This four-week course at Laytonville Ecovillage will cover topics relating to sustainability, including permaculture, natural building, green building, solar technologies, and intentional communities. The four week-long modules can be taken individually, but we encourage you to take the entire course!

Week One: Permaculture
Introduction to permaculture and social permaculture / Greywater / Soil building / Site analysis / Food forests

Week Two: Natural Building and Rocket Stoves
Introduction to cob building / Rebuilding a rocket stove hot water heater / Adobe construction

Week Three: Green Building and Solar Technologies
Rebuilding an off-grid PV System / Energy conservation, green building, and building science / Upgrading an existing solar hot water system / Integrating solar energy with energy- efficient buildings / How to achieve energy efficiency / Codes / Title 24 / Net Metering / Policy and Politics

Week Four: Intentional Communities
Overview of Intentional Communities, Co-Housing, Ecovillages / Legal structures for owning and sharing land and resources / Zoning / Codes / Permits / Class K Owner-Builder permits / Social permaculture-specific applications / Collaborative design process for a bio-cultural corridor / Tiny homes / Land: real estate, wastewater, well water, energy and how these can be shared to bring down the cost of development

For more information about the Immersion, go to permacultureecovillage.com/lev2017/

BEGINNING OFF-GRID PV SYSTEMS
July 25th/26th, 2015

Instructor: Kelly Larson
Tuition: $325

In this 2 day workshop we will cover basic electricity essential to off-grid solar, off-grid system types, off-grid equipment, (including solar [PV] modules, charge controllers, batteries, inverters, and generators), load analysis, and system design.

INTRODUCTION TO APPLIED PERMACULTURE: CREATING AN ECOVILLAGE
August 1st/2nd, 2015 

Instructors: Cassandra Ferrera and Dan Antonioli
Tuition: $250

Permaculture is a comprehensive ecological design system for living within our means.   The foundation for permaculture is based on three principles: care for the earth, care for people, and sharing natural and social resources (fair share). This workshop will introduce you to how food, shelter, energy and community can work together to provide a foundation for ecovillages and sustainable communities. The course will look at the nuts and bolts of how to find and purchase land and see the potential that permaculture offers. Participation in the course will give you a “ground-up,” inside look at how a permaculture/ecovillage vision can move from vision to reality.

BUILD A ROCKET STOVE WATER HEATER
September 26th/27th, 2015
Instructor: Kirk Mobert

Tuition: $250

This is going to be a fun and innovative workshop demonstrating how a rocket stove can efficiently heat water. The weekend will be followed by a three-day rocket stove/natural building gathering.

INSTALL A GREYWATER SYSTEM
June 28–29, 2014, 9am–5pm
Laytonville Ecovillage
Tuition: $120

Residential greywater, which is wastewater generated from domestic processes such as washing dishes, laundry and bathing, is a valuable water resource that can be recycled to irrigate plants. Decentralized, low maintenance, and low energy methods can be used to move, treat and use water. In this unique course, you’ll learn options for purifying and reusing water for your home, business or community.

BUILD A COB OVEN
May 3–4, 2014, 9am–5pm
Laytonville Ecovillage
Tuition: $125

Cob ovens combine the utility of a wood-fired, retained-heat oven with the ease and timeless beauty of earthen construction. Building one will appeal to bakers, builders, and beginners of all kinds.

BUILD WITH ROUND POLE CONSTRUCTION
September 14–15, 2013, 9am–5pm
Laytonville Ecovillage
Tuition: $120

Round pole construction is a relatively simple, inexpensive way to build-it-yourself, using trees gathered from the woods. Light pole framing is a low impact, low risk, sustainable and fun way to get acquainted with the methods of round pole construction. We will explore the possibilities while selecting, cutting, preparing and building a light pole structure.

INTRO TO OFF GRID SYSTEMS
August 3–4, 2013, 9am–5pm
Laytonville Ecovillage
Tuition: $395

Learn what it takes to generate your own power and how it can work for you. We will cover basic electricity essential to off-grid solar, off-grid system types, off-grid equipment, (including solar [PV] modules, charge controllers, batteries, inverters, and generators), load analysis, and system design. We will also have a hands-on portion when we will build a solar (PV) system to power a solar hot water heating station and lighting.

SOLAR HOT WATER
June 22–23, 2013, 9am–5pm
Laytonville Ecovillage
Tuition: $250

Solar hot water systems have been around longer than photovoltaic electric systems, are more efficient, cost less to install, and can offer a greater range of solar applications. A typical thermal system can provide 80% of domestic hot water needs, and many systems combine with radiant and forced air systems to contribute to space heating.

Parcels for Sale

A green community in the making located in California’s beautiful Mendocino county town of Laytonville offers a real estate opportunity. Find out more…



Cohousing Consultant

Katie McCamant of CoHousing Solutions has been involved with cohousing development for 30 years. Having developed and designed dozens of communities, as well as having lived in her own communities for most of the last 25 years, Katie brings a wealth of experience to our Project. She co-authored the book that introduced cohousing to the US, Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, as well as its update, Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities. Learn more on CoHousing Solutions’ website.


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