Putting Your Civic House in Order: How the Young Members of the Family Help

July 10, 2017

...children can be made the means of contributing to the family income, thus making it possible for them to stay in school longer. In one district two inexperienced young boys in their very first garden venture raised so much produce that they supplied the table for a family of seven for a whole year and had a good deal to sell besides. It proved the practical value of instruction in agriculture, brought about a better appreciation of it and inciden...

Read…

News From Nowhere

Mr. Homegrown

May 25, 2018

Thoughtstylings

9 Comments

...ecause they are needed: men make for their neighbours’ use as if they were making for themselves, not for a vague market of which they know nothing, and over which they have no control: as there is no buying and selling, it would be mere insanity to make goods on the chance of their being wanted; for there is no longer any one who can be compelled to buy them. So that whatever is made is good, and thoroughly fit for its purpose. Nothing can be mad...

Read…

Seat Weaving for Fun and Profit

Mr. Homegrown

July 26, 2019

Design

6 Comments

...eave and remember to peek at the back periodically to make sure you’re not making any mistakes. Sloppy first attempt on left and improved second try on right. I’ll send you to Hammond’s oddly soothing video for the details of how to weave the chair. It’s easier to show than to describe in words but I’ll add a few lessons learned. Most importantly, take your time and make sure that each strand is tight and straight as you weave the chair. It’s not...

Read…

How to Make a Simple Paint Can Rocket Stove

Mr. Homegrown

February 24, 2016

Appropriate Technology, Rocket Stove, Water and Power

4 Comments

...of improvised rocket stoves is figuring out a way to hold the pot over the vertical tube. I realized that we could use five bolts and ten nuts to improvise a stand. We cut the first hole using a nail and tin snips. We broke our “no power tool” rule to speed up the process. Here is the top of the can with the bolts and nuts that will hold the pot just above the vertical tube where the heat comes out. We inserted the horizontal tube and cut a notch...

Read…

Our new front yard, part 2: theory

Mrs. Homegrown

November 13, 2015

Back to the Garden, front yard series, Garden Design, Gardening

12 Comments

...n for native sages, which I adore. Instead, I began to think in terms of a vertical meadow. The meadow Strangely, landscapes based on meadows/grasslands/prairies have yet to really catch on in California. I understand from my readings that they’ve been popular in other places for a good twenty years or so. I have no idea why California is dragging its heels. The upshot, though, is that I don’t have many good models of what a California meadow woul...

Read…