You can learn more about the Sequatchie Valley and its history by joining a tour of Sequatchie Valley Institute at Moonshadow.

SVI and Moonshadow will be closed to the public on Saturday, June 19 2010 for a private event, and there will no public tour on this day.

• our next public tour will be July 17,2010.

Johnny Kimmons of Sequatchie Valley Institute will join john johnson and forestry management students from the University of Tennessee for this informative workshop explaining the methods and benefits of sustainable small-scale forest management. Local, sustainable, low-input, positive impact forest management for lumber, firewood, wildlife habitat and fungiculture will be discussed, with hands-on work for participants.

Topics covered at the workshop include:  1) The Art of Directional Felling, which enables loggers to carefully drop trees without harming neighboring trees and shrubs; 2) Use of the Farmi Winch to delicately remove logs from the forest without damaging the soil—it works even on a 45 hp tractor; 3) Effects of the 2001 forest fire on a mature forest; 4) Effects of the Southern Pine Beetle and use of the damaged wood; 5) Demonstration of a portable Wood Mizer bandsaw for utilizing damaged and dead forest trees for lumber; 6) Shiitake mushroom production.

Discussions will begin during the Wildflower Hike on Saturday, April 17. Hands-on Workshop will take place Sunday, April 18.

• Low-impact and positive impact technology and ethics, making forest healthier through sustainable management practices.
• Mindset: waste not – limbs – shiitakes, wildlife, firewood | lumber off ground to dry | sawmill – mulch, slabs, building/siding, sawdust (fire, compost, toilets)
• mindset: anything in forest to encourage wildlife, you encourage fertility — reap profits of encouraging wildlife.
• discussion group – personal and social ethics, goals, outcomes
• STIHL safety and operation video
• chainsaw maintenance – adjustment, sharpening, fule mixture, lube
• chainsaw safety – equipment, protective gear and clothing, starting
• cutting, bucking, felling
• lumber extraction tools, FARMI tractor winch demonstration
• axe, handsaw, pruning tools
• Wood Mizer sawmill, lumber sorting, selection and storage

Low-impact and positive impact technology and ethics, making forest healthier through sustainable management practices.

At SVI, we have a waste not mentality with our wood. We use all parts of the tree, including what is normally considered waste wood.

We harvest mainly deadfall and windfall lumber. When a tree falls, we begin a process:

• Live hardwood limbs are used in our fungiculture grove to grow shiitake mushrooms. Dead limbs are used for firewood.
• Smaller brush is piled to encourage wildlife,  which directly benefits the fertility of the forest ecosystem.
• Large trunks are raised, in situ, off the ground to dry and cure.
• At the sawmill, side slabs are used for siding simple buildings. Sawdust is saved for fire kindling, garden mulch and toilet compost

A sliding-scale fee of $25-50 will be charged for this non-profit educational program. Participants may choose to camp out on Saturday night: please call ahead to arrange a camping spot.

For directions to SVI, which is located in the Cartwright community half-way between Dunlap and Whitwell, 45 minutes from Chattanooga, or for more information, contact us at 423-949-5922, or email officemanager [at] svionline [dot] org

SVI and the moonshadow crew will be found in Planet-Roo in the middle of Center-Roo for our seventh year of natural building demos, craft sales, solar stage performances and academy presentations. Come say hi and hang out in our cool (in more ways than you can count) straw bale and cob booth!

sequatchie valley institute at moonshadow invites you to the twelfth annual

food for life  in the new millennium

a gathering about the source and protection of life
held in beautiful rural tennessee — Jun 3-6, 2010

Our twelfth annual comprehensive food conference includes skill-building workshops as well as discussion-oriented political dialogues.

Plan to attend for the week, weekend or even just a day.

Learn various food preservation strategies including canning, fermentation (sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, wine, beer, mead and champagne) as well as different methods of cooking, diet choices, health and nutrition. Attend workshops on edible and medicinal plants, seed saving, permaculture, biodynamic and organic gardening practices. Engage in theoretical and political explorations of the social and ecological implications of industrial agriculture. Discuss strategies for mobilizing against biotech and agribusiness, and promoting sustainable community-based food systems instead of global monopolies.

All workshops at the sequatchie valley institute are intentionally affordable using a sliding scale based on your income. Food exchange is available.

We ask $25 – $50 (sliding scale based on your ability to pay) per adult, per day, which includes meals and overnight camping. Ala Carte workshops are $10 for those who can’t attend a full day. Food trade (must be approved in advance) can trim $15 per day. Children, $10/day (parents are responsible for their own child care). For food trade, please contact us quickly to discuss our needs and your potential contributions, we prefer bulk and non-perishable, in case of duplicate donations; fresh food is okay, too.

Registration

Online Registration Form »
…or call us at (423) 949-5922

Food for Life 2010 — Schedule

(Schedule will evolve as we add workshops and presenters – please call if you want to be sure about a particular workshop)

Food for Life is run on Central Daylight Time.

THURSDAY, June 3

10:00 – Tour of Sequatchie Cove Farm

(lunch is on your own…)

1:00 -4:00 ARRIVALS AT MOONSHADOW, TENT SET-UP

Theatre and Community Games
All ages. Come to any or all sessions. Facilitators: Jeannie Cerulean, Maya Aurelia, Patrick Ironwood.
Playing is good for the heart of the community. No experience necessary. These games are derived from improvisation in the theatre, Soma, and festival play.
On Thurs during tent set up 5pm-6pm

4:00-6:00 * WILD WINE, MEADS, AND HERBAL ELIXERS: an Exploration into Fermented Magic Medicine & Party Drinks (Patrick Ironwood and Marissa Percoco) – We will gather materials from the garden & the woods, then brew various wines, meads & brews for everyone to take home. Please either bring your own honey (1qt/gallon of mead) or local honey will be available for $5/#. In addition, please bring 1(or more) gallon jugs (wide mouth with lid preferred), and any fruit or herbs to share; we will also harvest whatever is in season from the surrounding forest and farm.

6:15 DINNER – FERMENTATION POT LUCK – Please bring your favorite ferments to share with everyone during our first evening together. Plan to share recipes and stories…

7:30 WELCOME CIRCLE and Vision Sharing – We’ll open Food for Life this year with a circle in which we will brainstorm about ways folks can reclaim food from corporate control. Bring ideas, visions, and fantasies of grassroots action to create better food choices. In our circle we will share our visions and inspire one another to action. (or this can be changed – it’s up to whoever is facilitating the opening circle – this is what we did last year and it’s already up on the svi website for this year’s schedule as well…)

FRIDAY, June 4

8:00-9:00 BREAKFAST

9:15 MORNING CIRCLE

9:30-12:30 * FERMENTATION OVERVIEW (Sandor Katz) – Experience how simple it is to harness the transformational power of microorganisms to make foods and beverages more delicious, more nutritious, more digestible, and more stable. Learn about the healing qualities and nutritional importance of live-culture ferments, as well as their illustrious history and integral role in human cultural evolution. Empower yourself with simple techniques for fermenting these healthful foods in your home. Be part of the fermentation revival! We will make sauerkraut, discuss kefir and yogurt, wild yeast alcoholic beverages and much more.

12:00 EAT MY WORDS –  Storytime with Michelle Kimmons

12:45-2:00 LUNCH

CHOICE OF AFTERNOON SESSIONS:

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES:

2:15-5:00

* BREAD MAKING/BAKING W/ KIDS (Tricia Baehr) – Kids of all ages will learn how to measure, mix, knead and bake bread from scratch…we will explore the rising process, developing gluten with kneading, shaping and baking.

* HOW TO MAKE BUTTER (Tricia Baehr) – Start with cream and watch how butter is made in an old fashioned hand crank churn while our bread dough is rising. Rinsing and salting and shaping butter. Kids will learn how butter doesn’t come from a plastic tub in the supermarket and how great it tastes on freshley baked bread.

FOR ADULTS OF ALL AGES:

2:15-3:15 * SLOW FOOD, FARM TO SCHOOL, PRESERVING FARMLAND (Trish King) – Discussion on the philosophy of Slow Food USA: promoting good, clean, and fair food. How will a good, clean, and fair food system benefit communities? What are the implications for institutional food systems such as school lunches? What will happen to our local food economy as land use changes and farmland is threatened by sprawl? From a global movement to the local food scene, we’ll discuss what it means to live Slow.

3:30-5:00 * THE MEDICINAL PANTRY (Rachel Fee-Prince) – Learn what common foods and culinary herbs/spices can also be part of the home apothecary. As time allows we can cover everything from childhood issues, colds/flu to chronic illness.

Theatre and Community Games
All ages. Come to any or all sessions. Facilitators: Jeannie Cerulean, Maya Aurelia, Patrick Ironwood.
Playing is good for the heart of the community. No experience necessary. These games are derived from improvisation in the theatre, Soma, and festival play.
Fri 4pm-5pm

5:15 DINNER

6:45 * THE WAY TO HEALTH THROUGH FOOD AND HOW NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE CAN HELP (joel kimmons) – Lets talk about nourishment- ecology and where we fit in- how can we live an inspired gastronomic experience while nourishing the earth and all her communities. Local food, CSAs, farmers markets, community gardens, green spaces, school gardens, cooking, eating, and how to be more than just poop factories. Bring short questions (or don’t) and we will work towards the best answers in a real world and whole world perspective.

SATURDAY, June 5

8:00-9:00 BREAKFAST

9:15 MORNING CIRCLE

9:30-10:15 * CHOICE OF WORKSHOPS:

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES:

* COMPOSTING 101 (Tricia Baehr) – One of the most important things we can learn these days is how to compost. With more and more people learning to grow their own food, nutrient rich fertile soil starts with home composting. Kids will learn what to compost and what not to compost. The science of how things break down and the importance of composting.

FOR ADULTS OF ALL AGES:

* SAFE AND HEALTHY WAYS TO SAVE YOUR EXTRA FOOD – PART ONE (Carol Kimmons) – Safe and Healthy Food Preservation. This hands-on workshop will cover fun and easy methods of canning, pickling, freezing, and drying your surplus from the garden or market. Materials and instruction booklets included.

10:30-12:00 * CHOICE OF WORKSHOPS

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES:

* PLAY WITH YER FOOD (Michelle Kimmons) – Hope your imaginations are hungry, because Michelle is cookin’ up some creative fun! This year’s theme is “You Art What You Eat.” In the great artistic tradition of portraiture, we will compose self-portraits using stuff found in the kitchen. Glue will be
flowing, beans will be bouncin’!

FOR ADULTS OF ALL AGES:

* Fat, Fat, Fat: Making Ghee and Rendering Lard (Rachel and Daniel Fee-Prince) – We will make ghee and begin the process of making lard from local foraged hog fat. All the while discussing the positive role these nourishing and delicious fats can play in our lives. Both products will be available to take home later that evening.

12:15-1:30 LUNCH + Discuss! Discussion will include grass roots development in Central America and the 3rd world, and down to earth opportunities to get involved (Sandy Hepler) 2/3 World Development: the outlook, especially related to food and health – 95% of the world’s population growth in coming decades will occur at the edges of tropical cities. Is there any plan, or hope for sane development, and a healthy life for these people? How can they feed themselves? And can we help? Explore these issues with Sandy Hepler, based on many years of experience working on related matters in Nicaragua.

1:45-2:45 * Appalachian Heirloom Seeds and Foodways (Jim Veteto, Ph.D.)

Mirroring the diversity of bioregional natural flora, Southern/Central Appalachia is the center of agricultural biodiversity in the US, Canada, and northern Mexico. Appalachian homegardeners and farmers are nurturing close to 2000 documented folk taxa of traditional vegetable and fruit varieties. This workshop will present the results of a decade of research on Appalachian agrobiodiversity from a leading scholar in the field, discuss traditional ways of preparing Appalachian foods along with healthy alternatives, recommend heirloom varieties for Appalachian gardens, and provide seed packets for interested gardeners.

Jim Veteto, Ph.D., is assistant professor of applied environmental anthropology at The University of North Texas (UNT), the Director of The Southern Seed Legacy project, and Director of the Laboratory of Environmental Anthropology at UNT. He has fifteen years of experience as an heirloom gardener, permaculturist, environmental activist, and wild plants enthusiast.

1:45-2:45 * ICE CREAM AND INDUSTRIAL COLLAPSE: ARE THEY MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE? (Patrick Ironwood and Marissa Percoco) – Learn the basic use of hand crank ice cream makers, through a variety of recipes, including exploration of goat & cow milk, and also risk going hi-tech with liquid nitrogen to do a large quantity for an ice cream and crumpet party… participants are encouraged to bring ice cream makers of all types to use and share, milk & any of your favorite yummy add-ins

3:00-5:00 CHOICE OF WORKSHOPS:

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES:

GARDEN CRITTERS (Tricia Baehr) – Discover the creepy crawly garden helpers from worms to ladybugs and preying mantis. Let’s talk about how they help in the garden and why they are important.

CREATIVE PLANT MARKER MAKING (Tricia Baehr) – Garden art is fun and makes our gardens more colorful while we are waiting for plants to grow. Have fun painting markers to help distinguish plants for your garden, a friend’s garden or even a community garden.

FOR ADULTS OF ALL AGES:

* THE PHILOSOPHY OF EATING WILD (Alan Powell) – This workshop is about the value of wild foods in the context of human history as well as modern human life. Alan will talk about plant identification as well as harvesting philosophy (understanding how much to take and why). He will discuss why we stopped eating wild foods and the effect on human health and diversity in a healthy diet. The format will be an herb walk with much commentary and discussion.

5:15-6:45 * ARTISAN FARMSTEAD CHEESE TASTING AND THE STORY OF SEQUATCHIE COVER CREAMERY (Padgett Arnold) – Enjoy a tasting of cheeses made here in the Sequatchie Valley at Sequatchie Cove Creamery. Learn about the background of this new enterprise at Sequatchie Cove Farm, and how making this cheese fits in with the philosophy of the farm, and the local foods movement here in the southeast. A slide show of photos from the farm and its in-depth research into artisanal cheese-making will accompany the tasting. Bring your own wine or other beverage to share.

Theatre and Community Games
All ages. Come to any or all sessions. Facilitators: Jeannie Cerulean, Maya Aurelia, Patrick Ironwood.
Playing is good for the heart of the community. No experience necessary. These games are derived from improvisation in the theatre, Soma, and festival play.
Sat 6pm-7pm

7:00 PIZZA AND WOOD FIRED COB OVEN DISCUSSION – we will disscus sourdough & wheat fermentation, wood oven use and tips on building your own… as we bake.

SUNDAY, June 6

8:30-10:00 BREAKFAST

10:15 MORNING CIRCLE AND FERMENTATION CHECK-IN

10:30-12:15 * TRADITIONAL FOODS (Didi Wildrover and Chad Ananda) – This workshop will explore the process of nourishing our future by reclaiming the endangered foods and foodways of the past. We will start with an overview of nutritional practices utilized throughout human history that have relied on foods that are locally produced/gathered, nutrient-dense and more highly digestible, and minimally processed and stored without dependence on refrigeration or electricity. Given the extreme dependence of our modern societies on fossil fuels, high-tech food production methods, and pharmaceutical short-term health solutions, embracing traditional foodways is a movement toward greater community-based self reliance, and deeper foundations of health. We will spend some time looking around the kitchen at the variety of traditional foods we have incorporated into the food scene at Moonshadow, and do some basic hands-on activities to illustrate traditional foodways: making farmers’ cheese from raw milk, mayonnaise out of eggs and olive oil, acorns into edible meal, and turning whole corn into nutritionally superior “masa” or “hominy,” all of which we will incorporate into our final meal together.

12:30-1:45 LUNCH

2:00-3:00 CHOICE OF TWO WORKSHOPS:

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES:

MAD HATTER TEA PARTY (Tricia Baehr) – The annual FFL Mad Hatter Tea Party for kids of all ages! Wear a silly, fun or sophisticated hat while we explore the world of teas from history to healing properties of herbal teas. Learn how to brew tea while enjoying sipping and trying different varieties.

FOR ADULTS OF ALL AGES:

* SAFE AND HEALTHY WAYS TO SAVE YOUR EXTRA FOOD – PART TWO (Carol Kimmons) – Safe and Healthy Food Preservation. This hands-on workshop will cover fun and easy methods of canning, pickling, freezing, and drying your surplus from the garden or market. Materials and instruction booklets included.

Theatre and Community Games
All ages. Come to any or all sessions. Facilitators: Jeannie Cerulean, Maya Aurelia, Patrick Ironwood.
Playing is good for the heart of the community. No experience necessary. These games are derived from improvisation in the theatre, Soma, and festival play.
Sun 2:45pm to 3:15pm We will perform for the Tea Party Entertainment

3:15-4:45 * CHOCOLATE SURPRISE (Sandy Hepler) – Explore an all-time world favorite. Cacao itself is health food and can be made healthier. Original Aztecs drank it as a hot, bitter, peppered drink (did they ever add honey?). A really healthy, great-tasting chocolate is possible! samples of delicious organic chocolate are guaranteed. These are handmade in northern Tennessee by Sandy Hepler himself, our Mad Kitchen Scientist.

5:00 * CLOSING CIRCLE

Lodging:

Accommodations are spartan: tent camping space is available and is included in the daily event/workshop fees. If you would like hotel/motel/b&b lodging, try the following:

• Mountain Inn & Suites — 17260 Rankin Ave, Dunlap, TN — (423) 949-2184 (10 miles from SVI, in Dunlap)
• Club House Bed & Breakfast – 512 Mountain View Cir, Dunlap, TN — (423) 949-4983 (10 miles from SVI, in Dunlap)
• Acuff Country Inn – 1156 Highway 28, Jasper, TN 37347 — (423) 942-6370 (20 miles from SVI, on I-24 exit 155)

Download the event flyer

• 
  ffl-flyer_layout – 8.5″x14″ printable PDF (2 per sheet)

Food Donations

• SVI Food Donation Needs – Food for Life (pdf)

Learn more about SVI and Food for Life

• Monessa Guilfoil of WUTC interviews Asha Ironwood

patrick has been out there every day, rain or shine.

beau (who is now off hiking the appalachian trail), alex, bradley and myself have dedicated quite a lot of our time to getting this structure under cover.
randall joined us for a week and then came back a few weeks later to be on the svi staff for the spring and summer. he became incredibly proficient with the power drill and is now in the garden every day.

didi, chad and their 2 month-old daughter, pippi, joined us for three wonderful weeks. they successfully juggled childcare, cooking (every day) and helping out on the structure.

andrew donovan was here for 9 days, bouncing between bringing new life to our computers and helping out with the building. we are so grateful to him for his help and gentle nature.

david del vecchio joined us for a fun-filled week. what a treat!

a group of past interns traveled together for a weekend of construction – sean, brian, melissa, berea and adam – they brought along their friend monica, too. hop, adalila, ayanna and sarah were here that weekend, also – we all got lots accomplished during the days and had lots of fun playing games together in the evening!

meli came up from florida for 5 days during her spring break – she was enthusiastic, helpful and a pleasure to have around.

and then there have been a few successful work days – some with one helper, others with a dozen. many thanks to jon, trish, melony, jeannie, caara, gilbert, chris, will, aurelia, jake, nada, willy, ashley haley, kelsey, sean, danny, trae and jerry!

and here are the pictures!

getting the logs from the ground up to the third floor as posts was a fantastic dance of bodies and wood.

anyone who wanted to sling a drill had plenty of opportunities. the posts were drilled into place while others drilled braces between them.

it takes a village to raise a building!

beau’s final project before heading out on the trail was maybe the most challenging job he took on during his two plus years at moonshadow – the stairs from the second to the third floors. will helped get the job finished.

after the posts came the beams.

then the rafters:

and to make the structure safe for the little ones – railings (soon to be followed by a fence):

and, yes, the most important accomplishment of all – the third floor roof!

now we’re ready for april – fencing below the handrails, the stairs from the ground to the second floor, bracing to ensure more stability and our opening event on april 12th – a tour of the grounds, two performances by david rovics, a pot luck dinner and more.

- ashley ironwood and the moonshadow crew

we are now up to the highest level we will attempt.  the third floor has been laid and it’s time for us to work towards the final gable roof!  WE ARE ALMOST COVERED!  there are only about 20 more posts and beams to raise and we would like to get them in place with your help the weekend of the 8th and 9th of March.  we need a big group for this final raising!  the following weekend will be our rafter-raising – this weekend only needs a few extra hands from folksho enjoy heights (safely)…

here is the february building update:

first of all, let me fill you in on all of those who helped build during this month…  patrick and beau were out there almost every day – even when it was raining.  alex and i participated as much as possible, juggling eldercare and kid care along side building…

many thanks to bradley and nada for their consistent support.   you too, logan!

carl evertson was here for 6 days, lending his building expertise to the mix.  he got right to work within minutes of his arrival and even stayed longer than he had planned!  carl built braces between the post and beams on the second floor – what an incredible difference this has made in the stability of the building!

the rest of our helpers came for day-trips.  davis spent a day milling lumber.  anne, ravi and chris came out just in time to cook, eat and run one day – that was such a treat.  paul came for a day of milling and moving lumber around.  christine bock spent a day in the garden with the kids.  dane and ellen joined us for a day – dane spent hours with a hammer in hand while ellen and their two little ones, quetzal and sorrel played with sage and anakeesta.  trae helped build while katie hung out with the kids – thanks so much everyone for your help!

johnny,  as always, has been waiting in the wings, available for the complicated task of the moment, bringing up freshly-milled logs, shopping in chattanooga for much-needed supplies and is bright and cheerful at the early-morning check-ins with patrick and beau, going over plans and talking about possibilities.

and now, the pictures!

ready for a roof and ceiling for the second floor:

     

on goes the roof!

  

i learned how to rip lumber:

patrick got the gutters up and working – seriously working on the edge:

     

carl with his braces:

on goes the third floor:

     

and now we’re covered up for the rain again while beau and patrick build the stairs:

     

– ashley ironwood

well, we got back into it mid-january with a super-great work-weekend full of positive energy and lots of progress. we got over half of the posts up on the second floor and had enough strong backs to lift all of the beams into place. that’s the kind of work we just can’t do alone – it’s really taking a community to build this community structure! special thanks to trae and his dad-in-love, jerry, for their help that weekend. kelsey, noah and ryan showed up just in time to help lift beams, too!

all of the beams were in place on their braces, waiting to be notched in over the next quiet week… it was cold – BUT IT WASN’T RAINING! much thanks to anne and her son, ravi, for helping us in the kitchen and playing with sage and anakeesta while we worked.

patrick, alex, ashley and bradley got the beams in place and began notching the floor joists… johnny milled the rafter beams – i even learned how to use the chainsaw… thanks, marjorie rose, for hanging out with the kids!

here’s a new perspective for you – gives you an idea of where the structure is and it’s size – and we still have one more level to go:

then the rains came again and the great cover-it dance ensued…

while it was raining a whole crew of folks joined us planning a very full week of progress. and progress was what happened – in abundance! anthony and paul came from indiana with many skills and an incredible work ethic. horrace and sasha were the fairy queen and king of large and delicious lunches, all the while keeping an eye on all of the kids – including two of their own – and the kids played hard!

the weekend brought more folks – lots of them – we counted 13 kids and 13 adults at one point – it was amazing. jon cable brought his tools and his fearless attitude – he got sent out to the edges a lot. the harlins came from chattanooga – tadd helped build, marissa cooked a huge meal for everyone and they added to the kid count by 4. bradley helped build while nada and logan did their thang. joel jumped right in the building process and michelle and lannea watched in awe as the chaos swirled around them. thanks, marjorie rose, for being with nana so alex could build. thanks, michelle, marissa and nada, for hanging out with the kids… it was a party!

now – check this out! all of the floor joists are done – ready for the third floor… and the rafters on the side are almost ready for a roof. we can hardly believe how much we got done in such a short period of time… i’m exhausted!

so, now it’s raining again – the structure is all tucked in -

patrick is at his desk mumbling about weather reports, making plans to roll up the sides of the tarps to finish the side roofs during the breaks in the rain next week… thank goodness the rain will stop before too late tonight so he can get some sleep… alex just called to find out how the tarps are holding up… beau is home now and has already put in a couple of full days of work – he’s planning to rip all of the wood needed for the second floor by the time the rain ends.

and here i am asking you again for your help. we’d love to have you here – building, cooking, cleaning, childcare. if we could get the roof on this thing – ahhhh, we would all breathe a HUGE sigh of relief. we’re willing to help with your travel expenses – and room and board are on svi. there’s something for everyone who wants to help.

some jobs mean just sitting around:

some jobs simply need a few more hands!

it’s a ton of fun – let us know if you can join us.

thanks,

ashley and the moonshadow crew