Details about the March 22-23 primitive skills gathering near Fallbrook

Contents

• When
• Where
• How to get there
• What we'll do
• What to bring
• Who's coming?
• How many people will be there?
• More questions?
• How much does it cost?
• Why are you organizing this?
• RSVP

When

• From noon on Saturday 3/22 until sometime on Sunday.
• It is ok to come for only a few hours.
• It is probably ok to come early (Friday) and stay late (Monday), especially if you're walking or taking transit.

Where

• Near Rainbow, CA, []

How to get there

• RSVP for directions to colinleath at gmail dot com.
• By foot: About a 3.5 hour walk (8 mi.) from Fallbrook, along roads with generally good shoulders.
• By transit: From the Oceanside Transit Center, if you have photo ID for getting through Camp Pendleton, you can get to Fallbrook via the 397 North County Breeze bus. You can get to Oceanside by Coaster train from the south or Metrolink train from the north. In SD county, you can get a regional daypass for $5, which lets you get a $2 discount on the Coaster train fare (choose "transfer from transit").
• By bicycle: If it helps, you can take a bike on the bus (there are two spaces on the rack), Coaster, and Metrolink.
• By car: let's arrange carpooling--say where you'd want to ride from.

What we'll do

• Shelter: At the least we'll be building a shelter from willow and vines or other natural cordage. The vine we were testing is Araujia sericifera (moth vine, bladderflower). The willow frame of one shelter is partly up. We'll need to thatch it--we can find or bring palm fronds, or bundle some grass, cattails, or reeds. We may make the bottom part of the walls more solid with cob.
• Ceramics: We may also be able to make pit-fired pottery--but we didn't actually test this, so I don't know how good the clay is there.
• Useful plant identification: We'll also collect wild edible plants--mallow, pigweed, filaree, nopales, prickly pears, domestic geranium (Pelargonium), nasturtium, yellow dock, fennel, watercress, dandelion, wild lettuce, mustard, etc.
• Mycology: fluted black elfin saddle (Helvella lacunosa) was sighted, among others yet to be ID'd.
• Twining: we may twine daylily fiber to make cordage & coil baskets.
• Weaving panels using split Arundo donax (river cane).
  
• Study--there are some books on indigenous shelter, bamboo, etc., as well as Permaculture, A Designers' Manual.
• Stare at the fire.
• Tell stories.
• Plot, by the bye/ informally/ as it happens, so we can live lives that care for the earth and for each other.
• Document? Maybe someone will take some photos!
• Other good practices you want to share.

What to bring

• Food--what you would like, & to share, & what you need to prepare it. We may have some local avocados, macadamia nuts, and citrus too.
• Seeds, plants, yeasts, and other biomatter/seed-like things to exchange or give away.
• Shelter for yourself sleeping outside appropriate to the weather. (Yes, tents are ok!)
• Useful tools.

Who's coming?

• Moms and kids!
• People like us with our enthusiasms, bits of experience, and what we're curious about.
• Maybe two alumni of Twisp (not sure if that's the right link) and Teaching Drum.

How many people will be there?

• We're not trying to get a huge group of people to come--without advertising it alot, it sounded like we had about 10. We probably couldn't/wouldn't confirm the RSVPs of more than 25 or even more than 15. I'll check in [] when I get ten RSVPs and see if she wants to let any more come.
• If this gathering fills up, subscribe to this blog & let us know your interest, so we can help (or help you) make more happen. Perhaps ideally we could all do this in small groups in or near our neighborhoods.

More questions?

• Call [] or Colin at 619 582 7583.
• Or comment here or send an email.

How much does it cost?

No fee for this, we're just asking that everyone come prepared to take care of themselves and be at ease with what happens or doesn't happen. That is, be o.k. with occupying yourselves if nothing that's going on works well for you--not likely, but who knows? And be ready to help & share & engage with others: if you see people who might like help, activity, or engagement, go for it.

This is low-key and informal. A lot of people might just want to find a quiet spot alone to rest and relax, or they might want to wander the hills--so we definitely don't have a schedule of things we're trying to get everyone to do together.

I suppose there could be some facilitation of introductions or group activities at some point--but if you're off daydreaming we probably wouldn't disturb you. And for helping make or gather food for meals, we'll probably be working together. But a good way to approach that is to be prepared to prepare food for yourselves, and then be open to working with others who might want to eat at the same time.

Likewise, if you see things that need doing (perhaps we don't have our bucket toilet/latrine set up yet?), help make it happen.

Why are you organizing this?

[]

My interest in helping with this is to get more of us out camping together and practicing nature awarenss and earthcare skills. And I would love to see a San Diego County version of Wildroots or Quailsprings or even Earthaven happen here. Not to mention a San Diego-Tijuana Permaculture Gathering.

RSVP to colinleath at gmail dot com.

Add this event to your calendar.