Post on 09-Apr-2018
8/8/2019 fieldwork :: spring
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/fieldwork-spring 1/3
fieldworkspring 2008
Out in the jungles of Indonesia
Gregory Batson built a mosquito
room for Margaret Mead. He built a
frame off of their porch and
stretched mosquito netting betweenthe posts. With just this little
bit of work he created an oasis, a
place free from bugs yet open to
the afternoon breeze, a place in
full view of the village and its
noises and smells, yet separate
too. This was a place where work
happened. It had sturdy work
tables for both of them, a place to
put typewriters and supplies. Each
day after a morning
of research,
Margaret would set
up camp in the
One Woman’s
Encyclopedia
mosquito room. There she dutifully
typed up her notes from that
morning’s work.
And what about you? Where do youdo your work? Do you have notes
that get typed up or painted or
scribbled? I imagine this zine to
be a place to think about the work
we do as parents and teachers and
learners and gardeners and people
who live on this earth with their
eyes and ears open.
I’d love to hear from you. What are
you working on? What questions are
keeping you upnights?
In the early 1970s Carla Emery was living the homesteader’s life in Idaho.
She birthed her babies at home, cooked over a wood stove, raised much of her
own food, and learned from the old timers still living in her county. She
got the crazy idea to start collecting all that she was learning into a book.
She placed ads in a few places asking for subscriptions —people would send her
a bit of money and she would send them pieces of the book as she wrote it.
And people did subscribe. And Carla started making her book that she called
An Old Fashioned Recipe Book. The book grew to almost 900 mimeographed pages
full of stories about her children and the art of simple living. Carla’s
Simple Living Checklist is on the next page.
8/8/2019 fieldwork :: spring
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/fieldwork-spring 2/3
Sprouts
Sprouting wheat berries is the
perfect way to celebrate
Spring. In just a few days
you can have a little bowlfull of tender, green grass as
a centerpiece for your dinner
table or window sill or even
to share with your favorite
furry friend. Wheat berries
are available in bulk in any
natural foods store, but you
can sprout beans or lentils or
even radishes using the same
technique. If you catch your
wheat berries on the first day
the little white sproutsappear, they’ll be perfect to
throw into a loaf of bread;
stir them into a pot of oats
the next day; or just keep
waiting till the sprouts turn
to grass.
How to…
First, place a quarter
cup of wheat berries in a
shallow, wide-mouthed jar or
bowl.
Cover with warm water and
let sit overnight.
When you wake up, rinse
the berries in cool water,
then drain them very well.
Continue to rinse every
day for the next week.
After about five days
white sprouts should start
to appear.
Keep the wheat berries
moist but don’t let them sit
in water.
Enjoy!
All at once I am overcome by the thought that the time is Spring.
When did it begin? Who saw the very first redness on the soft maples?
--Harlan Hubbard from Payne Hollow
(Some of) Carla’s Achievement Checklist
Mix, knead, raise, punch down, raise, and bake a loaf of bread
Put on a bee suit and open a hive
Make yogurt
Start with cream and work it till it becomes butter and buttermilk
Milk a goat
Feed the poultry and gather the eggs
Plan and cook a meal that is 100% home-grown
Dry a batch of food in a food dryer
Take out the ashes, build a fire in a wood stove
Freeze a batch of fruit or vegetables
8/8/2019 fieldwork :: spring
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You Must Revise Your Life
Even after six months in this new house, I am still trying to figure out
where things go. Especially the books. We have more room and many more
bookcases than ever before, so it seems important that each book finds its
rightful home. A new shelf got started…books that changed my life, booksthat threw the lights on for me. You’ll have to come over to see the whole
shelf, but here are a few of the titles.
A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, an architecture book full
to bursting with simple line drawings and lovely vintage photographs.
Alexander invites you to think about how different aspects or patterns
of your house, your neighborhood, your city intersect and influence
each other. This thick book would be good company through a long
winter.
Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E. F.
Schumacher. We found this book in the jungle. He gets so many things
right about development work. It was a balm to read. Even the title
is enough to set your mind working! What if we used the idea that
small is beautiful as a guide when considering a new action?
The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn. I recommend this
book at every turn. She’s who got me making zines in the first place.
Don’t let the title fool you; this book isn’t only for teenagers. It’s
for anyone who wants to start living and learning in freedom. That’s
all of us I hope!
Independent Scholars Handbook by Ronald Gross. In the same vain as
Llewellyn, but with lots of real life adults telling the story of how
they did the work they wanted outside of traditional channels.
Laurel’s Kitchenby Robertson, Flinders, and Godfrey. A cookbook! Read
this book for the striking woodcuts, the amazing feminist essays by
Carol Flinders, and the recipe for Split Pea-Parmesan Spread.
Celebrating Pentecost
Easter came early this year, and so Pentecost is upon us
even as the ground is still warming up. And after the Spring
weather we’ve had at my place, I am ready for the fire to be
kindled. Who among us couldn’t use the promise of inspiration,
the fire of new ideas, new possibilities? Let’s greet this
season with open eyes and outstretched arms.
Here’s what we’ll be doing…the easiest thing to do is to
wear red and orange, the color of flames. Dressing with
attention invites the children in our lives to taste and see the season.
The tastiest thing to do is eat strawberries, tongues of fire! Catch the
wind; harness that powerful stirring. Anything will do —fly a kite, hang
streamers out your window, make paper airplanes. This is the time for new
things: sprouts in the garden, babies on the hip, books on the nightstand.