For those interested, here are workshops and events from past years
2016:
Our book is out!
Our Kickstarter campaign affects the travel budget, research goals, and events we schedule this year.
February 25: learning Tadelakt with Peggy in BC (Awesome!)
March 11- April 11: Kickstarter campaign for Rocket Mass Heater Builder's Guide (pledge for paper copies by April 1 for first-run, first-edition copies!). Sign up as a KickBooster for extra incentive!
May: Moroccan village kitchen and rocket hammam ("Turkish" bath) development projects
June 1: Book comes out from New Society
If you would like to pick up your book in person at an event near you, please pre-order on Kickstarter, and let us know which event on the shipping form.
June 2: First book-release event: a brown-bag supper and RMH show-and-tell at 21 Acres, in Woodinville WA. Yes, the one on Google. Contact Tyler Morrison for details. tyler@21acres dot org.
June 4-5: Mother Earth News Fair, Albany OR. Speaking schedule TBA.
(Possible side trip to Cob Campus in Bend, OR)
June 6-7: coastal disappearance
June 11: Book Release, Bonfire, and Picnic at the labyrinth at MoTA, Beaverton OR.
June 9-12: Village Building Convergence, speaking or hands-on events TBA, Portland/Beaverton OR
June 13-25: Appropriate Tech Course and huckleberry hunt near Missoula, MT.
(There is a PDC right before, too.) Register with Howard Story, details here: http://www.permies.com/t/54447/
July: Mother Earth News fair in Wisconsin, July 9-10. Possible side trip to Michigan/Ohio.
August: Naturally Beautiful Floors and Plasters (recycled glass, collaboration with Green Okanogan).
Please no more ginormous wild fires. Possible New Brunswick workshop.
September: (unconfirmed) Mother Earth News Fair, Seven Springs PA, late Sept. Possible workshops in upstate NY, Quebec.
October: will there be another Pyronauts' Gathering near Missoula MT? Only after the DVD project is finished from the last one.
November: Portland/California/Southwest tour- possible testing tour of previous stoves, and two proposed new builds
December: Home for winter.
2015:
Ernie is walking without crutches!
We are looking forward to many new destinations this year, and to working again with some old friends. Here is a rough outline of how the year looks at this point.
January: Montana holiday bonus session
February 5-11: Portland/Vancouver visit, family, friends, video project.
February 7: Valentine's craft party? MoTA, Beaverton OR
February 14: Tonasket, WA Green Okanogan Fundraiser/Auction
Late February: Grafting, berry propagation, Tonasket WA/ Leaping Sheep Farms
March 4-8: Permaculture Voices, San Diego CA
Late March: Documentation and Testing Tour, West Coast Rocket Mass Heaters
March 27-29: Wildlands/Urban Firefighter Training, Tonasket WA (contact District 4 for details - we're not the instructors.)
KICKSTARTER BOOK LAUNCH! Approx. April?
April 11-12: Kayak competition, Gig Harbor WA
April 17-19: Rocket mass heater work party, Ottawa Canada
April 24-26: Rocket mass heater installation workshop near Sterling, NY. Contact Valerie Dawnstar for registration, <
[email protected]>.
May 2: Rocket Mass Heaters/Fire Science Introduction, Tonasket WA. Registration: 509-556-2054 or
[email protected]. $25, pot-luck lunch.
Early May: Berry and Bulb Bed Conditioning, Tonasket WA; May 4-13 Gone Fishing. :-)
May 15-17: Outdoor kitchen workshop (rocket mass heater / cooker), Centralia, WA. Registration: Debbi Cornell, ,
Late May/June: Tonasket, WA: Planting and transplanting, Leaping Sheep Farms;
Private workshop and research projects, Mt. Hull, Tonasket WA
June 12: Neil Bertrando presents
Keyline Methods and the Intermontane West, Tonasket, WA
. Registration: 509-556-2054 or . Suggested donation $10, or contact us to help with hospitality (pot-luck food, chairs, setup or cleanup, etc.)
June 15-19: Montana Permaculture Conference - possible demonstrations
June 21: Private anniversary
Late June: Greens, peas, rhubarb, strawberries, and flowers at Dancing Leaf Ranch and Leaping Sheep Farm, Tonasket WA
July 3-5: Wooden Boat Festival, CWB/Seattle, WA
July 10-12: Rocket mass heaters workshop, Edmonds WA
July 30-Aug. 2: Kayak nationals, Chula Vista CA
September 1-11: Rocket cooker/heater project in Morocco.
Sept. 11-13: Wooden Boat festival, Port Townsende WA
Also in September: Tomato harvest and canning, Tonasket WA
October 7-16: Innovators Gathering II near Missoula, MT - last year's event described at http://www.permies.com and http://richsoil.com/rmh-workshop.html
November 6-8: Rocket Mass Heater Greenhouse Project, Edmonds WA, 21 Acres Farm.
December: Holiday visits in Portland/Seattle.
Past Workshops:
2014:
Tentative schedule: We are getting Ernie's leg overhauled and he is re-learning how to walk after 8 years. So we may not be able to attend all events listed below - the ones that have our firm commitment are in bold.
March 11-12: Rocket Mass Heater Demo, Southern CA
March 13-16: Permaculture Voices, Southern CA
April 14-20: Masonry Heater Association annual meeting, NC
April 26- One Day rocket mass heaters introduction, Tonasket WA.
April 25-May 3: Builder's Week, Tonasket WA:
for installers and experienced builders (masons, HVAC, parts fabricators, and natural builders): in-depth practice time and peer-to-peer learning.
Late May-early June: Village Building Convergence, Portland OR
June, July, August: Building season; typically 3 to 5 private projects, plus our own homestead improvements.
Sept. 13-14: Wooden Boats, Port Townsend WA
Sept. 19-26, 2014: Rocket Mass Heater Innovators' Gathering, Missoula MT - voice messages , email .
For more details, see http://richsoil.com/rmh-workshop.html
Nov. 7-9: Berwick, ME - Rocket mass heater installation workshop in a solarium, covered space available for all-weather construction.
Sterling, NY - installation workshop on a lovely small farm.
Oct. 17 to 19, 2014: Scheduled for April 24-26, 2015. For registration, contact Valerie Dawnstar <
[email protected]>
Other sites hosting rocket mass heater workshops and site tours:
Upstate NY:
http://www.sustainablelivingproject.net/renewable-energy-appropriate-technology
Oregon / northern CA:
www.cobcottage.com
Other workshops are frequently posted on the regional and rocket stoves / energy forums at www.permies.com
2013
Jan-Feb: Book work, video voiceovers for Rocket Mass Heater Instructional DVD
March: 2-3: Sustainable Vocational Training for Veterans, Olympia, WA
[mid-April voice work for Wood Burning Stoves 2.0 - 4 DVD set]
April 21: Earth Day in Tonasket, WA
April 27: Rocket Mass Heaters 1-day introduction, Tonasket, WA $25
(contact Erica to register: 509-556-2054, )
May - June:
Possible Tonasket projects early May
May 24 - June 2: Portland, Oregon's Village Building Convergence - limited appearances
Early June: private projects, Oregon
June 14-16 (Father's Day Weekend):
Rocket Mass Heaters workshop near Ashland, Oregon - full floor-to-test-fire installation with our highly entertaining hands-on fire science and practicum sessions.
Please contact our host Clay Bustin for details or to register: ,
.
June 24-July 24: Northern WA/ BC
- Apprentice training at our mountain hideaway. Planned projects include: rocket mass heater prototype testing (larger, different materials); boatbuilding. Limited to 4 participants; contact us soon if you'd like to join us. .
- Possible greenhouse rocket mass heater installation(s) near Tonasket, WA
August 19-20 Earthen Oven with Chimney, Tonasket WA - contact Erica or Barbara Greene to register. Postponed - please let us know if interested.
September/Oct: Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival! We mean it!
September 24-29: Rocket mass heater workshop(s) in Ontario, Canada. Our local organizer and host is A
ndrew Brunning,
(NOTE: This will be our ONLY eastern workshop visit this year, so please spread the word to anyone east of the Rockies.
Specific workshop locations are within about 2 hours of Toronto, with shuttle service available.)
Late October: Double whammy with Paul Wheaton near Missoula, MT:
- Oct, 18-20: Portable Rocket Mass Heaters: 3 simultaneous installations, lots of hands-on practice for every participant.
- Oct. 25-27: Rocket Mass Heater: full mass, earthen masonry, in a tipi. For registration, contact .
November-December: Inland Washington / home for the holidays.
Note to our friends Down Under (AU/NZ)- While we weren't able to set up enough advance bookings to attempt a 2013 visit, we hope to come your way some day soon. If you have experience with international guest instructors and would be interested in sponsoring a visit in 2014 (or at any point with enough notice to fill your workshop, generally 6-12 months), please drop us a line at:
[email protected]
Contact us: [email protected]
If you are planning a future project, consider Arranging a Workshop
Work Party Projects for 2014: Building The Shop, boat work, garden parties, and photo and pre-testing sessions for The Book (rocket mass heaters builders guide).
Public work-party dates are listed above Call for directions: 503-807-6212
The Details:
Workshop Contents:
Rocket Mass Heater Weekend Workshops: A three-day weekend of hands-on fun. We start Friday evening with Fire Science, exploring things you can do with wood, brick, and metal to adjust a fire. For the main course, most workshops feature the building of a full-scale downdraft Rocket Mass Heater. Non-installation workshops substitute plenty of masonry and metal-working practice, with take-home projects like emergency heaters or camping cookstoves. Camp stoves and other show-and-tells are always welcome.
Check out this home video by a workshop participant from 2009! No video can fully capture the fun things we do in the dark with fire, but it gives a good idea of the building process for most Rocket Mass Heater workshops. http://youtu.be/hmYaIrHRMLM Paul's video of the Rocket Stove Mass Heater Workshop.
Rocket Mass Heater Innovation Weekend: This workshop is never the same twice. In the past, we've explored rocket-powered hot water, "portable" and shippable rocket mass heaters, and various enhanced fireboxes.
Before taking the Innovations workshop, please attend one of the regular Rocket Mass Heater workshops, or watch Paul Wheaton or Calen Kennett's DVDs to understand the basics behind rocket mass heaters.
One-day Rocket Mass Heater Introduction event, last Saturday in April
Part work-party, part presentation/demo, with plenty of time to chat and ask questions. We cover not quite half of what's offered in a weekend workshop.
Game plan:
- Tour our existing small-footprint rocket mass heater, poke around under the lid.
- Mock up the brick firebox outdoors (fuel feed, burn tunnel, heat riser)
- Light fires in mockups and existing heater, practice upside-down & sideways fire
- General info on how rocket mass heaters work: clever features, common errors, and where the impressive fuel savings comes from.
- how to use convection, radiant heat, and conduction to best advantage;
- thermal mass heat storage, insulation, vs. 'storing' hot air;
- efficiency, safety, and global benefits of clean, complete, local-fuel combustion,
- tradeoff and limitations of RMH's, modern woodstoves, masonry heaters, fireplaces, gas fires, forced-air heat
- Eat lunch at some point so we don't all get grumpy and confused
As time and interest allow, we explore additional topics like:
- Make cob or earthen plaster; set fieldstone or timber in it
- Insulation materials like stabilized perlite, kiln brick, refractory insulation
- Design charette / Q & A to consider people's project ideas
- Rumford fireplace retrofits, pocket rockets, other good clean fire fun
- Set dates for later in the year to do a full-scale installation at someone's local home or greenhouse
;)
Rocket Stoves: Behemoth in the Basement
Dates: TBA, pending Portland's finalization of permit process.
Location: Portland, Oregon
Weekend workshop starts Thursday night with Fire Science, includes a photoshow/tour of Portland-area rocket stoves, building practice, design charette and layout of a 90-cu-ft basement Rocket Mass Heater for a conventional 2-story Portland home.
Accomodation: please ask us about homestay or backyard camping options nearby. Some meals provided. This stove's design may be adjusted to meet Portland's permit requirements.
Price: $200-$350 sliding scale. Register at least 30 days ahead with a $100 deposit and we'll send your copy of the Rocket Mass Heaters book (with free shipping).
Registration:
please contact us: , or 503-807-6212
