Cal-Earth Work Exchange Week

September 30th - October 5th

This week we were given the opportunity to have a partial scholarship for the combined Permaculture and Super Adobe workshop in exchange for several days of work on the Cal-Earth Campus.  This gave us a great opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the staff and the layout of the campus.  We also got first pick of where we stay while we are attending the course.  We chose to stay in the "Homeless Deluxe" and it is an amazing 70 square feet on the interior.  It has two sleeping pods, a fire place, and a comfortable cave like feeling to it.  Even though the desert sun can be brutal during the days the foot thick walls keep it nice and cool on the inside.  We share one of the sleeping nooks and use the other to store our luggage.  When we light candles at night, the building reminds me of Yoda's house.

The Homeless Deluxe

Our work exchange week has ended at Cal-Earth, and we had an amazing time.  We didn't even notice how much work we did because we enjoyed it so much.  The days were long, but full of good energy and laughter.  The group that we shared our week with was amazing and we made friends for life.  There were a total of five work exchange students to include Aaron Catrett, Danielle Fuller, Ed Tellis, and ourselves (we also adopted 1 long-term apprentice into our group). We shared wonderful meals each morning and evening while talking and laughing.  Our group was able to accomplish everything that was asked of us and it felt good to contribute.  The staff and apprentices are very friendly and positive.  Everyone that we have met has been open and friendly.  Raking and collecting gravel, demolishing domes, general cleaning, and a few specialized tasks was what kept us busy throughout the week.  We went about our daily work with a relaxed yet consistent pace.  Even though the work was challenging, we were sad when the week was done because of how peaceful we felt and how much we enjoyed it. We have definitely been fortunate to have this extra week and hope you all enjoy some photos from our work exchange week.

 Meet the Crew +1 Long-term Apprentice

   

                                           Aaron                               Danielle

   

 

                                      Emine (our +1)                            Ed

 

 

Working Hard 

 

With Friends...

 

And Crushes!