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Mutant Corn Call for Collaborators!!!

Cultura: art, film, writing, multi-media, DIY, event, food, garden , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Triforce Triangular Formation, Activate!

Mutant Corn is a collaborative, agricultural art project that wants well…collaborators.  The project is inspired by the genetic, economic and social history of corn, and is in many ways an experiment in cross-breeding corn.  More importantly, it is an experiment in crossing the social boundaries of agriculture, science and art, which is something that can be achieved only through getting more people to join in.

Mutant Corn is looking for folks to come in, get inspired by the project and people involved, and then to add something of their own creation to the foundation that has already been laid.  Collaborators will get the chance to show their work at the gallery exhibit that will happen at the Dacha Project during harvest time. Learn more about the project and how you can get involved below, and read the full project statement.

For the summer of 2015 the Dacha Project (Freeville, NY) and  artCodex (Brooklyn, NY) have teamed up to lay the framework for a project that will gather a community to discuss corn in all of its natural beauty, as well as the many problematic issues that surround it.

(diagram)

At harvest time, we will have a gallery exhibit at the Dacha Project during which people can observe the effects of cross-fertilization, and also to see the collaborative projects that have been born out of the discussions that Mutant Corn has generated.  For example, one recent collaborator has decided to plant three chestnut trees in a triangle formation nearby the triangular beds of corn, in a sort of protest to growing corn altogether. The collaborator will do a write up of why she esteems chestnuts to be a superior alternative to growing corn. The write-up will be available at the gallery opening. Other ideas for collaborations include: an illustration of corn genetics, maps of where GMO is banned, and a timeline of the history of corn. The possibilities are all exciting and infinite, and more people are needed to generate and execute those possibilities in time for the opening, which is set for sometime in September.  Other ways of getting involved include planting, de-tasseling, and caring for the corn all summer long, as well as getting the word out.

The next meeting and work party is schedule for May 30-31, and you can check the Dacha Project website closer to the time to see a more detailed schedule.

If you would like to be involved, please contact Lea LSF from Dacha Project at   dachaproject at g mail dot you-know-what.

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Dacha Looking for Intern(s)!

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Picture of Intern (a previous intern). He is very happy to do this sludgy concrete pouring work, although these days most work is a lot less concrete- y and more earthy. But still, just look at that smile! It should be noted that Intern demanded that we call him Intern, and would only answer to that, it's not that we thought of that idea.

Communications and Media Intern

We are looking for a person with exemplary writing and communication skills and a passion for, and at least a basic knowledge of, the sustainability movement and growing community.

Responsibilities Will Include:
– Regularly documenting through writing, photography and video various new projects and finished projects, as well as events at the organization
– Managing our blog, Facebook, and Twitter
– Working with us to develop new ways of engaging interested people and sharing our work
– Reaching out to other local organizations with overlapping interests in order to build a stronger network and purpose partnerships

Preferred Qualifications:
– Strong writing and communication skills
– A working knowledge of how to post and edit in WordPress or other blogging platform
– Experience with social media, primarily Facebook and Twitter
– Basic photo and video documenting and editing skills
– Overall strong web and digital skills
– A strong interest in all things sustainability: growing food, land stewardship, community building, building/water systems/heat systems design, and more.

This position is unpaid. We are a 501c3 umbrella organization, so if you had the interest in finding a grant to fund your position here you could use our sponsorship. What we have to offer is helping you develop stronger PR/communications/video/social media skills. You would work with a handful of us, all who work professionally in that relevant fields. You will also be exposed to and involved in a lot of hands-in-the-dirt type work, which is usually soul expanding. Also, we are mostly very nice, which makes for a wonderful work environment.

We are looking for someone to start as soon as possible, since the season for exciting things is getting fast underway. We require a 5-10 hour per week, with at least a three month commitment. In many ways, we are flexible and are willing to work with the right person to tailor this program to individual strong points.

Please send a resume and cover letter.

If you read this and think of someone who might be interested in this, help spread the word.

We are also looking for a gardening/building intern and will post a description for that soon. Thanks!

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Dacha ArtCamp 2013 in photos

craft, DIY, Events 0 Comments

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Dacha ArtCamp 2013, a set on Flickr.

We celebrated our 5th birthday with a weekend of friends, meals, games and making things. Things: Apple cider. A shimmery fabric tent. A sapling fence for our new garden. And a collaborative timeline of the history of the universe. Thank yous to the folks that made it out here!

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Dacha Made: Spatulas, Onesies, Puppets and Syrup

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These are photos of just some of the things made recently here on the homestead.

1. Spatulas, made from cherry wood blanks on the band saw, finished with linseed oil.

2. Onesies, dyed with turmeric and annatto seed. Find the how-to guide on our website.

3. 100% recycled puppets from LilySilly toys.  Available for purchase on her website or on her Etsy!

4.  Maple Syrup, Grade B .vs. Grade A, a collecting and boiling labor of diligence and love. Yum!

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Baby Garden Party

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Have you ever been to a baby shower and thought hey aside from these cute cupcakes this has very little to do with new life? I have thought this exact thing while munching on a delicious cupcake. I won’t do it, said I to myself! Then as I was sitting around wondering how I can possibly get done all those things I want to this spring a train of thought hit me, and it went like this.   I like my friends, I do want to celebrate with them, I/we can use some serious help in the garden, and my friends want to come get sweaty outside after a long winter.

After a bit of planning here at the homestead we invited framily from near and far for a Saturday of epic gardening. That day we crossed off of our list these things: prepping old garden beds, digging many a hole through tough soil, pounding black locust posts in for a new garden, clearing out trees for a baby fruit tree orchard, planting fruit trees, building trellises for peas, and planting early plants directly into the garden. We ended up getting that done and more. Other things that got done: bonding, new friend making, fixing tools, maple syruping, bon-firing and a ton of cooking.

Thank you to all who participated. It made all of us here at the DP feel so warm and fuzzy to celebrate a new life coming to the homestead with all of you. Like, Monica Fanya, one enthusiastic participant said, “It’s like planting baby food, just in the early stages.” So true!

Please enjoy some photos and videos of the event.

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How-To: Mini / To-Go Fruit-on-the-Bottom Maple Yogurt

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What’s better than plain homemade yogurt?  That’s right, little-bitty 8 ounce fruit- on-the-bottom maple yogurts that you can take to-go.

Here are some extremely easy and fast instructions on how-to make six jars of this stuff.  Thanks to our very own Danila for this very useful innovation in the well-established field of cottage yogurt making.

SO EASY, YOU’LL FLIP!

First into a measuring cup measure out 2-3 tbsp of already made yogurt.  You can use store bought yogurt, just make sure it says somewhere on the package that the yogurt contains active live cultures. More

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Crafternoonin’: Annatto Seed (Achiote) & Turmeric Natural Fabric Dyes

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Our friend Ali brought over a couple white baby onesies and some fresh turmeric, wanting to try out dying cloth with natural food dyes. I was like, “Right On! chemical dyes are all toxic and gross, let’s do it, and do it now!”

This deluxe onesie is dyed with turmeric, and the collage fabric is dyed with both turmeric (yellow) and the annatto seeds (lush orange). Super cute and safe for babies to snack on if they get hungry.

We also had some annatto seeds from the  tropical achiote tree, which I had plucked off of a tree just some weeks ago on the Big Island of Hawai’i.  So we dyed some fabric with them as well.  Originally I gathered a bag full of these seeds to draw with, but I heard it works on fabric too. Since these are used often in natural food dying, you can order them easily online or get them in the international section of a supermarket.

Annatto seeds in the pod

Here’s how you do. approximately.  You scrape the annnatto seeds out of the pods. Most likely though, you’ll have the dried stuff already in powder form, so you can skip this step and the next.  Then you grind them up in a coffee grinder and mix it with water in a stainless steel, ceramic or pyrex pot.  Smells really great!  We used about 1 tbsp of powder to 3-4 cups of water. Note- as with the turmeric to follow you can add more or less to intensify or soften the color.

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Glittering Snow Video, Frozen Water Pipes & a Bit of Melville

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For your viewing pleasure, the finest flakes lay down to bed one January morning. Just before they land a sauntering winter sun catches hold of them, and thus the glitter. Meanwhile the usual crows are in the trees and the fire is crack-a-lacking.

It is 1.4 °F out there, and though I don’t want to worry you dear reader I must report that our water pipes have frozen for the second night in a row. We should have know better than to put the water system in the uninsulated sun room. Do not fret, or judge us too harshly. The pex pipes will thaw with all this sun in just a moment. This very day, we will temporarily fix the issue with the clever use of clear construction plastic. In the future, we will build a wall to insulate the water system, effectively divorcing it from the fickle nature of sun room living. The water system will thus become part of the very house from which I write, where it never-ever freezes. Even if each resident here would choose to be away for the coldest month of the year, this house will not, would not, drop below the steady temperature of the earth by which it is buried in the north and west. More

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