A model sustainability homestead in Central New York
Posted in DIY, Uncategorized, garden on Apr 23rd, 2010
On April 10th the Dacha hosted it’s very first workshop led by Danila on inoculating logs with oyster mushrooms! The event proved what a group of 15-20 novice naturalists can accomplish with a little knowledge, 750 spore infested dowels, and several drill guns. Although many of the attendees were new to mushroom growing, almost thirty [...]
Posted in Uncategorized, multimedia on Apr 20th, 2010
The Dacha Project is in Checkhov’s Dogs, a very special documentary (in progress) about Russians, Mushrooms and the Diaspora! Katya Gorker, a Russian-American filmmaker from Philadelphia is “tracing the cultural tradition of Mushroom foraging in Russia and the diaspora.” (all music by Animal Hospital). While far from completion, with a trip to Russia still [...]
Posted in Uncategorized, buildings on Apr 19th, 2010
Posted in DIY, Uncategorized, buildings on Apr 6th, 2010
Before we forget how awesome the Dacha Haus Part One preformed in Winter ’10 here are a couple of photos of February. They are also to remind this summer’s building crew that as we build Dacha Haus Part Deux a winter in the Southern Tier is no joke, but that we got it on [...]
Posted in DIY, Uncategorized, buildings, reclaimed materials on Mar 30th, 2010
We purchased some old for-cheap barn boards from the Fingerlakes Reuse Center to throw up as the ceiling of the straw bale cottage we built. Check out what some sanding and polyurethane and/or linseed oiling can do to a board. Will post photos of completed ceiling when that happens. -LSF
Posted in DIY, Uncategorized, buildings, video on Mar 24th, 2010
The Dacha Project presents a short by Lea LSF. Starring Joe Fisher-Price, Danilatron & Lea LSF. For more info visit. dachaproject.com. Strawbale Hijinks- A near silent comedy about the countless opportunities to act like a monkey one can miss if they choose not to build a straw bale cottage. Critically acclaimed as the must see [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 4th, 2009
From Breaking Ground to Raising the Roof It all started on a sunny day in Freeville, NY. We marked our territory and Lily used the shovel to break ground on our building project. After digging the footers, we built the forms for our foundation.
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 29th, 2009
Slowly, but surely, the Dacha updates. This summer has been a non-stop tornado of work and productivity. And what else might one expect while building a homestead? Here’s a little peek into our lives. First, a short video that was made possible with some footage our friend Jon Karr managed to take with a tiny [...]
Posted in Uncategorized, buildings on Jun 18th, 2009
Since our straw bale shed has been upgraded to the “Winter Palace,” it is time to plaster the structure and to fossilize our work for future archeological findings. We put on our clay covered uniforms and head out to work. Our main sources of power for mixing the sand, straw and clay are our hands [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on May 12th, 2009
Yes! Everything has finally given in to green. Walking around on the land these last few weeks has been incredibly refreshing. Especially since our friends have been helping us identify the various trees and wild edibles already available to us. We are pleased to find several sugar maple trees big enough to tap next year [...]