Hands-On Introduction to Carpentry

This “Hands-On Introduction to Carpentry” is designed to equip and inspire changemakers, community builders, farmers and food fighters to “level up” our hard skills in building and construction. In order to build the just and sustainable world we desire, we need more than theoretical ideas. We need to know how to produce the material conditions for community survival – food, shelter, trade, and medicine – or we will remain entirely dependent on an exploitative capitalist system.

This daylong deep dive will be an opportunity to learn safe hand and power tool use, layout, measuring, fastening, and some of the basics of working with wood through a beginner building project.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

The workshop is designed for anyone over the age of 16 who is a beginner or advanced beginner. Some familiarity with carpentry tools, measuring and layout is requested, however no previous building experience is required.

20 spots available - All are welcome and we are committed to reserving the majority of the spots for women, femmes, trans*/nonbinary, and/or BIPOC people as those communities are least likely to be included in trades.

Please only register if you are able to attend the entire day as space is limited. Once capacity is reached, a waitlist will be enabled.

Cost: Sliding scale $50 - $200. A $20 non-refundable deposit holds your spot and will be deducted from your refund amount if you are unable to attend. We do not want price to be a barrier. Please email us at programs@soulfirefarm.org if the sliding scale does not work for you.

Food: A vegan plant based lunch will be provided. Feel free to bring your own food to supplement the offering.

Language: The program will facilitated in English

Registration Form: It should take you about 30-40 minutes to complete. You must include your bio, learning goals and complete the skills survey. The form does not autosave and must be completed in one setting.

FACILITATION TEAM

Kai (he/him/his) coordinates repairs and maintenance of SFFI's buildings and farm infrastructure. He also delights in getting hands on our new construction projects whenever possible, with a particular bent for timber work. His background is in land-based youth education and his other heart's work is as a novelist.

Sean Desiree (they/them) is a self taught artist and furniture maker, born and raised in the Bronx. They use wood from found pallets, demolished buildings, and discarded scraps to create works informed by the language of geometry and guided by their commitment to highlight stories of resistance. As a black, queer, nonbinary person it is important for them to be self reliant and have the skills to create shelters/homes, and share that knowledge with community.

Jonah Vitale-Wolff (he/him) is Site Director and Co-Founder of Soul Fire Farm. He loves the myriad capacities of the earth to be sculpted into shelter, to transform into food, and even grow our beloved healthy communities. With land as his greatest teacher, Jonah has become an experienced farmer, community organizer and builder.

Jonah’s building knowledge and skills span the realms of natural building, traditional timber framing, and ecological design. He is affectionately known at Soul Fire as the Habitat Builder, and is responsible for designing and building all of the structures and facilities at Soul Fire Farm – including the ones that don’t work! He formerly owned Hudson Valley Natural Building and has 18 years of experience in the field. Jonah is a Sephardic Jewish, queer cis man, who identifies as white.

Naima Penniman (all pronouns) is a multidimensional artist, mycologist, medicine grower, healer, and educator. Co-founder of WILDSEED Healing Village and Director of Education at Soul Fire Farm, Naima devotes her creativity to nurture planetary interdependence.

Naima is a beginning builder whose first project was constructing a tree house 20 feet high up a maple tree at Soul Fire Farm, followed by a humanure composting toilet featuring a timber frame and natural plasters, known as "The Movement Center," at WILDSEED. Naima is invested in learning and teaching tangible carpentry skills with other QTBIPOC because she is invested in building a new world with you!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

Terrain: The farm is situated on sloped, uneven and often muddy ground. There is a small stream with a stone crossing.

Water: The tap water from our deep well is excellent. Please bring a reusable water bottle and avoid single use plastic containers.

Bathroom: There are 3 indoor bathrooms available year round. After the last frost and before the first frost, the bathhouse with 3 additional restrooms will be available for guests. There are also multiple sinks for hand washing and filling water bottles.

Sensory Environment: There may be multiple conversations or background noise happening at once. Depending on the task and location, it may be difficult to hear low voices

Interaction level: Medium. We will invite guests to share personal stories and will ask a variety of questions about people’s experience with building. However, participation is optional.

Animals: There are goats, chickens, free range cats and our working farm dog Jax present. No other animals are permitted on the farm except qualified service animals under the ADA. If you are bringing a service animal, please let us know by emailing programs@soulfirefarm.org at least 5 business days before the scheduled event. In your email, please include the type of animal and the work or task the animal has been trained to do. Service animals must be kept on leash, under control, and away from crops and livestock at all times. Pets and emotional support animals are not permitted on the farm.

Ride Share: While Uber and Lyft are available to the farm, they DO NOT provide service from the farm. Please ensure you have a ride from the farm that is not an Uber or Lyft.

Email programs@soulfirefarm.org if you have additional questions or accomodation requests. Please email requests at least 2 weeks in advance when possible.