THE OFF-GRID COLLEGE:

The Off-Grid College, in association with Learning from the land is a 12 module course running over 4 days, covering all the essentials you need to begin the move towards an Off Grid, low impact lifestyle. It is at the core of Sunrise Off-Grid and is the chance to learn a lot of practical and useful information and skills for your own path to Off-Grid living.
We recommend these taster modules to anybody thinking of choosing an Off-Grid lifestyle or those who have just started out on this path. Its also an opportunity for those who have been living the lifestyle for a while to brush up on the latest technologies and new information.

Anybody attending one or more of the modules will get a certificate showing this as a collectors item. Most workshops will have hand-outs to help you more easily recall the information imparted.

.Facilitator Biogs.

Sonya Bedford : Sustainable Communities from a Legal Perspective
I am a solicitor with 10 years experience, I have practiced in Salisbury, Bristol and now Exeter. I specialise in land and renewable energy for landowners. I have been a keen supporter of sustainable communities and like to help out where I can. I have my own plot of land on which I hope one day to live in an eco home. I sing with a band and have a lovely daughter.

Sonya's presentation will consist of a summary of the projects she has been involved in:

1. St Werburghs - buying land and setting up a community and commonhold
2. Lammas - buying land and setting up a sustainable community
3. Totnes Co-Housing - how a co-housing group can work with a developer

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Stephanie Haffety: The No Dig Approach to Gardening
The emphasis of the No Dig Approach is on producing lots of food in a small space, in a natural way but also giving natural processes a 'push' or helping hand to ensure some bountiful harvests. The approach is also about working with the seasons to our advantage by sowing at exactly the most propitious time, which varies for every vegetable. Finally by harvesting in ways that favour future growth - often this is the weak link as people do not know how to gather leaves, fruits and roots in such a way as to encourage better subsequent harvests. No Dig does not mean No Work! This workshop will take place amidst the Glory Hole Garden at the farm.

• Ways of starting a no-dig organic garden, the raw materials one may need and how to go about preparing the soil.
• Adapting the no-dig approach to suit your own particular garden.
• The benefits of no-dig gardening - healthy, strong plants, wonderful living soil, weed control, time saving, a loving way of working with the land.
• Different techniques and equipment
• Seasonal sowing/planting, including what one could be sowing now for the coming months
• Moon sowing and planting.

Charles Dowding is a leading authority in food production and the author of Organic Gardening: The Natural No Dig Way. Stephanie Hafferty, who will be presenting the workshop, works with Charles at his farm in Somerset and presents talks and workshops on the subject.

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Frank Blaker: Eco-Construction - an Overview
Frank has been building using sustainable materials and methods for over a decade. Before that he worked as an art teacher, with a particular expertise in working with vulnerable groups. Frank is looking forward to bringing these two careers together, with art and building courses at Learning From the Land.

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Tasha Elena and Patch Tucker: Wild food and medicine workshop:
For Tasha and Patch, foraging is means to support everyday needs in food and medicine. Their workshop will focus on sharing skills and knowledge through finding picking, eating and processing wild plants. Dandelion, Comfrey and others will be explained as our hedgerow first aid kit, whilst reliable greens such as Plantain, nettles and hawkweed will be introduced. Along the way will be tips on safe and responsible foraging, and there will also be advice on how to preserve seasonal plants for later use.

Tasha and Patch have until recently lived and worked in Cornwall, leading projects and teaching workshops including foraging, community and ancestral arts. Discontented with mainstream modern life, they have now ditched their live-aboard boaty home in search of new ways of living with the land and a sympathetic community to be part of.

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John C Scott : Low Energy Technology - How to build a system for less than £100
John's workshop will look at cheap components and where to get them to build a complete basic energy system for under £100. By 'complete', the system will provide lighting (both LED and Cold Cathode Compact Fluorescent), charge a phone for communications, a laptop for education and speakers for entertainment.

"The main focus on getting it cheap is to understand the energy consumption numbers as an antidote to the switch it on don't care outlook - no smart meters just smart minds."

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Merlin Howse : 'Introduction to Micro-Renewables' & 'Taster Guide to Running a 12 Volt System'

Merlin Howse lives at Steward Community Woodland, a low impact sustainable eco-community in a 32 acre mixed woodland on the edge of Dartmoor. "I have lived in the community since the project started in 2000. Since being here I have continued work in some areas - I have worked with computers and website development since long before moving to Steward Wood - and also learned new skills which I love to share with others."

'Introduction to Micro-Renewables'
An overview of the main types of micro renewables including photovoltaic solar, wind, hydro and bio-fuels. We will look at basic DIY set-ups, the pro and cons of each and what is appropriate in different situations.

'Taster Guide to Running a 12 Volt System'
An introduction to the practicalities of running a basic DIY low voltage off-grid system. This will include basic electrics, safety, power storage, applications and energy efficiency.

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Cara Naden : Composting
Cara Naden has been working in sustainable development for ten years after a degree in Eco Design from Goldsmiths, London. She has a diverse knowledge, experience and passion for eco living, eco building and Transition Towns having set up Transition Langport in 2007. A Town Councillor for Langport and engaging with the county council as a member of Transition Somerset, Cara is inspiring people on many levels and is determined to make a positive difference in society.
Cara's current working role is community outreach for the SWAP team (Somerset Waste Action Programme) based at the Carymoor Environment Trust (a eco centre based on the edge of an active landfill) where she is inspiring the people of Somerset to Reduce waste and Reuse and Recycle as much as possible. At Off Grid she will be running composting workshops to make the most of your biodegradable waste that will cover: food and garden waste ("what a waste!"); why we should keep it out of landfill; what to compost and what not to; how long things take to compost; how to look after your compost; types of compost; and using compost.

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Jay Abrahams : Introduction to WET Systems, Treebogs and Low-Tech Anaerobic Digestion : Low-entropy systems for wastewater purification and biomass derived energy generation

A 'tutorial' style presentation with lots of questions and answers on Low Entropy Systems design - sustainable systems for wastewater purification and energy generation - WET Systems/Treebogs and Low tech Anaerobic Digestion. This would then lead on to a walk around the WET System created at Fernhill Farm for the Big Green Gathering and the Farm 3 years ago.

Jay is a microbiologist, MD of Biologic Design Ltd and a keen adherent of Permaculture Design Principles (see Bill Mollison - Permaculture: A Designers Manual, Tagari Press). After completing a Permaculture Design Course in 1992, he established Biologic Design and became what he now terms a 'Low-Entropy Systems Designer' - taking constructed wetlands to the next stage of their evolution - the Wetland Ecosystem Treatment or WET System. He gained his Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design in 1994 and since 2008 has been a Trustee of the Permaculture Association.

He feels strongly that, as Bill Mollison says, if Permaculture Design Principles are to become mainstream, then Permaculture Practitioners must become Eco-developers, in order to give as many people as possible the chance to live in "consciously designed, sustainable, human settlements". Having lived 'off-grid' for 25 years - firstly 8 years aboard a narrow boat and then 17 years in a cottage with no mains services - Jay has first hand experience of low-impact living, using mainly renewables; solar/wind generated electricity with wood for heating and cooking, as well as composting and recycling - grey water through a WET System and organic/kitchen 'wastes' in a Treebog and a wormery.

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Ellie Mains : Food Preservation and Storage

Ellie is a keen food preserver and is constantly experimenting in and out of the kitchen. She has foraged, eaten and learnt lots in France, Iceland and her native Somerset, and can often be found imploring friends and neighbours for spare glass jars and bottles. She currently lives in Totnes, and divides her time between teaching, growing vegetables, and doing illustrations.

In her workshop, she will give an overview of both familiar and unusual ways of storing food and alternatives to refrigeration, from jams and chutneys to dehydrating fruit and vegetables. No matter how much or little time you have, she will provide hints and tips for preserving your own produce on a low budget and show that it's possible to eat a varied local diet all year round.

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MARK WAGHORN : Planning, building and living off-grid

I will start by giving a personal view on the planning system and why I believe it is currently the most significant obstacle to self-sufficient living. I will also look at how the off-grid and low-impact movement has already had a positive impact on planning policy, and what needs to be done in the future. I will then give a brief background to the Building Regulations. I will give a brief background to Part L, a revised version of which is coming into force in October. I will explain that the requirements of the new Part L in terms of calculations and evidence to be submitted are now very onerous. I will discuss the requirement for a SAP Assessment, which must be carried out by an accredited SAP Assessor, and also the need for detailed specification design and drawings from an architect. Finally, I will explain that one can either choose to use the Local Authority Building Control department to monitor and certify the build, or an Approved Inspector, and I will discuss the relative merits of both.
The final section of my talk will be about design as a tool for achieving a sustainable lifestyle. I will define design as the process of taking all the disparate elements of a brief, a site, and technical requirements and turning them into form. Good design is not a single act but an ongoing process, and this is especially the case with low-impact and off-grid dwellings. If a building is to truly integrate in its setting, it must be an organic element, able to respond to changing conditions and requirements, and the design process itself must be so too. I will discuss the need for a new approach to designing and building that marries the design and quality control afforded by modern construction management with the economy and immediacy of self-build.

Mark Waghorn is an architect living and working in London, and Director of Mark Waghorn Architects (MWA). MWA specialise in carbon neutral architecture and are committed to the design of attractive, contemporary spaces that use energy and resources in a sustainable way. Our ambition is to inspire and stimulate individuals, companies and organisations to see and use design as an instrument to shape and mitigate human impact on the environment.

"I believe that modern society's detachment from the sources of our food, shelter and goods has caused us to be blind to the damage we are causing to the planet and ourselves. This can only be repaired if we rebuild these connections through increasing levels of self-sufficiency. By harvesting food and resources from our immediate environment we will compelled to care for and maintain our surroundings. Such an approach requires land and the ability to build sustainable communities on it, which in turn require a radical transition in the society's attitude about the nature of the countryside. I see this as the key struggle for those committed to off-grid living and I am always looking for opportunities for working with others to achieve this long-term goal, and my personal ambition of living off-grid myself."

The Off Grid College is being produced In association with Learning from the Land
Learning From The Land is a social enterprise part funded by Local Action For Rural Communitites (LARC) to develop, design and pilot a set of sustainable living courses that will bring together traditional skills and innovative new techniques.
It is dedicated to using local and traditional skills to “demystify the expert” and empower people to have a go themselves, whether it be building with cob, straw or timber; using permaculture; installing renewable energy technologies; building your own pizza oven or learning about compost loos!

www.learningfromtheland.co.uk/

• OVERVIEW
• OFF GRID COLLEGE
• TALKS & WORKSHOPS
• MUSIC
• KIDS
• CONFERENCES
• PRACTICAL LEARNING
• WELL BEING
• OTHER CONTENT
• THE SUNRISE SOL
• OFF GRID COLLEGE
• WORKSHOPS
• TALKS
• KIDS
• ALT CURRENCIES
• WELL BEING
• FUTURE FARMING CONFERENCE
• OTHER ACTIVITIES