2016 Workshops

Saturday Workshops

Morning 1 - Tour of Windward's Forest Gardens
Afternoon 1 - Rabbits and Chickens: small livestock you can keep anywhere
Afternoon 2 - Introducing the Axial Flux Alternator
Afternoon 3 - Cheesemaking: simple delicacies for home and homestead
Afternoon 4 - Tour and conversation about Herland Forest
Evening - Love based living and Campfire

Sunday Workshops

Morning 2:Community Biomass Energy System
Afternoon 1 Community Round Table Discussion

During Meals

Fiberworks, conversations about all things spinning, weaving and fiber related!

see the schedule on the homepage for specific timing

Community Biomass Energy Systems

Opalyn with the biomass gasifier (left), the gaseous fuel compressor (center), Walt showing the automated valve control assembly for the compressor (right).

The capture and transformation of energy lies at the heart of any sustainable community. Creating technologies that can function in support of community, and not to it's ultimate destruction, is a task worthy of the most agile minds and skilled hands.

In a world with rapidly diminishing supplies of fossil fuels, we need to learn how to live using just the energy we receive from the sun each year. One way to capture that energy is by growing woody biomass. Learn about how to convert that biomass into a form that can cook our food, power an electric generator, or fuel a tractor.

Watch a hands-on demonstration of the open source Gasifier's and gas compression technology behind Windward's flag-ship energy project Biomass2Methanol.

Come see all the new developments coming online over the past year!

Presented by B2M's lead chemist Walt Patrick and Opalyn Brenger

Introducing the Axial Flux Alternator

Most processes produce waste heat. Effectively using that heat can make a large difference in the feasibility of a system. Come see a presentation and demonstration of our prototype axial-flux alternator. The alternator is a village-scale technology that will use the waste heat from our biomass to methanol system to supply a part of our electricity needs.

Presented by Yosef Trachtenburg

Walking tour of Windward's forest garden

The future of our human economy lies in the creation and cultivation of ecologically sound, economically productive, and energy efficient living systems that provide for our physical needs.

In this workshop, we'll be exploring some of the big-picture, practical Permacultural food/forage/fiber/fuel systems we are working with and developing for our semi-arid cold-temperate climate.

Since there is so much to cover, topics will be somewhat dependent on interest. Topics may include agroforestry methods, woodland gardens, water harvesting earth works, hugelkultur, silvopasture, multifunctional hedgerows, natural establishment and succession, integrating animals with plant systems, and the theory and design of resilient living systems.

Presented by Andrew Schreiber

Cheesemaking: simple delicacies for home and homestead.

A two part workshop focusing on the raising and care of dairy goats, and the creation of several types of cheese from the milk. Bring your pad and paper, and prepare to learn the ancient art of the dairy herd.

Presented by Lindsay Hagaman

Rabbits and Chickens: small livestock you can keep anywhere!

Rabbits and chickens are an easy and efficient way to generate meat for food, fur and leather for clothing, and compost for gardens. They are small and easy to handle and thus are great for kids. Learn about the care for, and benefits of, raising rabbits and chickens on a small-scale

Presented by Opalyn Brenger

Love-based Living Circle

Compassion and trust create the foundation for the successful working of community. Part of how Windward encourages emotional transparency is by coming together regularly to engage in a compassion building excercise called a love-based living circle.

Participate in this simple and effective method for building close-knit relationships with the people with whom you live, laugh, love, work and play.

Read a description of how a love-based living circle works.

facilitated by Windward

Tour and conversation about Herland Forest Natural Cemetery

Herland Forest is a community-based, not-for-profit natural burial cemetery and stewardship forest in south-central Washington.

As an outgrowth of the Windward Community, Herland is dedicated to learning, teaching and presenting wholesome live-sustaining choices for end of life care.

And more than anything, a place where Guardians of Herland go on nourishing the mind, body and spirit.

Join us for a Sunday afternoon conversation about about life, death and regeneration in Herland Forest, and how you can get involved in this historic pursuit.