2023 SKIP: Skills to Inherit Property

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About SKIP:

SKIP is a curriculum of experiences you can complete to prove you can do permaculture.  While a PDC  teaches you how to do permaculture design and analysis, SKIP is hands-on.  You are making things.


When you complete several things, you earn a badge.  Sixteen badges will make you PEP1 certified.  After several years of progress, you can be PEP3 or PEP4 certified.  At that point you are basically self-sufficient and can prove it.  Many older homesteaders don't want their property to turn into a strip mall or subdivision.  This program will connect qualified candidates with those landowners so you can skip the rat race and skip the debt.

Feel of the Event:

In this program, you will gain and demonstrate new skills.  It isn't about training, classroom time or lengthy discussion.  It's about pounding out actual projects.  This event will be heavily focused on giving attendees the ability to complete badges.  It's our third event like this. 


There will be a guide/facilitator for all the planned work.  The attendees will be focused on a given task for each time slot.  If they complete it quickly, there is time to complete additional badges.  If they want to take their time, that is fine, but they may not complete as many badges during the event.

Daily Schedule

This is the rough schedule. Each SKIP event begins with a survey of what attendees most want to focus on, and the plan is tailored from there.

Day 0 (July 16th, the day before the event starts):

Arrival and Getting Settled In 

Arrival: Airport pickups - 10am to 5pm. Arrival by car: 1pm to 5pm. Register and settled in.  Please plan to arrive within this window of time.
Sleep: Try to get plenty of rest. We start early and you have a full day jam-packed with information tomorrow.

Day 1-3: Woodland Care: 

felling trees, peeling and bucking, splitting wood, making a junkpole fence, cleaving shakes

Day 4-5: Gardening:  

making a hugelkultur garden, planting, chop and dropping, mulching


OR: (see below)

Day 4-5: Textiles: 

sewing, knitting, darning, basket making and twine making

Day 6: Animal Care:

bird house, bee house, insect hotel, toad and snake habitat

Day 7: Day Off!

Day 8:  Food Prep and Preservation:  

water bath canning, vinegar brining, salt brining

Day 9:  Foraging:

harvest berries, mushrooms, greens; dry some for storage, make seed balls

Day 10:  Natural Medicine:

dehydrate herbs, make a salve, poultice, vinegar infusion, oil infusion and water infusion

Day 11:  Community:

brand a location, create public art, create a map

Day 12-13:  Earthworks:  

make a dry stack retaining wall, make a trail, maintain a trail, use an excavator, improve a berm, use the tractor loader

Day 14:  Homesteading:

trailer backing, make a rock jack

Badge Math:

The planned/supervised activities during the event should earn the majority of 9 badges.  Pre-work and spare time activities will complete those badges.  Exceptional attendees could earn up to 5 more badges in their spare time.


The SKIP Track during the Jamboree that precedes this event is aimed at completing 8 more badges.  By attending both events you have the distinct possibility of achieving PEP1 certification.

Daily Schedule:


7:00am – breakfast
8:00am – summary of the day
8:30am – session 1
10:00am – session 2
noon – lunch
1:00pm – session 3
3:00pm – session 4
5:00pm – cleanup
6:00pm – dinner
7:00pm – evening presentations
9:30pm to 6:00am – quiet time

Instructors

Mike Haasl

Instructor

Mike Haasl is a mechanical engineer, woodworker, blacksmith, and permaculture homesteader in northern Wisconsin.  He constructed a sweet greenhouse, builds with pallets and upcycled material, and experiments with compost heat.  He is developing a demonstration site for permaculture homesteading, and is collaborating to create the SKIP program.

Paul Wheaton

Host/Instructor

Paul wheaton in snow

Paul Wheaton, The Duke of Permaculture, is an author, producer, and certified advanced master gardener. He has created hundreds of youtube videos, hundreds of podcasts, multiple DVDs, and written dozens of articles and a book. As the lead mad scientist at Wheaton Labs, he's conducted experiments resulting in rocket stoves and ovens, massive earthworks, solar dehydrators and much more. 

better world book, paul wheaton ted talk, rocket stove and oven DVDs, permaculture cards, World Domination Gardening

Fred Tyler 

Instructor

Fred Tyler has led the bootcamp at Wheaton Labs for three years now. He's directed and taught skills ranging from organic gardening to woodworking to natural building. He is the supreme coordinator for roundwood timber framing projects and food growing systems.  

rocket stove, timberframed balcony, willow feeder outhouse

Jennifer Richardson

Instructor

Jennifer Richardson is a former cattle rancher and current resident of Wheaton Labs. She is participating in the boot camp and living in Allerton Abbey, the first wofati, in order to test the thermal inertia of the structure.

rocket stove, natural floor and siding, small wood table crochet

Josiah Kobernik

Instructor

Josiah cobbled together a diverse background in commercial agriculture, horticulture, market gardening, raising livestock, homesteading, and other general build/fix skills before landing at Wheaton Labs in 2019. Since moving to the labs, he has taken to working with roundwood timber framing, earthen plasters, videography, rocket contraptions, and any other inventions he can get his hands on.

Tickets

Note: 80% refund up to two weeks before the event starts. If you are not comfortable with being recorded, please do not attend. Tobacco/drug/vape free campus.


Regular price tickets will be $1650.  Super Early Bird expires after the first 10 tickets have been sold, so claim your spot!

SKIP: Skills to Inherit Property

July 17th - 28nd, 2023

Paul will provide three simple meals a day at no charge, but food is not included with your ticket.  If you have special dietary needs/desires, you might want to bring your own food and use our rocket cook stoves, ovens, solar ovens and other cooking contraptions.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Where exactly is Wheaton Labs? 

If I really love it at Wheaton Labs, can I stick around?

Can I bring my kids &/or spouse? Do I have to pay extra for them?

What about my dog?

Smokes?  Booze?  420 friendly?

What other things are nearby?

What should I wear/bring?

What kind of food will be provided?

More Questions?

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