Interested in self-sufficiency? Want to help build a community? Love the sea? Our collective, on an organic farm a few hours north of Oslo, is for anyone who wants to learn and work hard. We grow food, boats and ideas, so if you have a knowledge or interest in permaculture, farming, boat building, or sailing, come and help us create a home that is sustainable both on land AND out at sea!
We are building a sailboat (the first of many), with the hope that when she sets sail (hopefully spring 2012) we will visit other eco-villages around the world, collecting knowledge and travelling in the most eco-friendly way possible. Anyone who helps will have the chance to join our crew, a tribe of floating sea-gypsies! We also need help on the farm, as we build up the infrastructure to form a stable base for our community. This project is relatively new; we began in 2009 so there is still a lot to be done. We live with two dogs, the farm cat and some (very) free-range chickens. We keep bees and make jam; this year we harvested our first crop of potatoes and planted next seasons raspberries. Eventually we hope to grow all our food. We want to create a place that will flourish as our boats start sailing, a place where crops, thoughts, adventures, and of course boats, can grow!
Want more info?
sailing the farm tribe - join our seagypsy tribe of tomorrow!
zeyang lin
Joined: Feb 26, 2012
Posts: 18
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Newsletter April 2012. .
Dear Sea Gypsies,
Still some time until we are ready to put the seeds into the soil. Its
more or less -5 degrees C during night last weeks but daytime is above
zero.
The days have been spent welding and welding and when we havent done
welding we have spent time troubleshoot welding machines. They have a
tendency to break down unfortunately. So we bought 2 more big
machines. We also got hold of another ton of lead. There seems to be
no end to how much lead we need for ballast.
Ahh yes. We got more chickens on the farm. one of our hens found out
we need some easter chickens this year and she missed by 2 days. Not
bad. The small one is a little shy so its hard to take a picture
without getting attacked by the angry mother.
Today it will be traditional easter-dinner here on the farm with
people from near and far. Wish you all fair winds and following seas
and hope you all have a peacful easter.
picture from last weeks.
a: our chickens are enjoying longer and warmer days.
b: two more welding machines arrived on the farm.. It seems we cant
get enough welding machines.
c: Our easter chicken arrived 2 days before easter.
Spring has come to the farm! And then came summer, and then a few
blustery days of fall, and finally last Friday and Saturday it snowed
again. But that will be the last snow of the year, we hope - the mild
weather seems to have returned, the trees are leafing out, the
wildflowers are springing up around the river, the bees and the
neighbors have come out of hibernation (again), and we are hard at
work.
This week we mixed a few tons of lovely manure compost into the soil
of the north field, and planted eleven rows of potatoes - by hand -
which should give us about 300 kilos of potatoes in the fall to feed hungry sea-gypsies all next winter. Next week we'll plant carrots and
onions, and move some tender warm-weather starts to our new greenhouse - radishes, bok choi, spinach, parsley, beets, and sugar peas so tall,
they might start climbing us if we don't get them out of the kitchen
soon.
Work on the boat has really picked up recently. We've been distracted
with planting, and replumbing the bathroom, and building coldframes
and the new greenhouse - but now that the potatoes are in the ground
and the sea-gypsies are in the bath (phew), we are back in the
boatshed all the time. Our resident woodworker is about to start work
on a wooden dinghy from a traditional Norwegian design, just as soon
as he gets the greenhouse finished. And we cast two tons of lead
ballast, a very medieval process involving a wood-fired furnace in the
yard. The boat will eventually carry five tons, so there is more
casting to do as soon as the scrap yard has more lead for us.
Inside the boat we're sealing off the keel with aluminum plates - the
bow is nearly done, and then we can put in the last of the bow ribs.
In the stern, we're wrestling with engine placement - it needs to be
high enough to fit the cooling system and the primary diesel tank
underneath, but low enough that the propeller clears the stern.
Hmmmmm. Fortunately there's plenty to do while we're thinking about
it - like put on the deck! The boat will start looking dramatically
different very soon and we're all pretty excited.
As always, there's room for more in our big sea-gypsy tribe - so if
you like planting, weeding, shoveling, soldering, sawing, nailing,
welding, grinding, sewing, cooking, drilling, knitting, routering,
getting headbutted by chickens, watching 2-hour sunsets, measuring,
cutting, re-measuring, thinking, re-re-measuring, making bread,
reading sea books, eating waffles or knot-tying, drop us a line!
Picture from last weeks.
a: Sea gypsy girl making psykedelic chair-protection for the chairs.
b: Shaping wood with router
c: Potato-planting.
d: lead melting girl finished melting 2 tonns in one week.
We're back to a full farm - the current crew of sea-gypsies hail from
Norway, Germany (times two), Finland, France/Belgium, the UK and the
US - it makes for lively, er, discussions in the evenings while we're
watching Euro Cup matches.
It also makes for rapid progress - in the last few weeks we've picked
the entire farm clean of rocks, planted two fields in a mixture of
cover crops (including phacelia, whose blue flowers are a favorite bee
snack), built and painted a fence around the yard, re-plumbed the
basement, fixed our fleet of bicycles, put in almost a kilometer of
fence around the biggest field, dug up half the far field looking for
a pipe leak, refinished a beautiful old door... and then, in our spare
time, built a model for the boat's dinghy, biked all over the area,
hiked down the river, spent a weekend in Oslo, foraged local plants
for dinner, built a campfire spot overlooking the valley, installed a
swing under the barn ramp, given each other mohawks, and baked about
forty loaves of bread.
And we're going to be parents! Kind of! One of our chickens has very
motherly instincts, and she's been incubating thirteen eggs - some
hers, some laid by the rest of our flock. We're expecting chicks in a
week or so.
All the farming hasn't left us much time for boatbuilding, but we
still managed to make some progress this month: the keelbox has been
welded shut in bow and stern, the last ribs are being bent to shape
and welded in, and the calculations for the curve of the deck have
begun. This week we'll finish the ribs and begin the wood patterns
for the deck frames.
We've been eating like royalty - everybody has learned to bake, and
the spring plants are out in force, so we feast on nettles, milkweed,
chaga mushrooms, dandelions, wood sorrel, and our own bread. After a
long winter of turnips, potatoes and carrots, it's wonderful to have
the green leaves that come with warm days, and the new dishes that
come with new comrades.
So, enjoy summer folks, and if you want to join us, just send us an
email.
Pictures from last weeks.
a: Sea-gypsy girl busy planning the route with help of the world-map
in background.
b: Fence-banging guys!
c: The Fencing-crew on the way to the field.
d: Enjoy a short rest after hours of rockpicking in the field.
Joined: Nov 10, 2011
Posts: 10
Location: Dallas TX
posted
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WOW! I am so impressed! Do you guys mind adding a Russian to the mix? Norway sounds like normal climate, not this darn 100-degree and above heat of Dallas (where I am currently).
Und ich kann auch ein bisschen deutsch! Nur ein bisschen, es war eine lange Zeit...
zeyang lin
Joined: Feb 26, 2012
Posts: 18
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hi dimitry
send me your email and ill send you more info
Hannah DeWinter
Joined: Jul 16, 2012
Posts: 1
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Hello this is very interesting! Could you please send me some information?
My email is Hannah.dewinter@yahoo.com
Ruben Shapiro
Joined: Jul 18, 2012
Posts: 2
posted
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Hello! This project, and you guys in general are Awesome! I will be travelling around europe this summer, and would love to come help out! Have been through a PDC course and more, any info is appreciated! You have my full support... rubzeppelin@hotmail.com thanks!
Alexandra Budz
Joined: Jul 24, 2012
Posts: 29
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Hi my name is Alexandra Budz,
I am a recent graduate of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. I have always loved gardening , and my family tries to use organic produce, meats, etc. and I have become very interest, in doing more. I don't not really have a great deal of experience with permacullture farming, but have done a great deal of research and I would love to learn more.
If you have any opportunities please let me know,
Thank you in advance for your time
Monica Mulder
Joined: Aug 14, 2012
Posts: 6
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This looks amazingly extraordinary! What will you be up to this fall? My partner and I will be headed to France and then have a pretty open travel plan to go wherever we want to go (budget willing). Is it too cold up there in the fall to do much?
I just did a permaculture course in Haiti and have volunteered on a few farms but I definitely want to learn more. I'm also trying to collect stories and interviews for my blog (see my signature).
In any case, I really admire what you are doing. I love the whimsical and imaginative ventures people take in life!
Wow, this is a concept I've recently entertained. My father lives on a sailboat off the Atlantic coast of the U.S. I would love to get more information!
Joined: Oct 24, 2012
Posts: 1
Location: Ithaca, NY, USA
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This is amazing. I'm going to be taking a year off school next year (2013-2014), trying to find work experiences on a permaculture-inspired farm. I love your vision, and I really, really want to spend time working with you. I am a permaculture enthusiast, I'm currently taking a PDC course, and I love sailing. I'm not a super experienced farmer, but I have spent time working in an orchard, in my garden, and on other small farms. I'm very able-bodied, and I'm enthusiastic about gaining experiences in permaculture and community building. Please contact me, either tpp28(at)cornell.edu, or through a PM
Kristen Ringman
Joined: Dec 02, 2012
Posts: 2
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Hi,
I am a deaf half-Swedish American fiction and poetry writer with a 15-month-old boy, Ronan, and a husband, Rob. The husband and I are both sailors, mostly on multi-hulls, and used to live aboard a trimaran and sailed it from Block Island to Key West (USA). We are currently living in New Hampshire, the north east of America, but I'm dying to bring my family to other countries in communities such as yours (I used to live in Auroville, South India, an international ecovillage, and worked there helping stray dogs and have visited Plum Village in France and Sirius Community in Massachusetts).
We are also planning to sail around the world sometime within the next 5 or 10 years....would LOVE to consider visiting/living in your community or sailing with you or helping build the boat! My husband is pretty amazing at carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, etc and we've both worked on our own sailboats in the past. I have family in Sweden and Finland that I'm in contact with as well (Ive actually visited the ones in Stockholm). Also - we both cook and love to cook, especially my husband, so can help in that way, too. Please send us more info: krisnwillow@gmail.com
Thanks so much,
Kristen
zeyang lin
Joined: Feb 26, 2012
Posts: 18
posted
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Newsletter December 2012.
Dear All,
First of all, Mucho Gracias for all contribution this year - This
doesent goes just for those of you who have been flying, driving,
peddaling, walking and swimming up here to lend a hand on the farm and
the shipbuilding - but it goes also to you who have send support
mails, commented on forums, asked to help sponsoring the project and
mailed us. Without your support, we would never have come this far.
We are now going into the last year of building the Seagypsy Boat #1
and hopefully start sailing. Yes, i know some of you think she will
sail only backwards, or even upside down, but sail she will.. ..
Together we have come a long way taking into consideration that most
of volunteers coming up here have never done any metalwork or even
farmwork before, but they all share the same dream...
To sum up for 2012. We have used more than 2 metric tonns of aluminium
this year, welded hundreds and hundreds of meters of welding, consumed
a few hundred kg of Argon gas, melted 5 tonns lead. Not to mention
breathing way too much welding fumes and aluminium dust...
On the farm, we have had lots and lots of volunteers who has been in
charge of growing potatoes, sugar pees, carrots, berries and lots of
other stuff. They have got new friends and met old ones from prior
years.
They have shared and learned, maybe eating too much porridge and
waffles, laughed, cried, made love (tough I really worked hard here to
keep those sneaky wwoffers in separate girls/guys barracks!!) Some
have even taken step to marry! So in sum I think 2012 has been quite a
good year.
As we are nearing the end of this year (and not end of the world i
hope!) I wish you all a peaceful 2013 with much joy and happiness for
the coming year and we up on the farm really look forward to meet new
and old volunteers both here and out on the seven seas.
Fair winds and smooth sailing from
Sailing the farm - A Sea gypsy tribe of tomorrow.
Ze
This is a beautiful combination of the most enjoyable things... I have a bit of experience in building and repair. Have done minimal gardening and am very interested in permaculture. I am trying to gain more knowledge on the fun and planning of self sustainable living and am working on home plans for a piece of land I have and would like to grow with years down the line. I will be back from traveling in April and looking for what is next in my life. Please send me information if you are still seeking a fellow gypsy!
Spring is slowly coming our way, Its been maybe the coldest winter for
as long as people can remember up here. Minus -30 for weeks out and
weeks for january and february and even in march we have -20 degrees
for many days. But we dont complain (at least loudly!) the shed was
filled to the brink with firewood and during evening and weekends time
have been spent reading about small pacific islands where the sun
always shine... Guess where to boat is sailing!
Last two months have been spent doing foundry work (melting
aluminium). We are now making our own portholes and all small bits and
pieces out of the all the scrap alloy we have floating around. Next
would be to make a few dolphins for decoration
Anyway, enjoy the early spring folks! .. and if you want to join our
tribe please contact us!
Pictures.
a. making a sand-cast for a small porthole.
b. Out enjoy the skiing in cold winter weather.
c. a cake? Nope. Its called cores and used for foundry work! Its a
miks of sand and linseed oil. Taste awful, but works good.
d. welding small boxes and stuff together.
e. Porthole production.
I'm interested in what you are up to. I currently work for an organic fertilizer company and I was certified EMT before that. Please send me more info. kdonahue1220@gmail.com
subject: sailng the farm - seagypsy tribe of tomorrow!
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Norway sounds like normal climate, not this darn 100-degree and above heat of Dallas (where I am currently).
