Samantha Lewis

Amanda Barteck wrote:I've been following that guy that travels in the southwest on horseback with pack horses. I've been interested in primitive skills and crafts for /quite/ a while, and I've processed plant fiber before, as well as I have extensive experience camping.

I'm about to buy a general use 20ga shotgun, and I'm interested in hunting deer, but haven't done it.  I have friends who hunt, and I'm looking forward to asking them for their hides while I learn how to shoot.

Naturally, if I'm able to successfully make buckskin, I would be able to expand that into other things as well. I am already a serial crafter (it's a common freebie in the neurodiverse package) and on the days I'm not working at a soul crushing job I want to work on soul feeding projects.

I'd love your favorite techniques that don't involve the brain (mother has Parkinson's, I don't want to potentially endanger her) thanks and props.

Hello Amanda!

During hunting season, it is very easy to get hides, just asks around.  Most folks in my area throw the hide away.  Cattle farms are another great place to ask.  If they do on farm harvest, you can often get the hides on harvest day.  

I have made brain tan buckskin in the past, but these days I am mostly working with hair on sheep hides.  
You can do a bark tan.  It is really easy, you just leave the hide soaking in a tannic bark water solution until the solution has penetrated through the hide and caused it to darken.   This takes weeks or months depending on the weather and what kind of hide you are working with.   When the solution has turned the hide a dark color throughout, you are ready to take it out and start working it until it is soft and dry.  This method results in a stiffer product but with use, your hide will become more and more flexible.  

If you prefer the brain tan technique, egg yolks work really well as a substitute for brains.   You can do the same process as regular brain tanning and you will get a nice flexible hide.  


I also use a pickling technique for making hides into rugs.  I sprinkle the hide with salt and bakings soda and allow it to pickle slowly in cool temperatures.  This results in a hide that is more supple than raw hide but stiffer than something you would use for clothing.  They work great as floor coverings and can be hand washed and dried.  

Good luck!  

Let us know how your projects turn out.

Hello Richard and Nathanael!

Welcome!

For me, it helps to know that I can play again next year.  
If I miss the timing of something; planting, harvesting or building, I get another chance to do better.  If I do something poorly or totally mess it up, I know I learned from it, the year will come around again and each year I will be further along.  
I can continue to go deeper and do more.

Thank you everyone!!

Wow!   Only 53 minutes to go!   Looks like a lot of people were waiting for the last minute to make their pledge.   This is so exciting!   Thank you everyone!

Hello Dareios!

This is such a good question. Raw land is a lot of work but you get to create what you really want.  I would look for deep soil and shelter from prevailing winds.  

I would look into what rules there are about what you can build.   Here in the US we have areas where they have a lot of rules about what and how you can build.   Other areas they don’t regulate so much.  I you want to do natural building projects you will probably be happier in an area with less regulations.

It looks like you get a good amount of rain.  I would still be nice to have access to water though. I would look for a place where you can have your own spring if that is possible.    FindASpring.com will help you find springs in your area.  

paul wheaton wrote:Around mid january, everybody that backed the kickstarter for $100 or more will be invited to get more cards for $65 per dozen.

Wow. That sounds Awesome!  Thank you so much!!!

This is Paul Wheaton's 16th Kickstarter!

When you’re bonkers about permaculture, you might seem a bit crazy to your friends and family.

Twelve years ago, we came out with a deck of Permaculture Playing Cards.
The idea was simple: give these decks to people as gifts so you seem a little less crazy.

And it worked.

People loved them so much that they kept asking for another deck.
So we started a long list of ideas, over a hundred in total, and chose the best ones to bring you something new:
the Purple Deck.


Why It Works

Here’s the magic: You hand someone a deck, maybe that cousin who thinks you’ve lost it because of your bizarre gardening techniques. They open it up, pull out two random cards, and spend about seven seconds looking at each.

That’s all it takes. Two cards. Fourteen seconds. And suddenly, they’re hooked on permaculture.

Each card is designed to spark curiosity and share one fascinating slice of the gardening, homesteading and permaculture world, from rocket cooktops to willow feeders, from forage gardening to cleaners you can eat.

What’s Inside the Purple Deck




Kickstarter kickback program!

You can get paid to share this project!

https://permies.com/w/kickback

In the deck of playing cards, you will get the Solar Food Dehydrator card




Here is a video with a lot more detail on this concept.  Enjoy!

I just checked in with the kickstarter page and it looks like we only have 9 days left to go!

When we started this as a 60 day kickstarter I thought that sounded so long but the days have flown by and now it is almost over.    

I think it is so great that enough people want to see this project succeed to really make it happen.  

These cards will be a powerful tool to share skills and inspiration for gardening, natural building, ultra clean wood burning and other homesteading skills.  


We all learn quicker through games and fun.
If you have kids and family members who you are eager to share this stuff with,  these cards are a great way to speed up the learning process.