Projects Journal

Words on Water at Aprovecho

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Abel Kloster
Sustainable logging in Aprovecho's forest

by Abel Kloster High summer on the south facing slope here at Aprovecho is dry.  The creek channel is a cracked gully of bedrock flagstones.  Seed heads shatter or pop on the stalk and leaves curl in the afternoon breeze … Continue reading →

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The Spirit of Verkenvalden Re-kindled

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Jeremy Roth
Troweling the clay mixture onto the floor

by Jeremy Roth with excerpts from The Spirit of Verkenvalden by Josh Fattal As I sit here taking a breather from day two of our Earthen Floor installation work party,I can’t help but think about Josh Fattal and a term … Continue reading →

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Aprovecho’s Ethnoecology and Agricultural Traditions Project

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Abel Kloster

The goal of this project is to further the understanding of the role native plants and their traditional land management patterns have both in the process of restoration and in the human diet.  The project involves a collaboration between Aprovecho, … Continue reading →

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As Clear as Mud

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Chris Foraker
mud

But it covers the ground.  In July 2010, seven students gathered from the U.S. and Canada to learn the art of the earthen floor at Aprovecho.  Taught by earthen floor expert Sukita Crimmel (www.sukita.com), the students spent three days with … Continue reading →

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A Local Foods Movement Worth Its Salt: Lessons from Aprovecho’s 100 Mile Diet Program

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Tao Orion
salt1

It first started with an idea in the fall of 2006. I had recently moved to Aprovecho, outside of Cottage Grove, OR, after a brief stint in Portland. My partner Abel Kloster, our new friend and Aprovecho staff member Josh … Continue reading →

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Turning Problems into Solutions for the Green-Collar Economy

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Abel Kloster
Tank 2

Here in the Coast Range of Western Oregon, signs of the economy of bygone days are imprinted on the landscape in a checkerboard mosaic of clear cuts and Douglas fir plantations. A once prosperous logging and mining town, Cottage Grove, … Continue reading →

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Exploring Building Materials Test Engineering

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Jeremy Roth
Constructing the walls

This program served as an introduction and primer to the applied science of green engineering. Students from Cottage Grove High School’s Enigineering Technology Class worked directly with Aprovecho and other industry professionals to implement hands-on projects and testing both in the classroom and in their community. Continue reading →

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Summer Experience in Green Jobs for Youth

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Jeremy Roth

This program employed ten youth, ages 17 -21, for two months during the summer. They were paid hourly and worked a four day week at Aprovecho and focused on four seperate projects. They gained valuable skills and experience in a variety of disciplines both inside and outside of the “traditional” trade occupations. This program was nationally recognized by the US Department of Labor as an exemplary program. Continue reading →

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Growing to love growing tilapia

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Jeremy Roth

The fish grew to love me as the hand that feeds them. Every time i walked by the tank they would start churning at the surface, and at feeding times they devoured all of the food that i gave them. At that stage they were getting a fingerling food (from our project partners at Jim’s Online Fish Shop) at 4% of their body weight per day. That worked out to approximately 1/4 cup food, three times / day. Continue reading →

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It’s Alive (and green)!

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Jeremy Roth

The acclimation of both the main tanks and the fry tanks is going well. We added approx 5 lbs of fresh chicken manure to the main tanks (in a mesh bag) which brought the ammonia and phosphate levels up from … Continue reading →

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