Saturday, May 17, 2014

Rainy Workshop

In spite of the persistent rain, we just held another successful earth oven workshop in Waterville, Maine. I was wet and cold, but the group enthusiasm really elevated my spirits. For me, there's nothing more enjoyable than teaching a workshop with such eager participants. 
If there were a way to transfer such willingness and craving for knowledge to our public school systems, everything would change in the United States.

 Insulating the earth oven

Constructing the simple brick oven

Sunday, May 11, 2014

An Oven Destroyed

To protect your oven from the elements, it's essential you keep it dry, and keeping it dry doesn't mean covering it with the "blue tarp."
The earth oven shown was covered in the fall to protect it from the rain and snow. Yes, the tarp protected the oven from the rain and snow, but it did not protect it from condensation that got between the tarp and the dome. 
The result: When the tarp was unveiled (you can see it in the bottom left), we see that the oven reverted to its primal substance. MUD.

This oven needed a roof