Odds and ends

I'm just finishing up a production of 6 PVC and stainless steel pump kits. several are already spoken for, but you can get yours if you contact me at jsjuczak@gisco.net. on a first-served-first-come basis. Next week I will be producing 3 of the stainless steel and brass versions.

I will be writing heavily over the next few weeks, this isn't a career path I ever imagined myself taking...I just seem to have naturally migrated to it. I've been asked to write a number of articles on a wide range of topics including:
1) Stone circle building- I'm helping to set up a small version of Stonehenge at the Kripalu Yoga and Wellness Center in Adams Center, NY...we'll be setting up a gathering area utilizing traditional techniques and modern techniques with stones ranging from several hundred pounds to over 10 tons. The article should appear in the upcoming issue of Metaphysical Times.
2) Practical uses for paper mache...I will be writing an article for a craft/papermaking magazine (I do not recall its name right now) on sculpting a home from papercrete. Recounting the techniques we used in building our cordwood and papercrete home.
3) Water and water pumping for Back Home Magazine. How to figure out where your water is and how to build a hand pump to get it out of the ground.

I've also submitted my applications to two school districts to become a substitute teacher and will submit two more early next week.

Our farm plans are solidifying. Lee and I are just beginning to figure out what quantities we wish to plant and in what order. We'll also be looking to team up with the local CSA association to see if we can join them this year...they have over 200 members and needed more vegetables than they produced last summer...we actually let some things like broccoli and cabbage rot on the stem at the end of the season!

Enjoy your day! -Jim-

Woodhenge seminars

We're beginning to set the calendar for our warm(er) day activities. These include my expanding lecture circuit at the energy fairs, sustainable living fairs and natural building colloquiums. In the past we've offered seminars here at Woodhenge. These events last from a day to a long weekend.

We offer some accommodations here on a first-come-first served basis - this is for space in one of our homes or building projects. We also have tent space with access to a composting outhouse, shower house, picnic table and fire ring. The topics will vary depending upon what we deem to be in the greatest demand. Please e-mail me with your requests, but for now the list is started:

1) Building your own Photovoltaic panels. We'll have all of the materials on hand to make the frame, assemble the cells so that you walk off with a panel that makes electricity and the skills to build more for less than half the cost of a conventional one.

2) The basics of renewable energy systems. If you feel a bit confused about all of the options out there for adding a renewable energy system the biggest problem is translating the technobabble given to you by dealers and installers. Solar (both electrical and heat), wind and hydro systems will be clarified to the point that you should be able to make wise choices in your renewable future.

3) Mortgage free housing. Sometimes you get so stuck in a mindset that you need a seminar like this to get out of the rut. I cover everything from finding discounted property to finding homes for nearly free! Why buy materials if you can get them for free? Scrounging for construction supplies is fun and easy. Unconventional and alternative construction techniques such as cordwood, straw bale and moving a home will be discussed.

4) Growing and preserving food for your family. We've been taught that the only place to get food is the supermarket. Taking back your right to grow and save your food is a basic skill that most have forgotten...it isn't difficult to learn, nor is it as time consuming as you might think. While you visit us at Woodhenge you will mostly be eating what we've grown and preserved here.

5) Building your own axial flux wind turbine. We were featured on "Invention Nation" building this unit. It has evolved since then. You will participate in building one. All parts and wind theory will be covered.

6) Scrounging. The techniques discussed in my book: "The High Art and Subtle Science of Scrounging" will be covered. Why buy stuff when you can get it for free or nearly free? Cars, homes, furniture, clothing, entertainment, food are all out there for you if you know how to ask or find them. This promises to be a fun gathering!

Please contact me if you are interested in one of these or name your own seminar at:
jsjuczak@gisco.net

Thanks Bill of FFA Camp Oswegatchie

Bill Waite from FFA Camp Oswegatchie just e-mailed me to say he'd forwarded my blog site to over 1000 people. Hats off to Bill. I will put in a plug for the camp...it isn't just for FFA kids. If you and your business need a FANTASTIC place to hold a multi-day meeting with reasonable overnight accommodations and a kitchen for hire (they'll cook or let you cook) this is the place for you. Plenty of things to do including high and low ropes (confidence & cooperation building), hiking,
winter sports, summer sports and tons more. The camp has updated a lot of its facilities including the bathroom facilities (more like a palace to wash up in!).

We're going there over the first weekend in February with the FFA kids from South Jefferson School. I've been the weekend cook for this event for more than a decade!

My Pumps: I did a lot of drill press work today and have the first 6 kits of this batch well under way (pun intended). I will be shipping several of them by the end of the week. I also got the stainless steel parts ordered from my local supplier for the stainless and brass version. I'm getting the feedback that the stainless and brass version might actually sell better....even though it is $200 more expensive. While I was at my plumbing supply store I looked into commercial versions of this style pump...Holy Cow! Just the upper works were over $700 in a 10 year old catalog (Baker Plumbing Supply Company) the lower portion (cylinder pump) was even more!
Maybe I'm not charging enough? Stalwart pumps are close to $600 and Bison pumps are over $1500.

I hope to publish some pictures on this blogsite of the pump and show you how it works...not all of the secrets though. I just have to figure out how to do that.

I'm writing an article on water supply systems at the request of Richard Freudenberger (one of the head editors of Back Home Magazine) for Back Home. The article will discuss water supply systems for the Homesteader and give a detailed description of how to build your own deep well hand pump.

Have a great day and remember to e-mail me with your questions and observations at:
jsjuczak@gisco.net

Renewable Businesses

I know there are a few readers of this blog out there. Just to share some of the renewable businesses we're exploring here at Woodhenge:

1) Deep well hand pump plans sets and kits. The plans sets tell you everything you need to do (if your are handy) to build a deep well hand pump from almost entirely off-the-shelf components. The cost for the plans is $20 including postage. I am just beginning to manufacture the pump kits on a regular basis. I'm building 6 right now- these are the PVC/stainless steel versions that cost $250 per kit + postage. I will be moving on to the stainless/brass versions next. I sell these as kits because it both keeps the price down and you will understand how the pump works and how to maintain/repair it should the need arise. The upper part of the PVC pump is a standard cast iron pitcher pump that I modify slightly. You get all of the parts to build a two valve 2" piston pump that is actuated by a stainless steel cable and returned by a stainless steel spring. Each stroke of the pump delivers approximately 1 cup of water. Both pump kits come with a modified cast iron well cap that replaces the cap your presently utilize. The brass and stainless steel version uses a 2" stainless steel cylinder and both brass piston and brass foot valve.

2) Renewable energy education and advisement. I will come to you and explain how pretty much any renewable energy system works. With enough forewarning I will also come and help you assemble your system. This will include anything from mixing the cement for the posts that hold your photovoltaic panel racks to completing the final wiring on your off-grid system and getting you to turn on your first light! My cost is $35/hour plus travel expenses. Having a place for me to put my sleeping bag & tent is a benefit.

3) Writing. I'm presently writing a book on water supply systems for homesteaders (beginners).
It covers everything I could think of about home water supply systems from hydrogeology, hiring a driller, digging your own well, pumps and pumping, storage, filtering and building your own equipment. It is becoming a comprehensive guide to water supplies and will save you potentially thousands of dollars!

My book "The High Art and Subtle Science of Scrounging" is available for $20 + $5 postage from me. It is still available, however I'm on my last 50 copies and will probably not reprint until the ;atest version is written. So many people have given me more stories and ideas that the new volume will be twice as big and include several new chapters.

4) Lecturing. I give fun, energy filled lectures on a wide variety of self-reliance topics. Everything from mortgage-free house construction, growing and preserving your own food, to building renewable energy systems from scratch, and everything in-between.

I can be reached at: jsjuczak@gisco.net
or James S. Juczak
14910 Fuller Rd.
Adams Center, NY 13606

315 771-7333

Thanks for your attention! -Jim-

Home Made...once you get started it's hard to stop!

Often I forget how differently we live. My wife got
up at 4:15 this morning, just a bit earlier than usual
so she could finish making a batch of 'Lemon Curd".
We'd purchased a bunch of lemons and limes from the
discount produce rack at our local grocery store for
about $1. The batch took under a half-hour to make.
The other day she used a recipe from a '70's copy of
The New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook to make
graham crackers. Both were, in our opinion (and several
others) much better than store bought. Sometimes we
buy cases of citrus from an FFA sale at school. I like to
offer to buy whatever is 'left over' at the end of the sale
and have gotten some great deals on cases of navel oranges,
grapefruit, and tangerines. Generally we eat or drink as
much as our bodies crave and then I juice and can the rest.
We keep the fruit in a cooler room of our home and when
we notice that one or more of the fruit is turning brown or
getting moldy it is time to process the rest. I just put 4 1/2
gallons of juice into quart canning jars and hot water bath
processed it. I used slightly modified directions from the
recipe in the "Ball Blue Book" of home canning. The juice
tastes almost fresh squeezed.

Why do this when I could just as easily have bought the curd,
crackers or juice in the store? First off it is cheaper; secondly
we know what is in our stuff (read the ingredients on the
graham cracker box and you will have trouble identifying
several of the ingredients...). Mainly we've learned to have
fun doing things for ourselves. This self-reliance thing is
addictive. I didn't stop my full-time teaching job to be lazy -
just to take a different perspective and do more things for
my family that were a direct result of our labor...in a way
a conventional job is taking you a step or two away from
independence. Some might say that it is a waste of time to
bake bread (I do this once or twice a week 2 to 5 loaves at
a time) when I could just go to the store and buy some...I'm
not condoning or condemning those people. However, I can
multi-task and get the jobs I prefer to do done while stuff is
being made around here. It is easy to write several hundred
words in my book on water supplies while the bread rises. Not
hard to caulk and paint whild the bread bakes. I can easily help
my daughter with her homework while I cut greenbeans up and
put them in canning jars. I can remove the jars from the canner
just before I go to bed and wipe and label them while waiting
for the coffee to perk.

We're trying to get as independent as practically possible. Is complete
independence possible or even desirable...I hope not! But it is
possible to live a bit closer to where the stuff you need comes from.
We don't have a mortgage on our property, we have very little debt.
This come about from not choosing to go through the 'middleman'
on a lot of things. Someone asked if I was worried about someone coming
to our place and demanding food or electricity in a societal breakdown
situation. I went down my hall and grabbed a 5 gallon pail of hard red
winter wheat berries and asked if they knew what to do with them to
turn them into edible foods? A blank stare was my reply..I've since asked
many people if they know how to cook from dry bulk goods and gotten
the same stare. Sure, take my photovoltaic panels...do you know how to
hook them up? I used to think that tall fences and ferocious dogs would
protect me...now I know that my neighbors will protect me because of what I
can do for them and teach them...it is a more secure situation, especially
in view of what I think looms ahead...

Projects at the moment

I've always been busy. Right now we're working on a series
of projects all at the same time. My book on homestead water
supply systems is in progress, as well as the article on finding water
and building your own deep well hand pump for Back Home Magazine.
I have also started the construction of six deep well hand pump kits
several have been ordered and I need to get the parts together
and sent to the customers.

We started a 24' x 32' cottage fro my parents (Florida residents that
want to avoid the peak heat of the summer). It is conventionally framed
and we put up the weather tight shell in just under two weeks, including
the 12 concrete columns we're using as the foundation! We're taking the
rest of the project a bit slower. Yesterday the last of the internal walls
were completed. We'll move onto outside trim if the weather stays good
this week. Got to go over to my brother-in-laws house to get the scaffolding.

I'm taking the time freed up by being gainfully unemployed to do some needed
home renovations...Andy (our long term kid worker) and I are caulking and
finishing all of the little spots of spackling that leak air and heat out of our cordwood
home.

We are also renovating the power room and beginning our spring cleaning.

I've begun to develop a customer base for energy consulting. Hans is my main
client right now. He is working with me on designing his "Project Independence"
that involves 8Kw of pv, Wind, Evacuated tube heating systems and a long
lived diesel generator set-up. He is also working on food production and long term
water supplies. We have similar views on what is going to happen to 'normal society'
once the economy crashes. Our outlooks are not very positive.

Have a great day! -Jim-

Didn't get the job at JCC! Time for another plan...

I didn't get the teaching position at the local community college. It is time to step back, take a breath and come up with a new plan for generating the income I need to do the projects around here at Woodhenge. As a result of this decision I will be doing several things differently.

This blogsite will be updated several times a week from here on...I will learn how to make the links work and eventually develop it into a website that is a useful tool! I promise!

I warned you previously that I don't update my blog very often and asked that if you had questions and comments that you send them to me at jsjuczak@gisco.net. Soooo, I opened the comments file today and was amazed at the amount of positive feedback. I will address the general theme of the comments and still request that if you need to get in touch with me that you use jsjuczak@gisco.net as an initial point of contact. You can also reach me at:

14910 Fuller Rd.
Adams Center, NY 13606
(315) 771-7333

Please feel free to contact me if you wish to have a visit and tour of where I live. Note the "please contact me" comment; we're not always around and when we are we're a family and community that has to get some things done. We're not trying to be impolite, but things need to be done. A good tour takes 2 hours and you'll probably be invited to eat with us (especially if you've lent a hand on jobs we're doing around here) if we know about your visit ahead of time.

Learning and teaching self-reliance is a passion of mine. The people we live with share this passion. There are times that I think that we aren't so special and then I have a revelation...I was canning almost three cases of assorted citrus juices yesterday while my wife made graham crackers and it hit me "this isn't what the typical couple is doing on a Sunday morning"! We just get so used to doing things for ourselves that we don't consider it out of the ordinary to do things like this.

I will be scheduling several 'at Woodhenge' seminars in the near future. I hope to offer, to small groups and families, a series of Homesteading 101 lessons. Practical things that I think will teach you how to overcome the prejudices our society builds into people that are anti-self-reliant oriented. I watch how people react to our home made food...frankly, the are a bit afraid to eat home canned products, stuff made from bulk-bought dried foods (beans, rice, etc.), even water from our well is suspect to some! Some look at our power system and think "I can't do that".
You can!

My goal is to make things like building (without a mortgage), growing and preserving food and
providing your own electricity transparent and simple. Layers of complexity are added to things to discourage you from doing it yourself. Compare a nuclear power plant to a set of photovoltaic panels...don't get me wrong...I think that nuclear power is cute in a kind of faddish way, but not practical in the long run (who is going to pay the grounds keepers on nuclear power sites for the next 5000 years! That cost alone shows how short-ranged the thinking is about these complex items...'someone' will figure it out is not the philosophy we should be taking with the next 10,000 generations). PV panels are as simple to understand as lead-acid batteries and as easily recyclable

Please send you comments to me at the jsjuczak@gisco.net address. Send me topics and dates for suggested seminars. My friend Steve W. and I will be filming a pilot for a television series we've entitled "Crude Food". We want to make it a cross of the Red Green show and Emeril.
A fun look at where food comes from and how it it processed. Harvesting wheat berries, grinding them and then making something like bread out of the flour; hatching a chick raising it, harvesting the eggs and using them and then killing the bird and processing it for meat...that kind of thing. Add your ideas to the fray! Steve and I are both fairly goofy, transplanted Long Islanders (near NY city). We both needed more space and freedom. Farming is a natural outlet
to that need for space. Food processing is a natural progression from farming.

Enough babble. More tomorrow???