Campus Center for Appropriate Technology Newsletter, Fall 2009

8/9/2019 Campus Center for Appropriate Technology Newsletter, Fall 2009

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2/122 AT Transfer Fall 2009

The CCAT mission is:

to demonstrate appropriate technology in a residential setting to provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities to Humboldt State

University and the surrounding community. to collect and disseminate information about appropriate technology to examine the ethical and social consequences of technology and to dispel the myth that living lightly on the earth is dicult or burdensome.

CCAT is dedicated to sustainability and seeks to help others live likewise.

Table of Contents

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Editors:

Raymond Lombardi

Philip Lucas

CCA. My heart sings its namein rejoicing splendor at the break oeach resh day. My submergence inthe benevolent community knownas the Campus Center or Appropri-

ate echnology marks the exodusrom the dark shores o my hopelessisland. CCA is more than a houseand collage o smiling aces. CCAhas the potential or an individual toembark on a quest ueled by commu-nity support and the loving chorus oa planet worth saving. Now, I shouldnever be so brash as to say that whatis done on that small patch o land isthe answer to the multitude o ba-ing, incomprehensible, and rankly

rightening questions posed uponour most ortunate generation; but I

would be so brash as to say that it isa rst step towards the inner peace oan eort worth undertaking. Unor-

tunately it is simultaneously a stepaway rom the inner peace aordedby the comort o a mind unknowing.I but a single shred o my humanity

were to remain upon the rising o theutures sun I would wish it be thatshred that is embodied by CCA andthose who call it home.

- Maxwell Hewes -CCAT Volunteer

A CCAT Love Letter

The A.T. Transfer is the ocial newsletter othe Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, which is funded by the Associated Students of Humboldt State University. The viewsand content of the A.T. Transfer are not censored or reviewed by the Associated Students

A Word From Our Co-Directors

Garden Update

Water Power Systems

Greenhouse Gala

Former Directors Check InSystems Analysis Update

Vermicomposting

Solar Hot Water at CCAT

Do-It-Yourself Projects

Recipes From CCAT

CCAT Classes for Spring 2010

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Te Fall 2009 CCA Staf


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Greetings rom the CCAgardens! Weve seen lots oprogress since last semester,

with some summer time workand many hands joining in thissemester to make the CCA gar-dens and grounds look beau-tiul. Te CCA Organic Gar-dening class was brought back

to the hands-on level with aplethora o other projects go-ing on. Weve whipped the an-nual vegetable beds into shape,planted some winter and covercrops, and have been workingto restore and maintain the oodorest. We even got in a eld tripor two to Eddie anners DeepSeeded Community Farm andShail Pec-Crouses ule FogFarm!

ons o onions were harvest-

ed rom this sum-mers growth,along with lots opeppers and cab-bage. Right nowtheres kale, let-tuce, radishes,beets, turnips,leeks, bok choi

and onions grow-ing, not to men-tion the babygarlic sproutspopping out othe mulch! Wereeven able to utilize the newrain water catchment systeminstalled last semester to waterour beds.

Te rest o the yard is comingback under control ater a sum-

mer o crazy weed growth. Our

kiwis have put on a great dealo growth in the last couple omonths and are being retrainedto cover the arbor, the passion-owers by the yurt are takingover and looking or new homes,

the huckleberries are growing well with end-use water romthe grey water marsh, and theartichokes are doing great a-ter their most recent transplantin anticipation o the tool shedconstruction! With a little moremanure, cardboard and com-post, we will build up soil in theront yard and the ood orest inhopes or great growth in the u-ture. Its been a beautiul waltzcoordinating with all the otherexciting developments happen-ing on CCAs physical site, andnding settling space or plantsprojects and seeds. With covercrop seeded in the ground andplants coming back to lie, wereready or the rain o winter andthe growth to come!

By Jess Huyghebaert and Jeremiah Bright

Photos by Jess Huyghebaert

Garden

Update


5/12AT Transfer Fall 2009 5

From native reservations inNorthern Caliornia to rural villages

in the mountains o Bhutan, micro-hydro-electric systems are lightinghomes. Tese systems make it pos-sible to reduce impact on the eco-logical processes in which we areinvolved.

Microhydro reers to small waterpower projects. Unlike con- ventional hydropower, which maydam the ow o a river, microhydrodiverts only a portion o the waterow. Te diverted water is chan-

neled down an incline, where itspins in a turbine and is convertedinto an electrical current, beore be-ing returned to the stream. Te en-ergy a system can produce is depen-dent upon the ow rate, or amounto water over a given amount otime, and the head, which is the

vertical distance traveled rom startto nish. Tis orm o electrical gen-

eration alters the natural ow o awaterway very little, generally caus-ing no noticeable change in watertemperature, and maintaining wa-ter levels that can support wildlieand auna even in the dry season.

Projects vary in size. Mastersstudent at Humboldt State Univer-sity, Chhimi Dorji, acted as proj-ect manager o a 1.5 million dollarproject in his home country o Bhu-tan. Te project supplied electric

power to a village that previouslyhad very limited access to electric-ity. Te addition o elctricity is hav-ing signicant social impacts on thecommunity, such as an increase ineducational opportunities. Beorethe project, students could not workduring the dark hours o the day.

Another result has been an increasein hours spent watching television.

Closer to home, on the Yurokreservation, I participated in theinstallation o a much smaller mi-crohydro project. Working withina small boulder laden streambeda small group o volunteers rolledup their pant legs to install a single-amily 1000 watt system, made romPVC pipes.

In a time o global climatechange, there is no shortage o rea-sons to shit away rom a dependen-

cy on ossil uels. It is important togenerate power closer to the loca-tion o consumption. By decentral-izing power, we not only reduce theinefciencies o transerring powerover a long distance, but we gaincontrol over our energy sources.

At Work Near and FarWaterpower systems in Bhutan and Northern California lighten impactBy Hannah Hourie

Tis semester CCA received awonderul git in the orm o a REC220 Leisure Programming GroupProject. Teir class project was todesign a undraising event or anorganization, and one particulargroup o students chose to do theirproject or CCA.

Te goal o groups project was to raise money to help withthe costs o reconstructing CCAsgreenhouse. Te ormer green-house on CCAs ormer groundsunctioned as a heat source or thehouse, an educational and learningspace, a place to grow plant startsin the spring, and way to extend thegrowing season well into the winterto provide ood or the household.

Te REC 220 class recognizedCCAs desire to rebuild a green-house and planned an event called

the Greenhouse Galathat ell in line withCCAs mission o pro-

viding students withhands-on learning ex-periences. All o the oodprovided was donated bylocal businesses and lo-cal organic armers. Teclass also took specialcare to provide reusabledishware, making surethat it was a zero wasteevent! All o the prizesor the drawing and silent auction

were donated by local businesses ormade by local artists. Te event waslled with great ood, prizes, musicand riends. By the end o the night,the Gala had raised over $1000 dol-lars or CCAs new greenhouse.

Tank you Amanda, Dana, Jen-

nier, Luke, im and Megan or al your hard work and dedication. Aspecial thank you to the REC 220Proessor, Paul Marsh, Ph.D. orteaching such a great class.

CCAT Greenhouse GalaBy Kate Dondero



Since nishing my term as co-director and graduating rom HSU,Ive kept mysel busy in a variety o

ways! First, I moved back to Oakland where I earned my multiple subjects

teaching credential at East Bay Con-servation Corps K-5 Charter Schoolthrough HSUs distance education pro-gram, where I was a ull-time studentas well as a ull-time eacher Intern. Ithought I was busy as a Co-Director,but what an intense year! Ten, withmy meager earnings rom my teach-ing stint, I bought a 27 sail boat and,learning as I went, sailed down thecoast o CA with a riend, arriving inMexico in time or Christmas and New

Years. Ater that, I ew to Costa Rica,where I traveled or ve months study-ing Spanish and enjoying the beauti-ul natural wonders o Costa Rica andneighboring Panama. Broke, I cameback to CA, where I picked up my boatand sailed back to Oakland. I got a jobteaching at a summer camp called Gal-ileo-Learning that ocuses on Art, Sci-ence, and the Outdoors. I have sincecontinued working with them, and

have moved on to become the CampDirector o one o their middle schoolcamps, Galileo Summer Quest. Imcurrently writing a curriculum or next

years camp season, including a coupleo units on Green Design, where weteach campers how to harness energy

rom renewable resources and leave alighter ootprint on our planet. NextIm thinking o working on a historicsailing ship in SF Maritime NationaHistoric Park, where Ill take kids on anovernight adventure, in character as asailor rom the 1800s. Yee-Haw!

Since I co-directed in 1999 with

Stacy, Michelle, Brook and April, I went on to get my teaching credentials in high school Science and Eng-lish. I taught in a private junior highor a year, and started consulting orlocal developer Danco on how to in-corporate a CSA arm into a housingdevelopment. I was then hired bythat Danco a year later and have been

working since then on green building, clean-up o brownelds, and a-ordable housing. In about a year and

a hal, I hope to have built the rstzero energy apartment complex inthe United Statesits designed, ap-proved and partially unded. So closeI can almost smell the PV panels.

A Piece of the PastFormer Co-Directors check in with an update

Sean Armstrong

Glenn Howe


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Procedure:Start making holes in the sides and bottom o your rstcontainer about 1/8 wide. One hole every square inch isplenty. Place the bucket with holes on top o the other.Place some dry shredded paper in the bottom bucket (this

will help absorb any excess water).

Mix together your worms, your dirt, a tiny bit o sot ood, and some moistened shredded paper in the top

bucket. Make sure all o your ood is covered to keep ies away. Also, avoid citrus and citrus peels; the acidintereres with the worms digestion.Now, leave it alone. Worms can survive or more than a month with no ood, but only a ew days i theres toomuch ood. oo much ood will make your worm bin heat up and smell bad, which will kill the worms. I youput too much ood in, immediately add more moistened, shredded paper to slow down the decompositionand help keep the temperature acceptable.Keep your worm bin moist; just wet enough so that i you squeeze the dirt with all the might in your hands,

youll produce just a single drop. I it gets too moist (careul, this is easy to do and hard to x) add dry shred-ded paper, mix the pile, and keep the bin ventilated.

VermicompostingBy Jesse Shrader

Much o the waste that goes intolandlls nowadays is waste that can

be composted. We all know thatthis just shouldnt be. raditionalcomposting is an excellent way toreuse some o our wastes and can bedone even aster, with less smell, and

with more nutrients with the use oworms.

Vermicomposting, or composting with worms, is a un, efcient,and even protable way to turnkitchen waste and ofce waste intosoil. Heres how you can do it:

Supplies:2 Stackable Large Containers (old 5 gallon buckets work great!)Something to poke/drill holes in the container

Red Wiggler WormsSot ood rom your kitchen (no citrus, meat, or dairy!)Shredded/orn Paper

A ew cups o dirt in which to start your worms

Photos by Jesse Shrader and Matthew Freeman

CCAT Hosts Workshop



Tis summer, CCA increased itssolar exposure by tapping the sunsrays not just or electricity, but or hotwater as well. In early July, solar con-

tractor Ben Scureld and I installedthe solar thermal component oCCAs hot water heating system. Teproject was unded by a HEIF (Hum-boldt State Energy IndependenceFund) grant that was co-authored byFormer CCA Co-Director Je Stue-ben, and CCA Grant Writer LauraHughes in all 2008. Te proposalgarnered approximately $15,775, toinstall two solar collectors, monitor-ing equipment, and an interpretive

display.CCAs solar thermal system is a

closed loop system that utilizes twoSchco at plate collectors mountedush to the angle o the roo. Tecollectors tie into a Phoenix brandnatural gas red hot water heaterthrough a built in heat exchanger spe-cically designed or solar thermal.A propylene glycol solution (nontoxic antireeze) is used as the heatexchange medium that is pumped up

through the collectors and back to thePhoenix. Closed loop means thatthe propylene glycol remains in thepipes that connect the panels to theheat exchanger, and does not drainback into a separate tank or mix withthe water in the Phoenix. Inspectionso the propylene glycol are recom-mended every ew years, and it willeventually need to be replaced as itbreaks down and loses eectivenessover time. Te two solar collectorswere sized to provide 50% o CCAswater heating capacity, and uturemonitoring will help to quantiy thisestimate. I can say or certain that allthe co-directors now come out o theshower 50% more radiant!

Te installation went smoothly,especially ater we got the two heavypanels mounted on the roo. TeGerman engineered solar collec-tors impressed me. Tey came with

detachable handles that connectedvia tracks on the panels rames,which made carrying them easier.Te mounting system is equally well

designed in my opinion. AluminumS-5 clamps slip over the standingseams on the metal roo and tightendown with rounded nose set screws.Te screws compress the roo mate-rial against the opposite wall o theclamp but do not penetrate it. Tissystem works to reduce the numbero roo penetrations, thus reducingpotential leaks!

Te plumbing was un. Tere issomething satisying about nicely sol-

dered pipe ttings, which Ben taughtme how to do. Soldering in tight plac-es is challenging, but we managed notto burn the house down! All the pipeswere well insulated with oam insula-tion to reduce heat loss. We installeda ew extra valves to acilitate installa-tion o additional ow meters or othermonitoring devices.

Monitoring equipment or thehot water system is currently beinginstalled. Engineering Proessor Arne

Jacobsen will be using data rom thesystem or analysis in a ew o his

classes. CCA has also teamed upwith Jennier arltons NRPI Inter-pretation Practicum class to create asign that describes the system to the

general public. Tis project has cometo ruition due to the collective eorto HSU students, aculty, and com-munity members, and will providemany educational opportunities oryears to come.

CCATs Raydient New Solar Hot Water SystemBy Toby Haskett



Do your pants have holes inthem because you are too cheap to

buy new ones? It is relatively easyto patch those pants that are goodaside rom the hole in the knee. Iconsider it a ashion statementtoo. All you will need is some scrapdenim, some thread, a needle, ourpins, a ruler, scissors and an iron.

Any readers that actually knowhow to sew know that my method iscrude, but I promise it works.

First, I make a patch whoseedges will not ray and then sew it

on the pants. Measure the widthand length o the hole in the pantsand add about 3/4 o an inch tothose measurements. Tat willbe the dimension o the square oscrap denim you will need. For ex-ample i you have a 1 inch by 1 1/2inch hole you will need a 1 inchby 2 inch square patch. I ndthat the scraps rom below the kneeo junk pants are in the best shape.Now or the un part. Heat up your

iron on a high setting. Fold overone side o the square so the insidetouches light colored inside. Fold

about 3/8 and iron it so it staysolded. Keep the iron moving to

avoid burning. Now do the sameon an adjacent side and so on untilall our sides are ironed under. Now

you have a patch.Position the patch over the hole

appropriately and pin it in place oneach side by going down throughthe olded part, through the pantsand then back up through the pantsand patch. Te pins will have to bemoved and removed as the patch issewn on. o make it more acces-

sible to sew, cu up the pant legall the way up to the patching area.Now it is just a matter o sewing it inplace. I use a hemming stitch, butthe stitch style is up to you. Hon-estly, almost any thoughtully donesewing job with airly equal ten-sion on each stitch do ne. One tipIll give about sewing is to not getimpatient and make inch longstitches. Space them about an 1/8o an inch apart.

Now save your pants rom thelandll and patch them up!

By Garrett Dufy By Nick Nelson

Do-It-Yourself Projects

Beore you chuck that container backin the recycling, think about some ways you

might reuse it. Heres an easy way to makeyour own custom travel mug to hold thahot drink addiction o choice! Youll avoidusing single-use paper cups, save moneyand save materials o a manuactured re-usable plastic mug, and have a sweet-look-ing receptacle or your uids to boot.

1. Start with a peanut butter jar (or any jarwith a good water-tight lid).2. Eat the peanut butter (or whatever youjar might contain).

3. Wash it out and remove the label.4. Find a piece o material you dont needor anything else. It could be anything! I likevinyl because I have a lot o it let over romreupholstering my Volvo. Leather worksOld jeans work. owels and carpets andsweaters work. You might want to add alayer o thin oam under your cloth to bet-ter insulate your mug, you can oten ndthis unnecessarily included in the packag-ing o many products. Look around and becreative.

5. Cut out a rectangle that is as tall as yourjar and a little bit longer than the circumer-ence. I youre using a material thats likelyto ray you might want to cut your rectanglea little larger so you can old it over to theright size and sew it.6. Nows the time to decorate your coozybeore we make it into a circle. Go nutsSew old patches on, draw a sea turtle, writeinspiring quotes or lame jokes. In act, themore lame jokes you put on your coozythe better the insulative properties o yourmug.7. Now to get the t perectly snug around your jar, staple your cloth into a circlwhere you think it will go on tight aroundyour jar and not slip o. ry it on your jarI its not quite right, staples are a lot easierto redo than stitches. Play with it until youget it right, and when your ready to stitch itup your staples will hold it right where youwant it.8. Enjoy your creation!



By Kate Dondero

By Kaitlin Schilling

Pastry for Double Crust Pie

2 Cups all-purpose Flour tsp. Salt2/3 cup Butter (sotened)6 to 7 bsp. cold water

Mix together our and salt. Cut in butter until dough is the size o smallpeas. Mix in water until the dough no longer easily crumbles. Dividedough in hal and roll into a ball. On a lightly oured sheet o waxedpaper, atten one ball o dough with hands. With a oured rolling pin,roll dough rom center to edges, orming a circle about 12 inches in di-ameter. Pick up waxed paper and ip it over a pie pan. Center dough inthe pan. Tere should be about a inch overhang o dough on the sideo the pan. With a ork, poke holes in the bottom crust.

Add lling almost to the brim o pie pan. Add one or two pats o butter

to the lling.Roll out the second ball o dough in the same way. Lay on top o thelling. Fold the top pastry under the bottom pastry and crimp edgestogether. Cut your pattern in the top with a sharp knie.

Apple Filling6 or 7 medium sized pie apples peeled and sliced cup brown sugar (or more depending on your taste)Nutmeg and Cinnamon to taste1 bsp our to thicken

Stir all ingredients over heat until combined. Apples do not need to becooked beore baking.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie or one hour. Place a cookie sheet

on one o the lower racks in case the lling bubbles over. Let cool or10mins and serve with vanilla ice cream.Remember to have un! Play with variations and always know that qual-ity ingredients and a lot o practice will make a wonderul pie. Happybaking!

Necessary ools: Large Pot, Spoons, Ladel,Jar Grabber, Jar Funnel, Canning Jars,Sugar, Water, Lemon, Juice, Pectin, Fruit(your choice o berries), ongsJarsStep 1---- Wash jars in dish washer, usethe sterilizing cycle i possible, and expectto use about 10 jarsStep 2---- Keep jars warm until theirneeded in step 7 belowStep 3---- Bring two pots o water to a boil,one to boil the lids, the other to seal the

jam jars in step seven below****NOE: make sure to use tongs or grab-bing the jars and lids out o the boiling water!Jam

Step 1----- Wash ten cups o berries in coldwater, make to get all stems and leaves oyour berriesStep 2----- Smash berries, get them to theconsisancy that you would like. Depend-ing on whether you like incredibly smooth

jam or some with more texture. o mashthe berries you can use a potatoe masheror ood processer, whichever you haveavailable.Step 3----- Mix together pectin packagesand one ourth cup sugar. You should usea whole box o pectin or this recipe. Set

aside. ****NOE: i you are deciding to useruit juice as a sweetener instead o sugar,set the pectin aside or the time being.Step 4---- Put berries into a large pot, mixin 1/4 cup o lemon juice, 1/2 cup o waterand pectinStep 5---- Bring mixture to a boil, add 43/4 cups sugar or 3 cups ruit juice (appleor grape work the best)Step 6---- Bring the mixture back to a boil.Step 7---- Pour mixture into already warm

jars to about 1/4inch rom the top. ightly

screw on lids ,then, using tongs, place theJar into the seperate pot o boiling wateror 5 minutesStep 8---- Remove jar rom water and letcool at room temperature (this usuallytakes a while)Step 9---- Once cooled check i the jarssealed correctly, to do this push down onthe center o the lid. I it makes poppingnoise the jars did not seal correctly andthereore will spoil aster.Step 10--- ENJOY!

Better Than YourGrandmas Apple Pie

Homemade Jam


12/1212 AT T f F ll 2009

Nonproft Org.

US Postage Paid

Permit No. 78

Arcata, CA 95521

Not long ago, CCA was small, hidden in a corner o campus. As CCA grew, we started oering buildingtechnology classes and spreading knowledge about appropriate technology and sustainable living. Duringour transition period in the Jenkins house, we started to oer many more lecture and hands-on classes.Now on a permanent site, there is much to design and build! Next semester, we will bring back the CCAtradition o small hands-on internships ocusing on CCA technologies, grounds, and gardens. Studentinterns will work closely with CCA Co-Directors and employees to implement exciting projects at CCA.

CCAT Spring 2010 Courses

ENG 280 Lost Arts of the Living (1)An eight-week series o experiential and exploratory workshopscovering skills, crats, and natural patterns that are no longercommonly practiced. Potential topics include shelter & re build-ing, natural paints, canning, baking, and more. Mon. 11-1 p.m.

ENG 280 Green Design (1)Tis eight week introductory course will cover the undamentalso sustainable systems design through reading and discussion oliterature, ocus projects, and surveys o technologies and sys-tems. Wed. 2-4 p.m.

ENG 280 Sustainable Technologies Seminar (1)Tis introductory eight-week eld site series will eature tours oa range o technologies and their applications in the com-munity. Potential topics include green building, community agri-culture, gray water systems, alternative energy, biodiesel as a uel,

woodworking, and more. Turs. 2-4 p.m.

ENVS 480 Herbalism (1)Tis internship will study the use o herbs asmedicine and explore the science o culti-

vating, drying and using herbs. Interns willapply knowledge while exploring CCAsherb gardens. Propagating, identiying, andharvesting herbs on a seasonal basis will becovered. ues. 2-4 p.m.

ENVS 480 Organic Gardening (1)Tis internship will involve experiential learn-ing o the science o small scale ood produc-

tion without the use o chemicals. Facilitatedby CCA gardeners, interns will research,study, work with soil preparation, plantpropagation, garden planning, composting,crop rotations, and more. Wed. 3-5 p.m.

*All classes begin in the 8th week o the semester

Campus Center for Appropriate Technology1 Harpst St., Arcata, CA 95521(707) 826-3551http://www.humboldt.edu/~ccat

Tank you so much or supporting CCA. I youd like to support us urther with adonation, heres your chance! Were raising unds to build a beautiul greenhouseat the new CCA site. o help, please include this slip with your donation o:

Campus Center orAppropriate echnology1 Harpst StreetArcata, CA 95521

__ $10 __ $20

__ $50 __ $100

_____ Other

Please send your donation to:

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Campus Center for Appropriate Technology Newsletter, Fall 2009