By Neenah Payne
Four guys in my community garden in Brooklyn, NY are outstanding carpenters. However, it had never occurred to me that I, as a woman, could learn to be a carpenter since I had never seen a woman carpenter. When I was in school, “Shop” was taught to guys and “Home Ec” was taught to girls. So, learning some carpentry skills came as a revelation when I took the 10-week Earth Matter Compost and Farm Apprenticeship Program on Governors Island, NY from September 10 to November 19, 2022. Marisa DeDominicis, (shown below) who leads the program, is an accomplished carpenter and a great teacher. So, in Week 6, on October 22, she gave several of us an introduction to using some carpentry tools to build a new composting bin!
The finished bin is shown below on the right. Another bin the program built is shown on the left.
Marisa is shown below with bins in the fall at the end of the course.
On Graduation Day, November 19, the Apprentices and their guests were taught some carpentry skills to create a flower press to preserve the flowers and/or leaves we had chosen from the garden.
My flower press initially had just a flower and two leaves. I later added the leaves shown below.
I used the Picture This app recommended by one of the Apprentices to identify the leaves. It’s the best plant ID app I’ve found so far. This Fall, I plan to collect leaves, label them, and preserve them in wax.
Earth Matter Carpentry Workshop: January 28
On January 28, Earth Matter held the workshop discussed below for $25 on Governors Island, NY.
Carpentry and the Compost Critters
You’ll construct simple benches using a Japanese saw technique which will be used in our Compost Critters youth gardening outdoor classroom. Participants will receive sustainably sourced wooden coasters to take home with them.
Marisa headed the workshop and recommended these books:
An Introduction To Basic Hand Tools, Equipment, And Techniques In Starting Your Woodworking Journey
About 20 people attended the workshop and each of us was given a 4.5” wooden coaster made of Choke Cherry like the one below shown on my particle board computer desk!
Marisa showed us the model bench for kids below made of Pine with Douglass Fir on the side panels. We were divided into seven groups and each group was given the tools and eight pieces of wood needed to construct the bench.
Each group was also given the Design Sheet shown below which explained how to modify each piece to construct the bench.
Vaishu Ilankamban and Elena D'Amanda co-led the workshop and demonstrated the steps we needed to take. The three co-leaders circulated through the room to help wherever needed.
Vaishu showed how to use the clamp and Japanese saw to cut out the required piece from a leg.
The class started at 1PM and by 4 PM, the seven benches had been completed and taken outside for a group photo. Two of the benches had been laminated with Linseed Oil (aka “Flaxseed Oil”) which provides both protection from the elements and a lovely finish. The workshop was so well organized that people with little or NO experience in carpentry built seven benches in less than three hours!
Photos: Neenah Payne. Neenah Payne writes for Activist Post and Natural Blaze