News From The Mother Earth News Fair in Pennsylvania Last Weekend

Air travel bonanza: I got 3 seats, so am sitting by the window, watching the sunrise illuminate the wings of this (United) A320 on my way home from Pittsburgh. A few things about flying:

1. I’ve lightened up and will never check a bag in again. I keep my Osprey roll-on slim enough to avoid cram-job in overhead bin.

2. I pay about $30 for preferred boarding, which lessens the cattle car routine.

3. I really like United these days. They’ve got a lot of things (including website) together; flight crews are friendly and helpful.

I wandered the Fair yesterday and found lots of useful tools and info, talked to a lot of people, many of whom knew (and had utilized) our building books.

Garden Tools A vendor was selling Italian garden tools; I bought a mattock, a machete (way different from Collins machetes), and a pair of fine pruning shears. https://www.growerstools.com/

Wood Stove with Oven I’ve been looking for a wood stove with visible fire window + an oven, and found one, which I’m pretty sure I’ll order: “The Vermont Bun Baker,” a high quality stove built in Australia, and encased in soapstone: https://www.vermontwoodstove.com


Other stuff:

Sturdy hula hoes (gonna order one) from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They call them “stirrup hoes.” Check out also their “Quick Hoops Low Tunnel Bender” system for extending growing season of row crops at “…1/20th the cost.”  https://www.johnnyseeds.com/

North American Bushcraft School from West Virginia. Jason Drevenak had a wonderful selection or hand-made knives, bows, flints, baskets, “primitive” items. He and his wife have workshops on primitive skills: https://www.northamericanbushcraftschool.com/

 Hasegawa Tripod Ladders (Japan) Sturdy, lightweight ladders, unique design. https://hasegawaladders.com/hasegawa-tripod/

Nice yurts by Kenneth Lawrence: https://www.yurtsofamerica.com

GoSun Stove Unique solar cooker. https://www.gosunstove.com

Dimensional lumber mill: https://www.norwoodsawmills.com

Uncle Mud: Chris McClellan’s cob cottages, rocket stoves, pizza ovens, workshops: https://www.unclemud.com

The Livestock Conservancy works to protect 200 breeds of livestock and poultry from extinction. Sturdy breeds, genetic diversity, etc. https://www.livestockconservancy.org 

Poultry processing equipment Their motto: “Pluck a lotta chickens.” https://www.featherman.net

Hand carved (no motors) wooden spoons, bowls: https://www.etsy.com/shop/riverwoodtrading

Hats off to Mother Earth News—they sure know how to throw a Fair. Intelligently organized, friendly, relevant for 21st century builders, gardeners, farmers, homesteaders, homeowners…

I’ve got photos of all the above, will try to post some later.

About Lloyd Kahn

Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early '60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands. He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late '60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include Shelter, Shelter II (1978), Home Work (2004), Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Tiny Homes (2012), and Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers. You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube:

4 Responses to News From The Mother Earth News Fair in Pennsylvania Last Weekend

  1. good info/links. thought if I ever got a wood stove, that is sort of what I would like.

    sure seems like you have the travelling down to a t . it is my goal to travel everywhere (car or other) similar. I have much improved over ten yrs back, but still long ways to go to match you. good job. makes life much easier/more enjoyable, if one does not go around like a pack mule.

  2. As always, thank you Lloyd for sharing this wealth of awesome information.

    I just wanted to mention that there are typos in three of the links you posted and we can't access the websites by clicking on them. Here below are the ones working.

    Hasegawa Tripod Ladders (Japan) Sturdy, lightweight ladders, unique design.
    http://hasegawaladders.com/hasegawa-tripod/

    North American Bushcraft School from West Virginia. Jason Drevenak had a wonderful selection or hand-made knives, bows, flints, baskets, "primitive" items. He and his wife have workshops on primitive skills:
    http://www.northamericanbushcraftschool.com/

    Hand carved (no motors) wooden spoons, bowls:
    https://www.etsy.com/shop/riverwoodtrading

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