Sumac Skill Share
Saturday 10th July 2010
11:00 to 17:00
Details from http://www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=1140
The Sumac Saturdays Skill Share may be back next year. Meanwhile check out the Skills and Idea Share Days every Thursday from January 2011. These workshops are all run for free by volunteers from our community. Our aim is to build the confidence and skills of people in our community by sharing the skills we already have. It also aims to prepare us for dealing with climate change and peak oil. If you have any skills you could share, or something you would like to learn, get in touch.
The sessions run from 11am - 5pm. A creche will be provided, please let us know by email how many kids you are bringing.
Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham, NG7 6HX
Ph: 07955 203332 .
Website: http://nottinghamfreeschool.wordpress.com/
Sumac Skill Share
Info from Indymedia Article
The Sumac Skillshare has a new term! And this time it's going to be experimenting with it's form and style.
Emphasising the notion that we are all skill-sharers this term will be seeking to empower and facilitate dormant skills that we have all developed through our life experiences.
If communities are going to strive and flourish outside of the states control and influence then we must break down the current paradigm of learning and knowledge. There can no longer be a dependence on what has been established, but development of what is hidden and kept silent. In order to do this we must bring together all our existing understandings and create new ways of doing, learning and sharing. We must no longer reach to the outside for expertise, as there will come a time when that reach is slapped back and we will be left to fend for ourselves as a community.
When exploring how we will create and maintain shelter for ourselves and one another, as individuals we already have life times of experience in doing this in a variety of ways, if we bring these experiences together what will we be able to create? What new knowledges will come forth? And will we make these knowledges both sustainable and flexible? These are the questions we'll be asking in the first two weekends, where discussions will encourage us into action. Action which will be determined by those who attend. Whether those practicalities are the setting up of a new co-op, squatting a new building, improving an old house or creating a shanty town.
In the second fortnight we will enter the realm of education. For the majority of us formal state schooling is our primary education reference point. However, what is the worth of the lessons we learn in those environments? And how long will it enough for us? What other ways can we pass on knowledges and share ideas? The Skillshare programme is perhaps one form of alternative, but what are the others? And do they have to be formalized? With reflection what can we learn from ourselves? Once more
these discussions will inform what practical action we take, this could range from the drawing up of a workshop, the setting up of a literacy group, the creation of a new language or making a video or show about the future of education.
In the third fortnight the attention falls on health. We all fall prey to sickness, whether that be a common cold or something more serious. But do we really need to be so reliant on the National Health Service and the medical industry? Which aim for quick fixes and quick profits, and are intrinsically tied up with the various causes for the illnesses that may come our way. What other options are there? What other options have people being used for centuries? How can we produce and share new models for maintaining our physical and mental health? What importance does our mental health and social situation play in our physical well being? What affect does child care have on the health of the child as they become an adult? As individuals we may have our own answers to these questions, but if we combine our knowledges and resources what can develop from that?
For the fourth fortnight we'll be creating our own entertainment, media and culture. It's been said that culture does not dictate human behaviour, but is the sum of human behaviour. With this in mind we'll be looking at what we can do to create cultures that represent who, what and where we are as well as where, what and who we want to be. Do we have to accept the culture industry's dominant interpretation of humanity? And how can we create a news media which accurately reflects our interpretation of the world around us? What outlets for our music, film and news are there, where can we find them and how can we create new ones? When capitalism and it's cadre collapses will their still be a desire to tell stories and share ideas, what forms will these take and how can we go about making them a reality now? These questions will be explored and acted upon in our entertainment, culture and media skillshare.
In the past Sumac Skillshares have covered topics surrounding food issues as varied as skipping to composting, from cooking to growing your own vegetables. In this fortnight of skillshares we'll be using these ideas, along with all the others people come along with and creating solutions to the myriad of food provision issues that we currently face. When capitalism collapses we're going to have to eat, but without repeating the mistakes of capitalism we will have to focus upon collective rather than individual food provision. The mass production of food since the advent of capitalism has slowly diminished our skills in this area. How do we recreate these skills in a relevant and applicable way in a capitalist and post-capitalist society? How do we ensure that these skills are accessible to all, no matter where they are geographically located and whether or not they have access to land? How do we then organise the variety of methods we've already developed and broaden them to include whole communities rather than just our friends and families? Will it be possible to provide food for large numbers of people without conflict over land? Come along to this fortnights skill shares to develop and create new knowledges about food, and new skills to make those knowledges relevant to our daily lives.
The Spring 2010 season kicked off on 13th January with an Idea Share entitled “Supporting community resistances against Multinationals” where a talk followed by discussion about supporting community resistance, using the example of the ongoing Shell to Sea campaign in Rossport County Mayo.
Saturday 16th January - Knitting and Crochet
A winter warmer to kick off the new term- learn to knit crochet and read patterns. Also, a chance to whittle your own crochet hook. This skillshare is open to all.
Sunday 17th - Knitting and Crochet part 2
If you want to make the most of the materials you have and want to find out more about which materials suit which design project, come along to this skillshare.
Wednesday 20th January - Perverts guide to cinema
Slovenian philosopher leads us on an eccentric journey deciphering the hidden meaning cinemas celluloid fantasies. Parts 1,2 and 3 will be shown interspersed with free and cake followed by discussion.
Saturday 23rd January - Metalwork
An introduction to metal work with arc welding, grinding and shaping. a good pre-runner to next weeks skill shares constructing a stove.
Sunday 24th January - First Aid
Come and learn some basic First Aid with a qualified burse.
Wednesday 27th January - Feminism and Gender Politics
A fully participatory workshop on the subject of feminism and gender including games, discussions, and an anarcho-feminist film.
Saturday 30th January at Sumac - Make your own stove.
Note: This one is 10:30 to 5pm with a vegan lunch
An introduction to constructing a solid fuel burning stove from reclaimed materials for indoor or outdoor use. Attending the previous weeks metalwork Skillshare will be a bonus but not essential.
Sunday 31st January at the Poacher - Dancing
At the Tuesday Night project every week someone slams on the stereo and busts out some moves, and within seconds someone is asking how to dance like that. At this skillshare there will be Kurdish and Iranian dance tips for all.
And there will be many more throughout February and March:
24th February - Critical Literacy
Using specially prepared module based on Open Spaces for Dialogue and
Enquiry, this session is to encourage people to think about how their
specific perspectives and assumptions effect the positions they take and
the ways they relate to activism.
27th February - Rocket stoves, solar and Straw Ovens
A practical session where you will leave with a super efficient outdoor
stove to use n your farden or allotment. Rocket stoves are made from
reclaimed materials and enthusisasm so no previous experience required.
3rd March - Nottingham FreeSchool presents an evening of popular education
March 6th - Knot Tying
Learn knots, lashings and splices. Tying it all together with a pioneering
challenge.
All Saturday and Wednesday programmes will take place at the Sumac Centre. Times are Saturday and Wednesday 7-9.
A creche will be provided, please let us know how many kids you are bringing by emailing us at nottinghamfreeschool@riseup.net
To subscribe to our e-list to keep up to date with info about the skillshare as it happens, go to: https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/sumacskillshare
A printed programme is available for distribution from the Sumac Centre.
The Sumac Ideas share is the sister project of the Sumac Skill Share.
Aiming to facilitate the sharing the creation of knowledge between different communities in and around Nottingham. Hoping to share the knowledge we already have and provide a space where people can take control of their own learning in a creative and constructive way. Every week volunteers will introduce a topic of their choosing and share their ideas with others through talks,discussions and films. If you have a passionate interest in a subject then maybe you'd like to share an idea, if so drop us a line.
7pm until 9pm at the Sumac.
- 13th January: Supporting community resistances against multinationals.
- 20th January: The perverts guide to cinema
- 27th January: Feminism and Gender Politics
- 3rd February: Radical Local History
- 10th February: Fertility and Contraception - Co-operation and Control
- 17th February: The politics of resistance in Latin America: histories and strategies of horizontalism
- 24th: Critical Literacy
- 3rd February: Open Space
Details at http://www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=1671.
Spring/Summer 2008 Programme
- Foraging: 3rd May, 10am-12pm. Limited numbers - please book. Meet by the bandstand in the Arboretum at 10am.
Find out what plants are edible, useful and readily available in a city environment. Involves walking!
- Basic Reflexology: 3rd May, 2-5pm. Please call to disclose any medical conditions.
Learn to give a pre-treatment foot massage and gain a basic understanding of the principles of reflexology. Please wash your feet and bring two small towels. Wear comfy clothes.
- Home brewing - making beer and wine at home: 10th May, 1-5pm
Learn the basics of making beer and wine using simple equipment. How to make wine from fruit and veg you can grow at home or pick from the wild.
Growing veg in small spaces: 17th May, 2-5pm
Container growing and square foot gardening - with sowing and planting techniques, general advice on suitable veg and plant care.
- Woodworking for beginners: 24th May, 2-5pm
Learn basic woodwork and DIY using a range of traditional and modern tools and techniques. Hopefully by the end of the session you'll have the confidence to repair and make your own stuff!
- Tool sharpening: 31st May, 2-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
Want to know how to sharpen your garden and woodwork tools properly? Blunt tools make life harder and can be dangerous. Come along with your tools and sharpening stones (if you have them) and let's get sharp!
- Bike to basics - simple regular bike maintenance skills: 7th June, 10am-5pm
Begins with a 2hr ride from Wollaton Park (meet 10am in the car park by the swings) then lunch at the Sumac. The afternoon (1-5pm) involves bike maintenance with publications and info from cycling groups.
- Direct action practical skills: 14th June, 2-5pm
Learn and practise non-violent direct action skills - from building and using lock-ons and tripods to dealing with the police.
- Introduction to alternative technology: 21st June, 2-5pm
An introduction to solar electricity, solar hot water and wind turbines focusing on home-built and off-grid systems. Covers basic theory and some practical work.
- Hula hoop making: 28th June, 2-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
Learn how to make your own hula hoop (a decent, adult-sized one like nothing you can buy). We can then go to the Forest for a spin to learn some tips and tricks to impress friends! Suggested donation of £5 for materials - but you will get to take your hoop home.
- Mosaic making day: 5th July, 10am-5pm
Make a large mosaic together using reclaimed materials. Either come for the whole day to learn from scratch or drop in and help out for as long as you like. The mosaic will be a sign for the Sumac!
- Basic bread making: 12th July 2-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
An introduction to basic bread making. How to mix, rise, kneed, prove and bake your way to a delicious home-made loaf!
Spring 2008 Programme
- Dealing with debt: 19th January, 2-5pm
Looking at the difference between priority debts (council tax, rent arrears, gas, electric etc) and non-priority debts (credit cards, unsecured loans, catalogue debts etc), and the
different strategies for handling them - including how to prepare a financial statement.
- Clothing alteration: 26th January, 2-5pm
Learn how to alter and mend your clothes and make them more funky! Will include how to deal with holes and stains using applique. Bring your clothes to mend.
(Unfortunately we cannot offer taking trousers in at the waist.)
- Building computers: 2nd February, 2-5pm
This workshop opens up the case of your PC and shows you what's inside. You'll learn about the basic parts - motherboard, processor, memory, disk drives, cooling, graphics
card, etc - and how they all fit together. These skills will help you to identify and repair hardware problems, and even build your own computer from scratch.
- Fruit tree pruning: 9th February, 1-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
Learn the rights and wrongs of fruit-tree and bush pruning at Ecoworks, St Anns Allotments. Transport from Sumac at 1pm or meet us there.
- Massage techniques: 16th February, 2-5pm
Covering basic therapeutic massage techniques. At the end of the session, you will be able to give a back, head/face and foot massage. Bring something comfy to lie on like a
mat, blanket and a towel.
- Navigation: 23rd February, 1-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
Introduction to basic navigation using a map and compass, finishing with a real life exercise in local countryside. Meet at Sumac at 1pm. Bring a compass if you have one. Small
donations towards transport costs may be required.
- Back to the land: 1st March, 2-5pm
Learn about land access issues in the 21st century including setting up land-based co-operative projects. We will look at how current issues like peak oil and climate change
affect these projects.
- Home energy efficiency: 8th March, 2-5pm
Learn how to combat climate change at its source. Over 50% of CO2 released in this country comes from buildings, but we can easily reduce that figure by
making simple and non intrusive changes to our homes. This work shop will give you ideas how.
- Vegan cake making: 15th March, 2-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
Discover the fine art of making cakes with no animal ingredients. Learn our resident master chefs' secrets or share your own. Includes some theory, and goes on to actual
baking and decoration! Small donations requested to cover cake ingredients so you can take them home.
- Legal advice for activists: 22nd March, 2-5pm
Find out about the law and what your rights are around protest from experienced activists and a legal expert. Includes an arrest role play.
- Basic vehicle maintenance: 29th March, 2-5pm. Limited numbers - please book.
Stumped how your vehicle works? This workshop will teach you how to do basic maintenance jobs yourself, as well as giving you a basic knowledge of how your engine works.
- Creative writing: Mondays 28th Jan, 11th & 25th Feb, 10th & 24th March, 7.30 -9.30pm.
Language is what makes us human, and writing, whether in print or other media, is at the heart of language. These workshops will get our collective creative juices flowing,
whether we write to communicate (serious) messages or issues, or simply to enjoy using language. We'll be playing writing games, talking about writing, and looking (and
listening) to our efforts on paper.
Autumn 2007 Programme
20th October: Running popular education workshops.Are you involved in community education? This workshop uses popular education techniques to show how to run participatory, interesting and successful workshops.
27th October: Basic mending electrics
How to mend electrics in the home; both household appliances and lights / plugs. Covers simple repairs such as changing a plug. Bring broken items along to learn how to mend them!
3rd November: Bike Maintenance : See Indymedia PhotoReport
With the legendary Dr. Bike and his trusty helpers. Bring down your bike and learn basic maintenance, servicing and repair work.
10th November: Direct Action
Interested in taking direct action to stop people / companies from trashing the world but don't know how to start? – this session will focus on how to plan a good action as well as info on basic direct action skills.
17th November: Mass Catering
Ever wondered how to cook for 50 or 100 people? Workshop will start with basic theory and then move on to actually doing it in our very own field kitchen.
24th November: Knitting for beginners
This session is aimed at teaching people how to do the basics of knitting as well as being a general skill-share for more advanced people. If you fancy learning a few stitches, or just want a knit and a natter over tea, come along!
Dec 1st: Book making
Book making exclusively using reclaimed materials. Make your diary for 2008 or a Christmas gift! Collect and bring your old envelopes to make them from.
Dec 8th: Food preservation
Looking at the theory of food preservation and a practical of some of the stages including jams, pickles and chutneys.
Dec 15th: Linux for beginners
Fed up with Windows? Want to learn how to use a free alternative that is written by people, for people? This workshop will cover how to install Linux and a few basic skills to get you started. Bring your laptop (if you have one)!
The workshops are free, but donations towards room hire and material costs are welcome.
Flier - print and distribute! (pdf 204k)
If anyone has any workshops they would like to offer or ones that they would like to go to, then email me at skillshare@eastsideclimateaction.org.uk
Future Sumac Saturday Skillshare programs: http://www.veggies.org.uk/page.php?ref=1465
HELP FROM THE HOME FRONT IN CLIMATE BATTLE
Nottm Evening Post 15 January 2008Comment on this story ...here...
Climate campaigners in Nottingham are turning to the Home Front for inspiration.
They say the 'make do and mend' philosophy of rationing during the war years can be help people today reduce their impact on the environment.
So volunteers are offering courses in skills such as mending clothes, saving heat, grow-your-own and baking without butter and eggs.
They say the Government-funded workshops will also increase the self-reliance of communities by encouraging people to share and pass on their skills.
Organiser Eleanor Fairbrother said: "We have become too reliant on being able to buy cheap goods and pay for other people to do basic jobs for us.
"If we are to survive climate change we need our communities to be more self-reliant, whether it's through growing food or other basic needs."
The skill-sharing workshops are based at the Sumac Centre in Forest Fields and expand on an initiative last April by Notts environmental group Eastside Climate Action.
Its Spring Into Action workshops included building wind turbines from recycled materials, and teaching people about efficient ways of washing.
A trial programme was then started at the Sumac Centre in October, which included preserving food, knitting, and a 'mass catering' session where cookery writer Ronny Worsey cooked a low-impact vegan feast for more than 100 people.
The centre, which provides meeting space and resources for grassroots campaign groups, gave the group free hire for the trial.
Almost £1,500 from the government's Community Champions Fund now means they are able to pay for the room hire, and buy materials for the workshops.
As well as Dig for Victory-style 'Back to the Land' and 'Fruit Tree Pruning' sessions, the courses will also include to a day navigating the countryside with the aid of a map and a compass - as opposed to a sat nav system.
Eleanor added: "All workshops are given for free by members of the Nottingham community, unless we think there is a skill we need to send out to other places for. If anyone thinks they have a skill to teach, you can apply to give a workshop."