What's on at the Barracks in 2025
Year Seven is just the other side of winter and we are planning the biggest year yet.
The highlight is the Collapse Lab in August, where we invite you to come and consider the future humans who will be living under collapse, but with so many other events, we hope to have something to attract all tastes.
For the first time, we have decided that our primary goal of Being Useful has to include educational offers. There will be a four part series on Growing (for) Self Sufficiency. Book all four for a nice discount and a complete vision of self sufficiency, or come to the ones that interest you most.
Also, a weekend of Timber Frame Construction with Hand Tools. I think that this is the mostly likely to sell out quickly, so get in early for that.
Finally, isn't it astounding that we still haven't had a full on yoga retreat here yet! We would very much like to fix that. Yoga teachers, please get in touch!
Nothing is 100% confirmed as yet, everything is subject to change or deletion, and hopefully, there are more to come.
So with multiple caveats out of the way, here goes:
March
Spring Equinox and the Call of Cthhulu
March 20th & 21st
A big fire, lots of delicious, food and a celebration of the (start of the end) of the winter.
April
April 25th - 27th
Making your own potting compost, sowing seeds for maximum germination, preparing the ground, planning a year of growing. The first vegetable plantings and tending to germinating seeds. The annual care of the soft fruit beds and how to chit and plant potatoes for the earliest crop possible.
May
The Running of the Pigs
May 2nd - 4th
Traditionally, we do this on or close to Beltaine. We start with building this year's pig house (we're going to put them on the Vineyard this year), building the fences and preparing the space for them. Then, one of the most exciting events of the barracks year the Running Of The Pigs, moving the piggers to their summer residency. In the evening, a big fire, great food, music and dancing
May 16th - 18th
Using traditional carpentry techniques and tools mostly restored here at the barracks. perfect for all skill levels, and no skill level. We'll make eco-toilets, a tool shed and an solar charging station.
June
June 13th - 15th
Early Spring. How to judge the last frost, warming the ground for early main bed sowing. The seed bed, late and successional sowings, raising seedlings in modules. Planning companion planting and getting the grains going.
Summer Solstice at the Barracks
Jun 21, 2025
Let's do something big.
July
Degrowth Festival.
We have been approached by an organisation responsible for a long running degrowth festival looking for a new home. Nothing is confirmed, but we are super hopeful that we will be able to welcome them to the barracks. It's a match made in heaven!
Writing Retreat with Berlin WriteNow
After a wonderfully successful writing retreat in 2024 we are going to have two of them in 2025! Exact dates to be confirmed soon
August
August 8th - 10th
Late Summer. How to maintain a growing vegetable garden. Taking care of pests biologically
Reading Retreat
Come and read, be read to, and spoilt rotten with great food and great company
The Collapse Laboratory
23rd - 30th August
The most important event at the barracks. A collaborative examination of our responsibilities to the future humans who will suffer the worst of climate change
September
Writing Retreat with Berlin WriteNow
After a wonderfully successful writing retreat in 2024 we are going to have two of them in 2025! Exact dates to be confirmed soon
Reading Retreat
Come and read, be read to, and spoilt rotten with great food and great company
Sept 26th - 28th
Early Autumn. Was it all worth it? We have been nursing our seedlings, tending our plants and watering and weeding constantly. Now, at the point of bottling, drying, preserving, we find out if we have enough to last us until summer next year. Come and learn the most important parts of self sufficiency - the bits that are done in the kitchen!
October
Mushrooming Weekends
4th & 5th, 11th & 12, 18th & 19th October
The first three weekend of October will be dedicated to the mycology of the forest and the land of the barracks. We will learn how to identify the most important species, how and why to dry them for the winter, and discover a host of new ways of cooking them.
We are also thinking about doing something on small field grain growing, pottery, the preparation of firewood (including briquette making), and a specific weekend on composting. There will definitely be at least one weekend and one week dedicated to the herb garden, but I don't know where that will be going yet.
Please let me know if any of those sound interesting.
Watch the newsletter and IG for weekly updates to the schedule, and more details as they become available!
Your loving Pirate Ben
xoxo
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