One of the current VAAC Board members (yes, we are all getting along much better now, thank you) mentioned the possibility of constructing a straw bale building on the Community Garden site that could function as the toolshed we’ve been wanting.
Those who have been involved in the garden these last couple years may know how we attempted to purchase and move an old chicken house into town to serve as our shed.
We paid half the cost and secured funds for the other half, went out to the site and cleaned out the building, and disassembled the old chicken wire and frame coop from the front, and got the thing ready to move. It was a lot of hard, dirty work.
But then our various schemes for actually getting the building into town all fell through. Well, we didn’t actually do the “three chicks in low-cut shirts seducing farmers with implement trailers down at Toby’s” scheme.
We also didn’t approach the University football team for a Gladiator-type running-of-the-chicken-house (I still think that would’ve been awesome publicity). But believe me, those ideas and more were discussed more than once out of sheer desperation.
So, we have been without a toolshed these last two seasons, and that has been kind of a pain. I have a wheelbarrow I would very much like to donate, but it doesn’t seem a good idea if we can’t lock it up. It would also be nice to have a couple watering cans on site, and a few tools for gardeners who want to just bike or walk over without lugging a bunch of stuff.
I was thinking perhaps if we could locate a person with straw bale building expertise here in town (and I know there are at least a couple), we might hold some sort of straw bale building clinic, with registrants paying a fee for the weekend learning experience that could pay the instructor(s) and pay for the materials as well.
This is only in the idea stage thusfar, but I thought I’d throw it out there as a possibility, so those who might be interested in the building or the learning could give a holler in the comments below.
Maybe we could get the football team to run the materials into town along a makeshift parade route?
The Running of the Bales!
Flying Tomato Farms 