Bring out your cracked ornaments, lonely bits of toys, crockery, and tiles. You can buy second-hand crockery and tiles if you are short of junk (who can be short of junk?). Together we will turn them 
into your personality masterpiece. You can make a sign for your home, shed or outhouse, a stepping stone, garden sculpture or sun-dial. We will supply a teacher, ideas, experience and cement. You bring the tiles and bits and make it happen. This one-off workshop is part of our permaculture goals: up-cycling land-fill, reducing consumption, skill building, empowering and enjoying a little friendship whilst being productive.
WORKSHOP GOALS:
- Remember the permaculture principle of starting small and being successful. Achieve a small-project and modular thinking – have a small goal and we finish the job.
- discuss productive and fun design options (discuss risks of trip hazards and need for leveling of tiles and ornaments if we are building stepping stones.)
- aim to recycle broken pottery/ornaments and give them new purpose.
- learn how to mix cement that is water-proof
- use home-made, natural resources and up-cycled tools as much as possible
- work safely, resourcefully and efficiently
- discuss the importance of not walking on productive garden beds.
- discuss the importance of water ponds to provide water for birds and reptiles and small mammals.
- discuss how to ensure the ponds and pools are child-safe and mosquito-deadly.
- go home energised and inspired.
Together we will plan and create a quick project in ferrocement: A stepping stone or sign/plaque.
Instructors: Permaculture Wollongong Institute lead teachers: April Sampson-Kelly and Shane Moon (key organiser of the fabulous PWI Clothes-Swap and other workshops).
POST WORKSHOP REVIEW:
The great thing about the wild tiling was we were able to angle some of the pieces (if it wasn’t to be a stepping stone, but a plaque). Some participants made sculptured tiles, overlapping them.
We used reclaimed bucket lids as the form-work and steel mesh as the re-enforcement inside the ferrocement.
