What we'll do

* Shelter: At the least we'll be building a shelter from willow and vines or other natural cordage. The vine we were testing is Araujia sericifera (moth vine, bladderflower). The willow frame of one shelter is partly up. We'll need to thatch it--we can find or bring palm fronds, or bundle some grass, cattails, or reeds. We may make the bottom part of the walls more solid with cob.
* Ceramics: We may also be able to make pit-fired pottery--but we didn't actually test this, so I don't know how good the clay is there.
* Useful plant identification: We'll also collect wild edible plants--mallow, pigweed, filaree, nopales, prickly pears, domestic geranium (Pelargonium), nasturtium, yellow dock, fennel, watercress, dandelion, wild lettuce, mustard, etc.
* Mycology: fluted black elfin saddle (Helvella lacunosa) was sighted, among others yet to be ID'd.
* Twining: we may twine daylily fiber to make cordage & coil baskets.
* Weaving panels using split Arundo donax (river cane).
* Study--there are some books on indigenous shelter, bamboo, etc., as well as Permaculture, A Designers' Manual.
* Stare at the fire.
* Tell stories.
* Plot, by the bye/ informally/ as it happens, so we can live lives that care for the earth and for each other.
* Document? Maybe someone will take some photos!
* Other good practices you want to share.

When

* From noon on Saturday 3/22 until sometime on Sunday.
* It is ok to come for only a few hours.
* It is probably ok to come early (Friday) and stay late (Monday), especially if you're walking or taking transit.

Where

* Near Rainbow, CA, about 8 miles NE of Fallbrook (25 miles N of Escondido)
* We'll be camping on a 9-acre site in hills with avacado trees, oak trees, boulders, and streams. It is not super-secluded--you can still see and hear I-15 in some places, as well as neighbors and a rooster. There's an outdoor community kitchen area (with city water) and fire pit and an outdoor shower.
* We'll need to be able to carry any stuff you want to use in camp up a steep hill for maybe 100 yards.

How to get there

* RSVP for directions to colinleath at gmail dot com.
* By foot: About a 3.5 hour walk (8 mi.) from Fallbrook, along roads with generally good shoulders.
* By transit: From the Oceanside Transit Center, if you have photo ID for getting through Camp Pendleton, you can get to Fallbrook via the 397 North County Breeze bus. You can get to Oceanside by Coaster train from the south or Metrolink train from the north. In SD county, you can get a regional daypass for $5, which lets you get a $2 discount on the Coaster train fare (choose "transfer from transit").
* By bicycle: If it helps, you can take a bike on the bus (there are two spaces on the rack), Coaster, and Metrolink.
* By car: let's arrange carpooling--say where you'd want to ride from.

What to bring:

* Food--what you would like, & to share. We may have some local avocados, macadamia nuts, and citrus too.
* Seeds, plants, yeasts, and other biomatter/seed-like things to exchange or give away.
* Shelter for yourself sleeping outside appropriate to the weather.
* Useful tools.

Who's coming?

* Moms and kids!
* People like us with our enthusiasms, bits of experience, and what we're curious about.
* Maybe two alumni of Twisp (not sure if that's the right link) and Teaching Drum.

RSVP to colinleath at gmail dot com.