Snapshots from "Homestead Camp"

This week we held our second annual Homestead Camp here at Little City Farm.  It was the idea of our daughter, to bring together other kids in the 8-12 year old range in a creative "farmstead" setting while sharing some of the projects that we like to do around here.  The outdoor day camp was held each morning, including co-operative games, garden harvested snacks (like herbal sun tea, pesto and a rainbow veggie platter, made by the kids), and a hands-on activity from the day's theme - including pollinators (making seedballs); natural plant dyes (tie-dying a favourite shirt), natural fibres (making a branch weaving, and felting a bar of soap); and finally wood-fired baking (making pizza in our outdoor oven)!  What fun!  We hope to do this again next year! 

For the fall, we have kids Waldorf-inspired art classes and mother-daughter herbal immersion classes coming up again; as well as our new line-up of family homesteading classes like cheesemaking, sourdough, kraut for kids, and more!  Registration will be open soon.

Here are some snapshots from our days at Homestead Camp this week:

DIY Wool Balls

So simple!  Wool dryer balls made from scraps of upcycled wool sweaters, wool ends of yarn, and wool roving.  They can be used as dryer balls to cut down on drying time and save energy; or as cat toys (add a little catnip or a small bell inside before felting); or dog toys; or soft playtoys for toddlers to toss and catch.

How to make wool felted balls:
1) Make a small bundle of 100% woolen sweater scraps.  These can be off-cuts from any larger felting project you've used your sweaters for.  Any colour will be fine as you won't see this inner core once the ball is finished.

2) Wind 100% wool yarn around the woolen sweater scraps tightly.  Wind into a small ball, several inches in diametre (completely cover up the woolen sweater scraps with your yarn windings). 

3) Then wind layers of wool roving in colours you like (these will be visible) around the yarn ball.  The thinner the layers the better.

4) Stuff you wool ball into an old nylon stocking and tie up tightly to secure.

5) Repeat with as many balls as you like, to fill up the whole nylon.

6) Wash on hot, 2-3 full cycles in a load with towels.  Wool will be tightly felted once you are done!  Remove from the nylon, let balls dry.  Then use!

For dryer use, they can be sprinkled with a bit of pure lavender essential oil (or other scent) optional.  Use 2-12 per load (more balls decreases drying time). 

We LOVE these balls to toss around with our toddler, and for our cat to play with. They make lovely gifts, simple and recycled, and useful too.

Preserve - Newest Issue of Taproot Magazine

If you have not yet found Taproot Magazine, it's time to check it out!  Focusing on gardening, farming, making, cooking, dreaming, with outstanding artwork, photography, essays and poetry, recipes & lots of DIY projects, this magazine has it all.

Each time a new issue arrives in our mailbox (yes, a real paper copy magazine to read with cup of tea in hand) my 8 year old daughter and I wrestle to see who gets to flip through it first.  She looks for the paper dolls, colouring pages, farm animal photography.  I admire the artwork, food photography, latest recipes and stories.  My husband admits he eventually makes his way through all the articles and stories too (even if it does give him pangs for a larger farm, some day).  But the magazine makes us feel connected to a larger community worldwide of those trying to live honest, simple, handmade, heart-filled lives.  We feel renewed in our efforts here on our little urban homestead to keep mending, baking, fermenting, unschooling, gardening, wild-harvesting, healing, and so forth - adding new insights and inspiration to what we already do in our day to day life.

In the current issue, check out our article - Homegrown Sprouts!  You'll learn how to grow sprouts at home, and get recipes for super sprout salad, and morning greens smoothie, plus learn a little more about how and why we love to sprout.

New Favourite Sourdough Bread

We are back to making our weekly sourdough and oh, how we love baking bread.  Usually our daughter makes her own mini loaves and loves to embellish them with seeds, nuts, spices, fancy patterns on the top, or just turn them into fun shapes.  We love the children's book Suzie's Sourdough Circus, by Kathy Sager, which is actually an entertaining story that clearly and creatively describes what is happening during the sourdough process (in the words of the little sourdough critters, they say "food scrumptious food, we forget all our troubles.  Eat it all up, and then we blow bubbles.  This is a sourdough starter celebration!  We sing and we dance in wild fermentation!").  In the back of the book are several amazing recipes (like sourdough bread, sourdough pancakes, and sourdough marbled chocolate cake which makes a superb birthday cake).  We've been using her sourdough bread recipe lately.  It's a new favourite - so dense yet moist, and nicely works it's sourdough magic overnight so we can take our time fitting bread making into our busy life.  Our latest family winter favourite snack is fresh sourdough bread spread with tahini and apple butter - yummm!

NEW! HOMESTEADING WORKSHOPS AT LITTLE CITY FARM FOR 2015

WINTER/SPRING HOMESTEADING WORKSHOPS AT LITTLE CITY FARM!

Since 2007 we've been offering fun, interactive hands-on workshops geared toward adult education, to encourage the skills of homesteading, simple living and natural healing.  We have hosted more than 150 classes by now, with hundreds of participants taking part and learning new skills.   Read more about our past workshops and Little City Farm's approach here.

We've posted some of our upcoming workshop offerings for 2015 here.  More workshop topics will be confirmed shortly so please check back if there is a topic you are looking for that is not listed yet.

2015 HOMESTEADING WORKSHOPS AT LITTLE CITY FARM

Workshop Location: all workshops are at 508 Duke St W, Kitchener
Cancellation: if you cannot attend your workshop please kindly give us 24 hours notice so we can try to fill your place with someone on our waiting list.  Full refunds offered for cancellations of 24 hour notice or more.

* Once registered, you will receive a reminder email aprox. 1 week before your workshop date.  
* Please register by using paypal below to reserve your spot in our classes.   
* Please ensure your paypal email address is the correct one for us to reach you at.

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BEGINNER ORGANIC VEGAN COLD PROCESS SOAP MAKING CLASS

Dates:  Jan 24, Feb 14, Feb 21, March 7 
(please choose one)
Time: from 1-4 pm on each date
Facilitator: Karin Kliewer, Traditional Herbalist and Soap Maker

Description: Learn to make beautiful, long-lasting, natural soap that is free of additives, preservatives, sulphates and other nasty chemicals that can be found in commercial soaps.  In this busy hands-on workshop you will be walked through the entire process of making traditional all-natural cold process vegan soap using organic vegetable oils, lye, pure essential oils, natural clays and organic botanicals.  We will briefly cover the chemistry of soap making, plus lye safety, calculating recipes, properties of oils, measuring ingredients, preparing soap molds, cutting and curing soap, and sourcing ingredients.  Each participant will make their own 1 lb batch of organic vegan soap to take home (aprox. 5 large bars).   All ingredients, tools, instructions, handout notes and recipes will be provided.  Upon registration for this class, you will receive an email with further workshop details.  Participants will be asked to bring a few simple items from home (e.g. a small shoe box or basic soap mold).  OR feel free to purchase one of our custom handcrafted wooden soap molds here.  Wear old clothes and an apron as soap making can be messy.

Cost: $68 (includes all materials for making your own 1 lb batch of soap to take home)
Please note January 17 & 24 classes are now FULL.

Please choose one date:

January 24 February 14 February 21 March 7

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FELTED SOAP WORKSHOP

Date: Sunday, February 8 (note this is a Sunday workshop)

Time: from 1-3 pm
Facilitator: Karin Kliewer, soap maker & herbalist

Description:  Learn the art of wet-felting using all natural merino wool roving and handmade soap to create your own bars of lovely felted soap art for gifts or home.  This workshop is a great hands-on class for kids or adults - wool felting is easy to do, relaxing, creative and beautiful.  It is a simple satisfying project, perfect for a cold winter's afternoon!  In this class learn techniques for making your own felted soap, which combines a handmade wool felted "washcloth" with soap all in one.  Learn about natural dyes for wool, and also where to source quality materials.  Each participant will get to make 2 small bars of felted soap to take home, during this hands-on workshop.  Workshop fee includes instruction, hand-outs, wool roving, and all other tools/materials for making your 2 bars of soap.  Additional wool felting kits will be available for purchase after the class if you wish to make more at home!  Please wear old clothes that can get wet - wool felting can be a wet process.  Parents are welcome to sign up with a child aged 5+ for this class (1 parent + 1 child pay one registration fee - in this case you will share supplies and each make one bar of soap to take home).


Cost: $32 (includes all materials for your own take-home felted soaps)

Please choose one date:

Sunday, February 8

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ORGANIC GOATS MILK SOAP MAKING CLASS

Date: Saturday February 28
Time: from 1-4 pm
Facilitator: Karin Kliewer, Traditional Herbalist and Soap Maker

Description: Why use goats milk soap?  Goats milk makes a lovely creamy soap that has long been used as a to effectively moisturize and rejuvinate the skin.  It naturally exfoliates the skin, and creates a mild soap that is ideal for sensitive skin including children, and those prone to dry skin, eczema and psoriasis.  Using goats milk in soap making has a few tricky challenges.  In this busy hands-on workshop you will learn to make your own organic goats milk soap using organic oils, lye, local organic goats milk, pure essential oils and organic botanicals.  We will briefly cover the basics of cold process soap making (soap chemistry, lye safety, measuring, molds) BUT in this class we do expect participants to already have made cold process soap before.  We highly recommend taking our Beginner Cold Process Soap Making Class before taking this workshop.  Each participant will make their own 1 lb batch of organic goat milk soap to take home (aprox. 5 large bars).   All ingredients, tools, instructions, handout notes and recipes will be provided.  Upon registration for this class, you will receive an email with further workshop details.  Participants will be asked to bring a few simple items from home (e.g. a small shoe box or basic soap mold).  OR feel free to purchase one of our custom handcrafted wooden soap molds here.  Wear old clothes and an apron as soap making can be messy.

Cost: $68 (includes all materials for making your own 1 lb batch of soap to take home)

Goats Milk Soap Workshop:

February 28

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HERBAL WINTER REMEDIES: COUGH SYRUPS, LOZENGES, TINCTURES

Date: Saturday February 7
Time: from 1-3 pm 
Facilitator: Karin Kliewer, Traditional Herbalist

Description: Create your own natural herbal remedies to boost your immune system, and keep your family healthy all winter long!  In this class you will learn to make three different winter herbal remedies, including herbal cough syrup, herbal lozenges, and herbal tinctures.  We will also cover guidelines for using herbal remedies internally, general dosage information for children and adults, 10 great herbs for building immunity against cold and flu.  During the class participants have the chance to make several winter remedies by hand, with take-home samples included.  Our focus herbs will be sage, elderberry, rosehip, slippery elm, fennel and echinacea.

Cost: $38 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please note this class is now FULL.

Herbal Winter Remedies:

February 7

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HERBAL MEDICINAL SALVES & LIPBALMS WORKSHOP

Date: Sat March 14
Time: from 1-3 pm
Facilitator:  Karin Kliewer, Traditional Herbalist

Description: Learn to make all natural medicinal salves & balms to heal yourself and your family from minor cuts, scrapes, burns, bruises, insect bites, and other skin irritations.  Create soothing lipbalms that heal dry chapped lips and protect you from sun, wind and cold weather.  In this workshop we will cover a basic history of herbalism in the "simper tradition", where simple pure ingredients are used to make medicinal herbal salves and lipbalms using organic oils, butters, essential oils and botanicals.  We will talk about guidelines for using herbal remedies externally, introduce a selection of wonderful herbs that can be used for the skin, discuss herbal salves for children, demonstrate how to make herbal medicinal oils, salves and balms (using solar infusions and other methods), and where to source ingredients.  There will be a hands-on component where participants make their own sample medicinal salves and balms to take home.  Our focus herbs will be calendula, lavender, red clover, marshmallow root, comfrey and plantain.  

Cost: $38 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Herbal Salves & Lipbalms:

March 14

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ORGANIC SEEDLING STARTING WORKSHOP

Date: Sat February 21
Time: 10 am-12 noon
Facilitator: Angie Koch, local organic farmer, owner of Fertile Ground CSA

Description: Grow your own seedlings from seed this year!  It's not too late to get started.  During this informative workshop local organic farmer Angie will walk participants through all the basics in growing seedlings successfully - including using organic methods, grow lights, preparing proper soil mixes, where to source seeds and supplies, seed starting charts, germination guidelines, transplanting tips, and trouble shooting.  Take home samples you have planted, plus handout notes and charts.


Cost: $28 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

February 21

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CHEESE MAKING WORKSHOP
 
Date: Sat April 4
Time: from 1-3 pm 
Facilitator: Bianca Azzoparde, local cheesemaker

Description: Learn the art of making simple healthful cheese at home using organic local milk and other natural ingredients.  In this busy hands-on class participants will discover the delicious joy of cheesemaking, and how easy it can be!  We will make a simple organic herbed yogurt cheese, as well as organic mozzarella from scratch.  This workshop includes all the tools, ingredients, instruction and handouts, as well as samples to take home of your very own cheese made during the class.


Cost: $38 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

April 4

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MAKE SAUERKRAUT & KIMCHI!
INTRO TO LACTO-FERMENTATION WORKSHOP

Date: Saturday March 21
Time: from 1-3 pm 
Facilitator: with Jackie McMillan, local whole foods educator

Description: Lacto-fermented foods are all the rage, although these foods have actually been around for centuries in various cultural traditions.  There is good reason for the enthusiasm over these live cultured foods - from kimchi to sauerkraut to crock pickles to homemade mustards and more - these foods are brimming with nutrition, filled with digestive enzymes that are wonderful for our gut health, preserve well without canning, and are easy to make.  Attend this hands-on workshop to learn the secrets of how to make these irresistible and delicious live cultured foods at home.  We'll be making a lacto-fermented vegetable kraut, so come prepared for tasting and samples to take home.  Please bring an apron, cutting board, good knife for chopping vegetables, and a 1 litre mason jar to take samples. 

Cost: $38 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

March 21

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WILD FORAGING FOR SPRING EDIBLES

Date: Saturday April 18
Time: from 1-3 pm 
Facilitator: with Jackie McMillan, local wild foods educator

Description: Discover the world of wild spring foods readily available in your own backyard and around the city.  Wild harvested foods provide many benefits, including being nutrient dense, healthful, toning and medicinal for our system (especially after the winter months), and free!  During this workshop learn how to properly identify wild edible foods in our area, and how to carefully and safely wild harvest and prepare them.  Come prepared for some delicious and surprising tasting!

Cost: $28 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

April 18

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 PERMACULTURE DESIGN FOR YARD & GARDEN

Date: Sat April 11  
Time: from 1-3 pm  
Facilitator: with Tracie Seedhouse, local permaculture educator

Description: Permaculture is a thoughtful ecological system of design that takes into consideration the longterm health of the planet, community, and homestead.  Using lessons, patterns and examples found in nature, permaculture can create a sustainable healthful productive landscape that requires minimal maintenance.  Come to this introductory workshop prepared to dream, sketch and create on paper a beautiful sustainable yard for yourself using the permaculture principles we will discuss in this class.  Large sketching paper and art supplies will be provided, but please feel free to bring your favourite drawing materials to use for your design (pencils, pencil crayons, etc).


Cost: $28 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

April 11

 

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PLANT COMMUNICATION: OPENING OUR HEARTS TO NATURE

 
Date: Sat, Aug 22
Time: from 10 am-12 noon
Facilitator: Heather Cain, local herbalist

Description: Plants have been evolving with and supporting humans ever since we took our first steps on earth. Scientists are now discovering what indigenous people have known for thousands of years - plants are sentient, intelligent beings that communicate and make decisions; and humans are hard-wired to bond with nature. We have the capacity to relate directly with the trees and plants around us; in this workshop we will learn how. Communicating with plants is a step to living in better harmony with ourselves, each other, and nature. It is a path of healing that helps us attune to our true essential nature and inner wisdom, and to what our hearts deeply desire.
In this workshop we will:

• explore opening our hearts to receive from the plants
• touch on scientific and indigenous perspectives of plant intelligence
• learn simple techniques to boost intuitive awareness and plant/nature connection
• create sacred space to anchor our learning journey

Take home a plant elixir. Bring a notebook if you like. Please dress for the weather - this is an outdoor workshop (rain or shine) so bring sunhat, sunscreen, water bottle as needed.

Cost: $35 (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

Aug 22

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BREWING BEER FROM START TO FINISH

Date: Sat, Aug 29
Time: from 1-5 pm (note this will be a 3.5-4 hour class)
Facilitator: Jon Spee, local brewer and educator

Description: This all-afternoon workshop will prepare you for making your own home-brewed beer, from beginning to end.  Jon will walk participants through all the stages of making beer, with hands-on components at every step.  From a short history of homebrewing, to steeping grains, mashing, straining grains, boiling wort, adding malt and hops, cooling wort, and transferring to primary fermentor, to preparing and bottling another batch of homebrew to take home.  Learn the use of hops for bittering, flavour and aroma, and the role of yeast in creating unique flavours.  Finally using a hydrometer and monitoring your beer at home.  Each participant will take home aprox. 1.5 litres of homebrewed beer that we have bottled during the workshop.

Please note - this is a limited space workshop so register early to reserve your spot!

Cost: $65 per person (includes all materials, instruction, handout notes, and take home samples)

Please choose one date:

Aug 29

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SEED SAVING WORKSHOP

Date: Sat, Sept 12
Time: from 1-3 pm
Facilitator: Taarini Chopra, from Seeds of Diversity (www.seeds.ca)

Description: During this workshop we will learn all the steps of seed saving: from planning your planting and isolating varieties, to collecting seeds from plants in your garden, to cleaning and rogueing seeds, and storing your seeds to plant the next year. The workshop will be hands-on, and we will collect and clean seeds from a variety of garden vegetables, as well as tour the Little City Farm property to observe the diversity of vegetable, flower and herb seeds ready for harvest in the gardens.

Optional: Bring an extra $15 to the workshop day, to take home a copy of Seeds of Diversity's book, "How to Save Your Own Seeds" home with you!

Cost: $25 (includes all materials, instruction, hand-out notes) 

Please choose one date:

Sept 12

Spring Homesteading Workshops Open for Registration!

Our list of Spring 2014 Homesteading Workshops is now posted and open for registration!  Take a peek at our website for full workshop list, workshop descriptions and prices.  We are excited about a few new topics, and also welcome back some old favourites by popular demand!

New this season:
~ a Cultured Kitchen Series - including Sauerkraut & Kimchi; Yogurt Making; Apple Cider Vinegar Making, Sourdough Starters; and (hopefully) Kombucha!  Learn all you want about live cultured foods and making healthful ferments at home in these delicious, hands-on and very practical kitchen workshops.  All these workshops allow tasting and to take home generous amounts of samples.

~ a Felted Soap Workshop - come to this workshop to learn about the wet felting process and make your own bars of felted soap using natural wool, dyed with beautiful vibrant colours!  Participants will take home their own creations.

~ we are now offering Handcrafted Wooden Soap Molds & Soap Cutters for purchase - these are perfect for using during our Intro to Soap Making Workshops, and for further use at home.  Our wooden soap molds are made right here at Little City Farm!  We have been using these types of molds for many years and think they are the best!  These molds & cutters can be bought through the Little City Farm website here (scroll down to Soap Workshops section), and are coming soon to the Homestead Herbals shop.

Back by popular demand:
~ Intro to Permaculture; Wild Spring Edibles, and Intro to Soap Making

Please note the Intro to Soap Making classes are both coming up VERY SOON so register now to ensure your space (March 8 and March 15).

Some eco laundry options!

We just love these new Laundry Stain Sticks that we've added to our line of handmade soaps.  They work wonders on all kinds of stains, and being an active household with many indoor and outdoor projects always on the go (i.e. paint spills, food stains, etc) we were pleased to see this stain stick coming to many good uses.  We tried the stain stick out on our daughter's favourite handmade doll today.  The much-loved doll (Martha) has seen better days - she had pen and marker stains on her cloth face and arms.  We simply pre-scrubbed the stains on her with the stain stick soap, then added her into the washing machine for a regular cycle of laundry.  She came out almost as good as new - nearly unrecognizable!

If you want to venture into making your own laundry soap you can read about how to make a handmade laundry liquid soap on our post here.  We do still use this handmade laundry soap, but lately have been trying out an eco laundry ball (you get 365 washes with one ball) given to us by a friend.  This ball uses mineral-derived ceramic beads and magnets inside the ball to help clean, oxygenate the water and eliminate germs.  We are quite impressed!

Our Laundry Stain Sticks were featured in the March 2014 issue of Creating Vintage Charm magazine (see the page preview here)!  They look so great next to the washboard, metal wash tub, and wooden clothes pegs.

New Fall Workshop Series - Sustainability, Homesteading Skills & Good Food!

Want to hone your skills for simple living, sustainability at home, homesteading arts, and making really great healthful whole food?  Consider taking one of our fall workshops here at Little City Farm.  These workshops are not only a great way to learn new skills, but also a gathering place for meeting others in the community interested in these topics and lifestyle.  Go to our website here for more workshop details and registration.

Exciting topics coming up in the fall:

SAT, SEPT 14 from 1-3 pm - ORGANIC FRUIT TREE CARE
Cost: $25 Limited space - pre-registration required.
With Anna-Maria Schulteis.
This workshop will start with questions from participants about fruit tree care. Then the workshop will move into three main areas. What fruit trees will be successful in Ontario (Kitchener/Waterloo region)? What conditions are required before planting fruit trees (soil, compost, amendments, layout)? What are the most sustainable practices for growing and maintaining healthy fruit trees? Please note this is an outdoor workshop, rain or shine. Participants are asked to dress for the weather.

SAT, SEPT 21 from 1-3 pm - FALL WILD EDIBLES
Cost: $25 Limited space - pre-registration required.
With Jackie McMillan, local wild foods enthusiast.
We're surrounded by plants that are much more nutrient dense than what we can get from a supermarket, our garden, or even an organic farmer. Learn how to identify wild plants (greens, flowers, tubers/roots, bark, berries) that are tasty and easy additions to your diet, how to balance your body's needs with those of the ecosystem, and get some recipes to try at home. Wild food samples will be available for show and tell, and nibbling. Please note this is an outdoor workshop, rain or shine. Participants are asked to dress for the weather.

SAT, OCT 5 from 1-3 pm - BREAD BAKING & SOURDOUGH FOR BEGINNERS
Cost: $25 - Limited space - Pre-registration required.
With Karin Kliewer, from Little City Farm.
Do you want to make nourishing, hearty wholegrain bread at home? In this hands-on workshop we'll talk about using and maintaining sourdough starter cultures, and make a batch of bread using local organic whole grains. Each participant will get a chance to grind fresh flour using a hand-crank grain mill, plus take home recipes, their own loaf of bread freshly baked, and a jar of sourdough starter culture.

SAT, OCT 12 from 1-3 pm - GROW YOUR OWN SHIITAKE & OYSTER MUSHROOMS
Cost: $35 - Limited space - Price includes your own shiitake log to take home.
With Taarini Chopra, local foods advocate.
Grow your own edible mushrooms at home using simple effective techniques. We'll demonstrate growing shiitake mushrooms on oak logs, and oyster mushrooms on sawdust blocks. Participants will learn how to innoculate logs with mushroom spores, how to store and maintain logs, and how to harvest and use mushrooms. Each participant will take home an innoculated shiitake log at the end of the workshop.

SAT, NOV 2 from 1-3 pm - LET'S MAKE PIE!
Cost: $20 - Limited space - Pre-registration required.
With Karin Kliewer, from Little City Farm.
Want to make great pies using organic and wholegrain ingredients? In this hands-on workshop we'll be talking about how to make the perfect healthful pie crust, including vegan and gluten-free options. Each participant will make their own vegan pie to take home, using a crust made with organic coconut oil and local wholegrain organic flour. Participants will get a chance to grind fresh spelt flour using a hand-crank grain mill. Recipes included!

SAT, NOV 9 from 1-3 pm - HERBAL WINTER REMEDIES: MAKE YOUR OWN COUGH SYRUPS & TINCTURES
Cost: $30 - Limited space - Pre-registration required.
With Karin Kliewer, from Little City Farm.
During this workshop join local herbalist to talk about how to prepare for winter coughs, colds and flu. We'll make several simple effective herbal remedies including elderberry syrup, sage-horehound cough drops, and echinacea tincture. Participant will take home recipes and samples of herbal remedies we make together during the workshop.

SAT, NOV 16 from 1-4 pm - INTRO TO TRADITIONAL SOAP MAKING (workshop full)
Cost: $50 - Limited space - Pre-registration required.
With Karin Kliewer, from Little City Farm.
Learn to make beautiful all-natural healing soaps using nourishing oils, organic botanicals, and pure essential oils. During this popular busy hands-on workshop each participant will make their own 2 lb batch of cold process soap from scratch using recipe and ingredients provided. We'll talk about various soap making techniques, where to source ingredients, and the properties that various ingredients such as clays, botanicals, oils and essential oils add to your soap. Participant will be asked to bring their own soap mold with lid, and a large old towel. More details provided upon registration.

SAT, DEC 7 from 9 AM TO 2 PM - A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME HANDMADE HOLIDAY SALE!
Free annual event! Help spread the word!
Held at Little City Farm.
Drop by our 12th annual Handmade Holiday Sale to see multiple artists and crafters displaying their wares! Previous sales have included organic baked goods, natural soaps, handmade clothing for children, woolen reconstructed clothing for women and children, wooden items, pure beeswax candles, handmade slippers, vegan truffles. More updates coming closer to the date.

Homesteading Symposium!

Last weekend we held our first annual Homesteading Symposium here at Little City Farm!  It was a day-long event packed with 15 workshops to choose from, ranging through a variety of homesteading/sustainability skills including fibre arts, beekeeping, chicken keeping, herbal healing, home brewing, wild edibles, pasta making, yogurt making, natural building, and much more!  The day brought together nearly 40 people wishing to share and/or further their self-reliance skills. 

We are inspired to have met so many wonderful people, proud to know so many friends who are talented facilitators in the homesteading arts, and renewed in the belief that cities are places where we can rely on each other to actively create the kind of ecologically focused homes and communities we want to live in.  Here are just a few photos of the day...