As a kid, I fondly remember my grandfather bringing me and my little brother to the garage on the back corner of his property. We knew this place as simply, “The Building.” It was an uninsulated and unlit steel structure with a high ceiling, a gravel floor, and it seemed to go on forever in all directions. Part of the sense of size had to do with The Building’s contents – rows and rows of fascinating mechanical contrivances, tools, engines, and even whole vehicles in various states of disassembly. There was an early Ford truck cab in one corner (which we loved to climb into) surrounded by all the mechanical guts of the vehicle, as if it had been turned...
The back-to-the-land movement (as well as more recent offshoots such as the farm-to-table trend in dining) seeks to short-circuit the elaborate industrial complex that produces most of our consumable and durable goods these days. Proponents of the philosophy point to the loss of skill that is evident in the average person for basic tasks; to the health and environmental effects of large-scale industrialization; and to the sociological harm that comes of being dependent on technologies that are beyond the control or comprehension of most individuals. This dependence becomes crippling when a technological or supply-chain disruption renders us incapable of executing those basic tasks that we have turned over to mechanization. Even as we enjoy the benefits and ease that these...
“It might be that I have been listening to the M&T podcast and felt that I already knew Mike and Joshua, but this apprenticeship felt like a real-life gathering from day one! In the safe and encouraging atmosphere you have created – it felt easy to take on the challenges you offered us. It has been a lot of work, but the rewards are so much bigger. I have during these eight weeks thrown myself into planing, ripping and sawing, sharpening and joinery – things I’ve planned/wanted/dreamed of for years. All the tools have been waiting, even a workshop space… but the habit has been missing. I now feel I can keep going. As I have been working with the...
