1-Day Sawmill Course with David Spicer at the PRI’s Zaytuna Farm

This is a one-day course on sustainable timber harvesting with a portable saw-mill. You will also learn about many aspects of forest management.

Date: 18 February 2011
Cost: AU$200

Topics covered are:

• forestry management
• pruning
• thinning
• maintenance
• farm forestry
• sawmill types
• circular saws
• bandsaws
• chainsaw mills
• quarter sawing for strength
• seasoning
• and demonstration of lucas mill from set up to milling

Course instructor: David Spicer

David’s rural upbringing in the early 70s exposed him to many traditional crafts and skills which are important for sustainable living. He managed forests with his father from an early age, gaining a deep practical knowledge of farming, forestry and natural living.

Since those days Dave has worked extensively in horticulture, agriculture, building/construction, landscaping, and forestry, but was dissatisfied with their approaches to the environment. In 1999 he signed up for a PDC with Bill Mollison in Tasmania and has never looked back. He went on to volunteer at the original Permaculture Research Institute site, at Tagari Farm, and subsequently worked with Bill Mollison on a number of occasions, which lead to him being made farm manager at the Permaculture Institute in Tasmania. He has co-taught with Bill and Lisa Mollison and Greg Nibbs on several practical training camps over the last 4 years. He has also been involved in the development of Geoff Lawton’s Zaytuna Farm in NSW which now hosts the Permaculture Research Institute, as well as co-training on PDCs at Zaytuna.

In April 2010 he lead the 1st PDC in Morocco and consulted at Prickly Pear Plantation in the south of Morocco, which one of his students was running. He has also worked with Geoff Lawton on the PRI Dead Sea Project in Jordan, as well as co-teaching another PDC with Brad Lancaster on the Marda project in Palestine. Both these courses where part of the Permaculture Master Plan. David currently works on developing a Permaculture farm in Wagga Wagga, in New South Wales in Australia and continues to work periodically at Zaytuna Farm in Northern NSW, on developing the farm as well as assisting with training activities.

Book here!