About Ampersand

Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center in Cerrillos, New Mexico, is a place to explore sustainable living. Our off-grid site demonstrates sustainable systems including permaculture, land restoration, organic gardening, passive solar design, and wise water techniques. We build with natural and salvaged materials, cook with solar ovens, and rely on rain catchment. Our whole approach to sustainability is about your relationship with your resources. We start with the basics: water, food, shelter, and energy. We are simply gathering, experimenting with, and demonstrating sustainable solutions for living in harmony with our bioregion. Ampersand hosts workshops, internships, and volunteer opportunities for everyday folks wanting to respond intelligently to the state of the Earth . People often come to learn a specific skill, and discover they also build confidence and find inspiration for their next sustainable project at home. We offer a place where people connect, share resources and meet like-minded folks in order to encourage wise practices to grow roots everywhere. It's clear we need to re-think our relationships with our resources at this point in history, and our vision for moving in to this new era includes joyful community interaction and mutual support for transitioning our lives. Ampersand is a place that inspires other sustainable projects and acts as a support for their evolution. We also offer workshops that we can present at other locations (see the descriptions below for Pathways to Sustainability and Passive Solar Works ) and Sustainable Habitat Consulting services to help you with your own property.

Workshops and Events Contact us to be on our e-mail list!

Earthbag Workshop June 8, 2008 Time: 10 am - 6pm Instructor: Amanda and Andy Bramble $30 to $45 sliding scale Learn how to build walls out of earth during this one day workshop. We will be using the Flexible-Form Rammed Earth technique developed by Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer, as presented in their book, "Earthbag Building." Planning a structure for plumbing, electrical, interior installations, and protective finishes will be covered. This will be an attentively guided introduction to the process of building an Earthbag structure. Earthbags are a great alternative to other earth building techniques like adobe and cob because the construction process conserves water, can be easier on the body, and is adaptable to many local soil types. When an earthbag wall is finished, it is structurally similar to adobe. It can be used as a load bearing or retaining wall. Get hands-on experience with making a structural earthbag wall which will be integrated into an earth-bermed sustainable home. We will break into teams and rotate the roles to provide instruction on all aspects of basic earthbag building for all levels of experience.

Volunteer Open House
	Summer Solstice,Saturday June 21, 2008 10am to 4pm Tours of Ampersand will be given at 11:00 and 2:00 suggested donation: $5 to $15 per person Or get a free tour by volunteering for a few hours with a natural building project (bring a lunch) Call for directions.

Solar Greenhouse Construction

Instructor: Bruce Gray September 6th and 7th, 2008 10am-6pm both days $90-$125 sliding scale camping and meal options available This two day workshop will involve the cutting and raising of an attached passive solar greenhouse structure designed to process grey water, provide heating and circulation for the house and generate food and oxygen for the living space. The structure will be constructed with salvaged materials and focus on low cost sustainable building techniques. The course will include: Basic introduction to construction with wood and joinery techniques, both with and without power tools. Hands-on experience with framing, window setting, rafter cutting, raising and bracing of greenhouse structure. Source list for static, wind and snow load calculations; general construction and alternative methods. Design ideas for efficient collection, storage, and circulation of solar energy for home heating and food production. Bruce Gray has 35 years experience working with wood, including timber frame construction, job site management, design and product development work and training for the furniture industry overseas. Bruce is an expert in pre-petrochemical wood finishes and is currently focused on creating custom sculptural drum and percussion instruments.

Sustainable Living June Internship

June 6 - June 22 $600 to $700 sliding scale Description: Ampersand internships are immersion experiences in Sustainable Living. Join us to experience the joys of living in right relationship to our resources: the precious desert rain, our abundant sunlight, and the strong and flexible earth which provides diverse life and fine shelter. This internship begins with a workshop on Earthbag construction. We will be using the Flexible-Form Rammed Earth technique developed by Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer, as presented in their book, "Earthbag Building.". This is a great opportunity to learn about several natural building techniques, passive solar design as well as greywater systems. There will also be opportunities for learning about sustainable cooking, permaculture, land restoration, solar systems, and rain catchment. What you will learn: During your internship, we will continue building the walls of the bathroom and the foundation and stem walls of the greenhouse which will attach to an earth-bermed house, a passive solar hybrid structure of earthbag, post and beam, and strawbale. You learn the ins and outs of earthbag building. This includes how to plan for electrical and plumbing and cabinet installation, and how to weave this building technique with other methods. You will also learn to apply the primary layers of earth plaster. You will have the opportunity to investigate how this earth bermed structure came to be, from the site excavation, to the rain catchment plumbing, to the solar electric system. The internship curriculum is informal and integrated with the daily play of living in this environment and maintaining the sustainable systems that support us. We hope to encourage your path towards sustainability and provide you with the knowledge and experience that we have that will help you on your personal journey. What you can expect: You will be living in a tent and sharing the common outdoor kitchen facility and the yurt, which holds the library. Ampersand is a great place to live if you like being outside and close to nature! We apply our newly learned skills daily, sharing in the cooking and maintenance of the site. Our meals are generally simple, hearty, and vegetarian, although we are open to culinary explorations. We invite up to 5 interns at a time and the community experience is a large part of sustainable living at Ampersand. For us, it is important to approach our work and learning with a sense of caring, responsibility, and humor. Ampersand is located at 5800 feet elevation in the high desert pinon-juniper grassland ecosystem. In June we may experience temperatures up to 100 degrees, so we get started early and make use of the siesta. We will also plan at least one field trip to Jemez Falls, a paradise of cool pools in the mountains. There are many hiking destinations from Ampersand. The geology is quite diverse and there are petroglyphs from ancient peoples to be found. You can also hike to our nearby village, Madrid, which has it's own rich history. There you will find many galleries, a coffee shop, and a historic tavern. You will get two days off per week to rest, explore, or study. Northern New Mexico contains too many treasures to mention if you care to venture farther away. To apply for this internship, please send us a letter of introduction including any experience with living in community, building and sustainable living, and the reason for your interest in the internship, and any of your background, experiences and dreams you wish to share.

Passive Solar Works

This one day class helps students clearly understand passive solar design concepts and how to put them to work in a Do-It-Yourself situation. From fundamentals of passive solar design, solar gain, thermal mass and insulation the course progresses to learning how to balance these appropriately to manage and store heat in buildings and spaces. In addition Amanda offers simple technologies that can be easily incorporated in one’s life, such as solar cookers, water pasteurization indicators, retained heat cookers, dehydrators, water heaters and cold frames. Students learn how to make a reflector oven, as well as design more complex projects that can be tackled later.

Pathways to Sustainability

Sustainable living is about harvesting the renewable resources of your environment in order to meet your needs. Learn options for incorporating sustainable practices into your life. This interactive workshop contains an overview of sustainable systems and practices focusing on two of the most important elements for sustainable living in the Southwest: Sun and Water. You will learn the basics of passive solar design for heating and cooling living environments and food growing systems, as well as creating solar cooking devices. We will explore the options for making best use of greywater in the landscape, and discuss rainwater collection systems. Learn how to create environments that support your goals and reflect your values. This workshop will include group exercises and individual coaching in order for each participant to craft a personalized vision of sustainability. Amanda will assist you in developing practical and fun strategies for realizing that vision. This is an opportunity to survey which sustainability skills will serve your needs and ask questions pertaining to your experience and goals.