Upon arrival to Austin, we had no idea what to expect. Our group had a very vague idea of what our housing situation and projects would be like and the weather was a combination of clothes-moistening humidity and starry-skied nightfall.
Our nighttime arrival still allowed us to be greeted by the founder of the Center for Maximum Building Potential Systems, Pliny Fisk, who gave us a brief tour of the grounds and showed us to our outdoor bunkhouse -- our home for the week.
Being sleep deprived and sore from travel put us right to bed. When we woke in the morning, we were able to take a full grasp of the grounds around us -- composting toilets, solar-heated showers, rain-water collection, and bountiful Blue Bonnets (the state flower). In terms of sustainability and ecological welfare, this is a a virtual mecca of ideas.
Monday, our first day of service, turned out to be quite the workload. Jodie, Courtney, and Katie were tasked with varied projects. They began the day by working on a project to renovate an ecological decathlon, a sustainability project from Texas A&M. They then learned about patents Pliny had developed in the past and were currently in the works, including a light refraction system that would allow low-income and less developed countries to refract light throughout their homes without needing electricity and lightbulbs. After take apart a frame of a project that was not heading in a favorable direction, Jodie, Courtney and Katie then built chairs for the campfire area, re-purposing old tractor seats and logs to create unique and comfortable seating.
Harrison, Mahir, and Parker began the day by cutting their chops in the metal shop. As part the Ecology Action of Texas Circle Acres Shade Structure project, they had to help bring the sculpture to life. Using a metal punch and metal slicer, Harrison, Mahir, and Parker prepared pieces to mount the multi-hundred pound sculpture between the Shade Structures. They then took to grinding the metal to prepare it for the welding process. By the end of the day, they were cutting and shaping metal to create mounting rods from which to hang the structure.
After heaving down a delicious dinner cooked by Courtney, Jodie, and Katie, the MAB Austin group wound down by campfire, sitting at the freshly made chairs, eating s'mores, and listening to soothing tunes of folk music.
Our nighttime arrival still allowed us to be greeted by the founder of the Center for Maximum Building Potential Systems, Pliny Fisk, who gave us a brief tour of the grounds and showed us to our outdoor bunkhouse -- our home for the week.
Being sleep deprived and sore from travel put us right to bed. When we woke in the morning, we were able to take a full grasp of the grounds around us -- composting toilets, solar-heated showers, rain-water collection, and bountiful Blue Bonnets (the state flower). In terms of sustainability and ecological welfare, this is a a virtual mecca of ideas.
Sunday saw us roaming about town -- taking in the Hope Outlook Gallery at Castle Hill, playing frisbee and slacklining at Zilker Park, touring the State Capitol Building, and getting lunch at the infamous Torchy's Tacos. We also got to pick up our 6th MAB member from the Airport, completing the family!
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