Construction offcuts, demo lumber, bent hardware, mismatched fasteners — every build site and renovation throws off material that's technically "waste" but is really just short, odd-shaped, or unlabeled. Re-story-fication in practice: a scrap pile is also a design constraint nobody's worked with yet, and constraints are where interesting design actually starts.
We'll pull from a real pile of construction offcuts, demo lumber, and salvaged hardware sitting on site — no shopping list, no pre-cut kit. As a group, we'll assess what we actually have to work with, then design and build something useful around those constraints: a tool shed component, a trellis, a piece of site furniture for the commons — the exact project depends on what the pile gives us. Expect a tool safety refresher, real measuring and joinery work, and a finished piece that stays on site as shared infrastructure or goes home with a participant, depending on the build. The material dictates the design, not the other way around.
- Water, snacks, lunch (full-day session)
- Closed-toe shoes and work gloves
- Weather-appropriate work clothes
- Favorite hand tools, if you have ones you love using
- Safety glasses if you own a pair
- Willingness to design around what's actually there
- Material assessment and inventory
- Design-around-constraints workshop
- Tool safety refresher
- Group build session
- Finishing and site placement (or take-home, project depending)
- A finished piece — or a share in a larger build that stays on site
- Practical fabrication and joinery skills
- Hands-on experience turning "waste" into function
Cultivated Commons is a Hendersonville-based land trust and permaculture school. Through our workshops and courses, students upcycle marginal lands into public-access, car-free corridors that connect neighbors, harvest stormwater, and grow free food. Each student group works on a real design challenge on a real piece of local land, returning to their own neighborhoods as ambassadors for the common spaces we all share in trust. Our half- and full-day workshops can also be steps toward an Applied Permaculture Design Certificate, with tuition counting toward the cost of certification.