Yestermorrow Design/Build School

While the rest of the country moved onto to other things, Kristen Zeiber headed straight to the Gulf Coast after her Yestermorrow internship ended in 2006.  For the past four years, Kristen's been augmenting the skills she learned at Yestermorrow as she focuses on rebuilding the torn fabric of life after Hurricane Katrina and the failed government response through her work with a community design studio in Biloxi, Mississippi.  Yestermorrow taught Kristen to think through design decisions and to re-imagine communities so they improve daily lives and enhance landscapes. 

Kristen applies what she learned at Yestermorrow every day as she helps reconstruct communities to be more resilient and more human.  She is rebuilding the Gulf Coast so people, landscapes, and culture can once again thrive.   She does this in a place where one of the resounding questions after the waters receded was, who will see us through?  Every day for four years, Kristen answers that question:  I will.  I will see the people of Mississippi through. 

Yestermorrow empowers people to find new solutions to persistent problems. 

In 2009, Nick Salmons got a call that he was off the waiting list and able to attend the Natural Building Intensive, where Nick deepened his knowledge of strawbale, cob, stone, and wood.  Afterwards he headed to the Oregon coast for Stove Camp - a 2-week boot camp to make cooking in the developing world safer, more efficient, and healthier for under $10 a stove.  While that sounds easy, scientists and engineers have been struggling with this challenge for years.  At Stove Camp, Nick's design/build charcoal stove - created specifically for use in Haiti-was voted "best in class."  It used less fuel and produced less carbon monoxide than traditional Haitian stoves. 

At Yestermorrow, Nick was engrossed in what it means to use materials that are abundant in the natural environment.  Now he brings those lessons to bear as he changes how Ugandans cook.  After a stint in the countryside, in January Nick will return to Uganda to set up a factory in the capital city, Kampala.  The factory, run by Ugandans, will start producing rocket stoves with bricks formed from rice husks and clay.  These stoves use 60% less wood and reduce smoke emissions dramatically.  In Uganda, a good stove saves lives. 

Yestermorrow students - each in her or his own way - goes out into the world with inspiration powered by technical skills and an approach to solving problems.   They are changing the world. 

After completing a degree in Architecture at Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University, Laura Feddersen was glad to find her way to Yestermorrow as a Design/Build intern in 2008.  "I've been looking for a place like Yestermorrow for a long time now," she said.  One of the lessons she learned at Yestermorrow was that "it's possible to love the work you do."  She found joy helping others learn.  When she left Yestermorrow, she took her joy in teaching to a whole new level.  Laura helped start an urban farm that is run by at-risk high school students with a community garden group based in Albany, NY.  The teens grow organic vegetables, which they sell at local farmers markets, earning high school credit and a stipend along the way.  These young people, who haven't had much to care about, are discovering the value (and deliciousness) of growing their own food as they become entrepreneurs, while doing better academically.  Laura's project could easily become a prototype for other efforts to provide job skills to others.

 

 

Yestermorrow doesn’t just teach students to ask important questions.  It helps them grapple with problems until they find approaches that work.   

After completing his Yestermorrow internship, Bob O’Hara returned to his (newly) native New Orleans to become a solar technician.  In 2009, he formed an employee-owned cooperative solar integration firm with three other technicians.  To date, the small group has collectively installed around 200 kW of PV and nearly 100 Solar Thermal systems.  

When not on the roof or working on an MBA in Sustainable Business and Renewable Energy, Bob is renovating a small New Orleans Creole cottage for his parents.  He’s bringing together the skills he honed at Yestermorrow to (re)build a small energy efficient family home integrating historic preservation, the use of recycled materials, and renewable energy. 

Yestermorrow prepares the next generation of builders and designers who are tackling design challenges in new ways. 

You can help Yestermorrow continue to an agent of change.  To support Yestermorrow, you can make a secure online donation or send in your contribution today to Yestermorrow, 189 VT Route 100, Warren, VT 05674. 

Learn more about Yestermorrow's internship program.

Learn more about Yestermorrow's Natural Building certificate. 

 

If you have a story to tell about how Yestermorrow has impacted you, let us know.  We look forward to expanding this page.