Learn about metals, plastics, ceramics and other materials

The Materials Technology course explains how to:

• handle different materials,
• how they are classified and
• how to work with them to create and build things.

This course covers metals, plastics, ceramics and other materials. Building on how the different materials are classified and their characteristics, the course also helps the learner understand the different uses for the materials. This course provides a good overall understanding of materials that can be used in a variety of contexts including trades or creative artwork.

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1.   Properties & Classification of Materials

• Properties of Materials
• Mechanical Properties
• and more!

2.  Metals and Their Uses

• Ferrous Materials -pig iron, wrought iron, grey iron etc
• and more!

3.  Metal Alloys and Their Uses

• Malleability
• Ductility
• and more!

4.  Working with Metals

• Metal work
• Gauges/Sizing
• and more!

5.  Non-metals and Their Uses

• Porcelain
• Earthenware
• and more!

6.  Working with Ceramics (and Glass)

• Making Pottery
• Kneading and wedging
• and more!

7.  Working with Polymers & Composites

• Synthetic Polymers
• Plastic manufacturing
• and more!

8.  Safe and Sustainable Handling of Materials

• Safe Use of Materials
• Case Studies
• and more!

The Indian Chipko movement of the 1970s was one of the first forest conservation protest movements in the developing world. It has gone on to become a beacon of environmental campaigning globally with a theme of non-violence. The case is held up as a triumph of the marginalised and tribal peoples of the world against vested corporate deforestation interests. Deforestation means more than the loss of pretty trees to subsistence farmers; it amounts to a loss of firewood, fodder, drinking and irrigation water; a whole way of life comes under threat.

The protests began in a remote village in 1973 where a felling contractor had been given the right by the state to fell 3000 trees for a sporting goods store. When the woodcutters arrived, the women pleaded with them calling the forest their “maternal home,” and explained the consequences of felling the trees. The woodcutters threatened them with guns, shouting abuse at the women. The women in turn threatened to hug the endangered trees and die with them (Chipko is the Hindi word for “cling”). The unnerved labourers eventually left, and the contractor backed off. Similar scenes were repeated in other villages, with notable protests occurring in 1974 and 1977. Given that women were in the vanguard of the Chipko protests, it is often cited as the birth of the “ecofeminist” movement.

The Chipko movement had its origins 260 years ago in the early 18th century of Rajasthan. The Bishnoi are a religious group found in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India such as Rajasthan. The Bishnoi hold all life, including trees, sacred. They narrate the story of Amrita Devi, a Bishnoi woman who, along with more than 363 other Bishnois villagers, died saving the Khejarli trees when woodsmen of Maharajah Abhay Singh of Jodhpur came felling for the construction of his new palace. After the massacre, the king ceased felling of trees and postponed construction of the palace. Many Indian people still recall the folk tales of the Khejarli sacrifice. The Chipko movement no doubt felt a boost by drawing on such rich history.

Deforestation leads to deterioration in soil conditions, and local erosion. As a result of drainage and runoff, water sources can dry up, and water shortages become widespread. Subsequently, communities may give up raising livestock, which added to the problems of malnutrition in the region. This Chipko crisis was heightened by the fact that forest conservation policies, like the Indian Forest Act, 1927, traditionally restricted the access of local communities to the forests, resulting in scarce farmlands in an over-populated and extremely poor area, despite all of its natural wealth.

The Chipko movement has met with some conditional successes such as moratoriums through government tree felling bans or via court cases. Sometimes local tree replanting schemes have reforested areas close to village homes. In 1987 Chipko was chosen for a “Right to Livelihood Award,” known as the “alternate Nobel” prize honour. The honour was rightly deserved for this small movement dominated by women which had become a national call to save forests.

If you want a deeper understanding of the global environmental crisis, and want to be part of the solution, ADL offer courses in conservation, sustainable agriculture, permaculture and ecology.

Dry Stone Walls: A Guide

A while ago I wrote a blog about Hedges and Hedgelaying. Being from the UK, I can’t think about hedges as boundary features without also thinking of their twin structures; dry stone walls. They are obviously made of very different materials and appearance, but I hope you will come to agree they share more in common than they have apart. Necessity, it is said, is the mother of invention, and when we are talking about boundary features there is no better example of this than hedges, which because of the availability of trees, are mostly features of low lying landscape. Dry stone walls, on the other hand, are commonly seen above the treeline, where rocks and boulders are strewn about. The aims are the same; to keep livestock in.

Lakeland Dry Stone Wall. Source: Time Travel Britain.

It is thought, by dry stone walling experts, that the practice of building walls without mortar, or other bonding material such as clay, might go back as far as 5000 BCE. There is certainly evidence of dry stone walls buried under soil from County Mayo in Ireland, which dates back to 3800 BCE. Of course, a major advantage to being able to utilise a natural boundary in the uplands for livestock (particularly sheep) is that they are too exposed and inhospitable for anything else, such as arable farming. So sheep farming on upland moors is a win-win for agriculture, being semi-wild. It’s a good way of deriving high qualilty biomass (meat) from not very much input. And stone walls are integral to such a farming economy.

Collapsed Stone Wall. Source: Gerry Jones via Merchants and Makers

There are fine examples of dry stone walls all over the world, from the USA to New Zealand, to Bohemia, and even Zimbabwe. But in the UK, I think better than anywhere else we can use the construction of stone walls to study the unique regional differences and history of use of the landscape. This might seem rather too obscure a topic, a bit like train spotting, but the whole subject comes to life when you have spent some back-breaking time building a dry stone wall from scratch. Conforming to the local rules of design, and using only the materials around you, a stone wall becomes like a giant 3D jigsaw which really challenges your spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. After a few hours of it, you get into a good rhythm and end up looking like a pro. It can become quite addictive. As with hedge laying, there is a Master Guild which teaches from novice to professional level. Courses are often run over weekends.

Basic Anatomy of a Dry Stone Wall. Source: The Stone Trust.org

Cornish Herringbone Design. Public Source Image.

Like hedges, dry stone walls have huge nature conservation value, and are currently under threat. Dry stone walls are wildlife gardens. Lichens, feather and cushion mosses, algae and liverworts clothe the stones, creating tilth and compost for stonecrop, cranesbill, ivy and ferns to gain a foothold. In lowland Britain, the wall is often the surrogate natural scree or cliff. The toad and slow-worm share shelter with the vole, fieldmice, shrew and hedgehogs among the leaf-filled footings and fillings; and some birds may lay their clutches of eggs in stone walls if a gap at low level allowing entry is provided. Because of their conservation and historic importance, there are grants on offer to restore dry stone walls. Courses at ADL can kick start your career in conservation, permacutlure or alternative agriculture!

References

Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain

http://www.dswa.org.uk/

The Dry Stone Walling Association. Dry Stone Walling, Techniques and Traditions. 2004

Brooks, Alan and Adcock, Sean. Dry Stone Walling, a Practical Handbook. British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV). 1999