How to grow sprouts Take one canning jar. Take out metal insert and insert cheesecloth on top. Screw on top ring or fasten with a rubber band. Add two tbsp. of alfalfa seeds. Add water and soak overnight. Drain off excess water. Rinse daily. Sprouts in three to four days.
known as Powell River’s LEGO man. Not only did he build amazing LEGO creations but he collected, bought and sold LEGO and did LEGO birthday parties. In the spring of 2009, Kevin started Transition Town Powell River. “Transition Town is about needing to do something about changing our lives to deal with climate change,” Kevin explains. “It looks at resource shortages and economic instabilities. If you try to do it on your own it feels like it is not enough but if we work together as a community we can work out how to do things to make a difference.” Through Transition Town, Kevin put on workshops, talks with various speakers, movies and discussions. They tackled topics like transportation by holding a Green Transportation Rodeo with electric bikes and cars. Powell River Dollars grew out of Transition Town. It was launched in 2012 as Powell River’s local currency that can only be spent in Powell River. “We’ve raised more than $40,000 for local non profits with Powell River dollars,” said Kevin. “It’s a buy-local program that encourages people to shop locally and keeps money in town.” Kevin is also a knitter. “I learned to knit as a teenager. My mom taught
me. I knitted when I was in engineering school,” he said. “Alfie (Bolster, his partner) wanted to learn to knit a few years ago so I took a course at Great Balls of Wool to learn the Continental style of knitting.” Kevin said he learned the English style originally. Since then, Kevin always has a pair of socks on the go. “I knit on the bus, while I’m waiting for the bus, in the doctor’s office – anytime I am sitting around waiting for something, I knit socks.” Kevin’s do-it-yourself attitude took him deep into the kitchen where he began honing his culinary skills. “There’s quite a movement on about cooking from scratch. You get better food much cheaper and it’s more fun.” Kevin and Alfie make their own bread. Recently, they began grinding their own flour. “We do quite a bit of food preservation such as canning and dehydrating, and store quite a bit of food over the winter.” In the garden, they grow all their own carrots, potatoes, squash and garlic, which they also store. They grow alfalfa and bean sprouts on the kitchen windowsill in a canning jar. After noticing that several different groups were putting on food-related workshops, Kevin decided it would be helpful to bring it all together under one umbrella. Transition Town took a bit of a hiatus and Kevin put his energies into Powell River Urban Homesteading School. “Besides putting on workshops, I wanted to bring people together who are interested in self-provisioning and self-reliance workshops, so they could connect. That is why I do weekends and full days workshops instead of just a couple of hours in one evening.” Workshops are taught by a variety of instructors and range from all-weekend bootcamps to sampler evenings that cover practicalities from fibre and fabrics, to kitchen topics, to gardening, to community organizing. Future plans include a homesteading skills campout this summer and food preservation and storing in the fall.
“I knitted when I was in engineering school... [Now] I knit on the bus, while I’m waiting for the bus...” – Kevin WIlson
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