earth oven project
contents 5
Introduction
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Alchemy of Elements
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Wisdom of the Simple
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Making Food out of Light
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Project Aims
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Building
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Earth Oven Hub a Meeeting Place
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Cooking with the Four Elements
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School Programme
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The Story
introduction AT THE HEART OF OUR EARTH THERE IS A FIRE Our planet is a kind of oven, baking the dough of molten material that we call magma, as it rises to the surface and cools to form a crust – the crust out of which, through the alchemy of the elements, all life emerges, the crust that sustains life in all its forms. Magma Bread Ovens has initiated The Earth Oven Project in order to promote the significance and potential of cooking with the natural elements.
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alchemy of elements The Earth Oven Project is inspired by the power of the simple act of making bread. This is an act that is so ancient that it feels timeless and yet it is still carried out, every day, across the planet. The power of this simple act arises from two key facts: Firstly, it demonstrates our interdependence with the plant kingdom and natural processes as a whole. Even the humblest and most familiar of human activities, preparing food, involves interaction with the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. Secondly, the simplest, timeless and global method of baking bread is the earth oven. The building of an earth oven not only enables the daily creation of bread but also provides a practicaland profound demonstration of the significance and inter-connectedness of those same four elements.
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wisdom of the simple The time is right for re-connecting with the power of the simple, direct, natural processes that underlie our lives. We increasingly understand that everything is interconnected but this can seem to lead us into bewildering complexity.As we look for ways to re-evaluate and adapt to our developing understanding of how we belong in the world we need simple, practical actions that we can take to orientate and to provide touchstones for our lives. What better place to start than with our daily bread.
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MAKING FOOD OUT OF LIGHT At the heart of our relationship with the planet is the significance of plants. Since life began and here today, the plant kingdom is the primary and the indispensable source of the materials, that provide us with food and shelter and fuel. Plants transform the energy of the sun and through photosynthesis; they enable life to be sustained and to evolve by making food out of light.
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project aims - To develop the educational potential of the earth oven by establishing a programme that will facilitate the building of an earth oven in every school in the United Kingdom. - To provide the opportunity for individuals and groups to enhance and celebrate their awareness of our place in the world through workshops and events enabling the creation of an earth oven. The act of bread-making, in particular the building of an earth oven, has enormous potential for becoming a powerful component of any experiential learning programme, relating to the interrelationships between nature, the environment and human activity. Just as the sharing of bread is a profoundly symbolic activity, the building of the oven and the baking of the bread can be a participatory experience and it can combine learning with theatre and ritual. It can also be part of a programme of cooking with the four elements. The Earth Oven Project has developed the concept of the earth oven as a meeting place. It becomes a place for social interaction and the experience of interconnectedness on many levels. This aspect is facilitated through the inclusion of a simple sheltering roof and some seating, which are incorporated in the construction of the earth oven.
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building A bread oven is constructed using a stone plinth and a clay dome, built by applying wet clay to a willow and hazel frame with a chimney and door. Ideally the clay should be left to dry for several days before firing. Once the basket has been completely burned, glowing embers can be used to slowly dry the oven. The first firing should take 6-8 hours. The temperature should reach approximately 800c to turn the inner surface ceramic. Also supplied will be a wooden ‘peel’ for placing food and an iron ‘stoker’ for controlling the fire. Shelter can be provided to give protection from the weather and also some seating for social gatherings.
(Costs of construction vary according to conditions)
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earth oven hub a meeting place A cluster of earth ovens beneath a simple shelter creates a welcoming focal point where larger groups can enjoy the warmth and nourishment offered by food and fire – through that sharing which is at the heart of all that’s best in social interaction, now, as it has always been. Here is a place of communal activity, in which we experience the value of our connection with the natural elements in a direct and pleasurable way – an experience enriched by all the ways that it brings us together, as we informally and unselfconsciously re-enact this timeless ritual. This practical yet richly symbolic feature can be a key element of a wide variety of events and gatherings (festivals and celebrations, shows and parties). It may be temporary or permanent, can be constructed in a few days and, in its simplest form, is achieved for a very modest budget.
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cooking with the four elements A typical 5-oven hub facility at Eden could be available for both schools and families. Schools would book the facility inadvance. On days when the facility was not booked by schools it could be available to families, who would be offered the option to book their Earth Oven Lunch when purchasing tickets. Thus, as far as the Earth Oven programme is concerned, there might be School Days and Family Days. Each lunchtime session could accommodate (and feed) a class of up to 60 pupils or as many as 20 families (who could be invited to book in – and pay – for a particular 20 minute slot for instance, allowing for staffing and materials to be organized accordingly).
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school programme Schools would book in advance, presumably paying an additional fee for the Earth Oven Programme. On booking they would be sent a booklet “Cooking with the Four Elements” suggesting some pre-visit teaching/activities and advising about preparing and bringing their own dough. “Cooking with the Four Elements” can relate to many different areas of the curriculum – from cosmology through geology to biologyand a wide variety of aspects of human life. During their visit, the school party would have a scheduled 1 hour lunchtime session at the earth oven hub, during which the children would be able to participate in the preparation of their food (using their own dough but with additional materials provided by Eden). In addition this activity would be a significant platform for promoting the idea of the school building its own bread oven through an Eden Outreach Project that would facilitate the building process, with associated workshops etc. An appropriate booklet could be issued to each visiting school. The earth oven hub could be in use potentially for 365 days a year. Each day could have 2 lunch sessions (12 noon– 1pm, 1pm–2pm), thus accommodating either 2 schools of up to 60 pupils or 2 cohorts of up to 20 families. 21
THE STORY Danny Shmulevitch, the founder of The Earth Oven Project, has worked closely with the indigenous Bedouin people of the Sinai Desert for over 25 years. It is a land of wild beauty in which traditional wisdom about our relationship with nature is still a very active part of everyday life. The rich heritage of collective wisdom to be found in such places, together with the guidance and influence of the elders of various communities he has visited throughout the world, has resulted in his vision of this particular pathway. Through education, we can show children how to become aware of the significance of the four elements in our staple diet, as a way of preserving and passing down the traditional wisdom of how to live in harmony with the Earth. Over the years, Danny has built a number of Earth Ovens in this country, both with children and with adults. But his first oven was built in Sinai; illustrating the origins and foundations of The Earth Oven Project in a fascinating way. It began with a request to build a bread oven, from the Arch-bishop at St Katherine’s Monastery. However, there is no clay in the desert. The first stage was to build a dam, at one of the Bedouin walled gardens near Mount Sinai, a place where it was known a flash flood occasionally takes place. 22
The dam was constructed with the participation of a partyof secondary school children from England, for whom Danny had organized the visit to Sinai. It was not until the following year that the basket was constructed at the Ein-Khudra oasis, a place mentioned in the Bible. It was made out of palm leaves, with the participation of another party of students. In the third year, the basket was carried across the desert to the location of the proposed oven and brought together with the clay produced by the flash flood at the site of the dam. Not until the fourth year was the oven finally ready to bake the bread, which was then taken on a short pilgrimage to the summit of Mount Sinai. There it descended to the Monastery for the 5am service at which the Archbishop would break the bread. This powerful participatory experience became a key part of a workshop Danny had organized for a group of adults whose visit to Sinai he was leading. Danny’s unique experiences over the years, alongside his ability to capture the essence and significance of these simple yet practical activities, ensure that the workshops and events that he facilitates have a magical and often profound quality of theatre and ritual, as well as delivering what they promise.
click here to watch the earth oven video
danny schmulevitch founder of the earth oven project danny@earthovenproject.com 07866 625 787
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