Ethan's Experience

My Time in Bison

While my time at Bison was brief after only a few days I felt like I was part of the community. Everyone was willing to talk even with the language barrier which went against many of the stereotypes we were told walking in. Even people we had not met would stop and say Hi or would take time out of their day to tell their stories and listen to ours. The welcoming atmosphere along with the free flowing work culture made me understand why people gravitate towards this community to where I began thinking how much fun it would be to be involved long term.

My biggest takeaway from my time at bison is that the end should not always be what you are striving for. When more time is given for the process I found myself less stressed and work flowed easier. Coming from an engineering school where the end goal is the only thing we look at it was a breath of fresh air learning this new process

Inspirations

The Crafts

Maintaining practices across generations has remained a practice spanning cultures and generations so maintaining this aspect is crucial. Practices such as the thatch roof in slide 1 is a perfect example of teaching these skills to the new generations to keep it alive. These traditional skills are not the only things being taught either with people who want to learn practical skills being afforded the opportunity to learn them. Other skills such as wood cutting and plaster walls are a few of the numerous skills taught within the community to help those who want to learn. There is a sense of helping others for the sake of it rather than expecting something monetary in return and this is a driving factor within the community as a whole. These skills that are learned can be used by other people to then renovate their own houses and in time continue the cycle to teach others.

The Community

Those with experience lay the foundation for those who wish to learn, passing on their skills, sharing their ideas, and telling their stories. These people give more than just the skills needed but also the motivation to make a change in someone's life. Real life examples of your dreams give you the drive to at least try which is highlighted in the workshops they are held. Even if you mess up there are those who will lift you back up even if you had no prior interaction with them. You get closer to these strangers through getting your hands dirty then sharing a hot meal. These are the places you find your friends, collaborators and even mentors.

With the focus on the collective and not the individual people are constantly lifted up by each other even if they have zero experience. There is a place for all no matter your background, current status or future plans within the Bison community.

Some Projects I Helped On

Plaster Walls

We were originally told we were going to be painting walls but to my surprise we were actually making them. We were pointed towards a bucket, handed a scrapper and pretty much just told to have fun with it. The plaster we used was a mixture of dirt, straw, water and some adhesive giving these walls a more rugged look rather than the everyday smooth wood walls. We each have a tangible piece of the community that we can now say was ours. If we come back in the future our wall and our work should still be there.

Demolition

There was nothing special behind the demolition of this wall, it was just part of the construction process but wow was it fun. I feel like very few things encompass change like swinging a hammer against a wall creating a permanent difference around you. Even if I was a little hesitant at first it was very fun and with the permission of other workers we just kept on swinging.

Painting

The location we painted was actually the first stop on our tour of properties outside of Bison. We were told it was a running project constantly getting small amounts of work here and there. Low and behold we would be the ones working on it weeks later. Even with my fear of heights I helped paint the side of the building and helped direct which way to keep painting.

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