The March Hare: Winter '03
Issue 35

Footprints in the Snow * Hopper's Index * New Member Bio: Gare * Lying alone in plush tufts *
Adventures in Straw Bale Home Building * Nature Corner * New Member Bio: Tamar

"That’s right...
I’m a lady builder!"
by Steph Noll

Recently I went to St. Louis to spend the holidays with my family. I ran into a number of old acquaintances who asked what kind of work I was doing these days. When I told them I was building, I received many surprised looks accompanied by questions like, “Wow, is that a rough field to be in? Do you have a hard time with the people you work with?” I just grinned and said, “Nope, I build at a feminist ecovillage.”

The first time I came to Dancing Rabbit for more than a tour was in the summer of 1999 when DR hosted a women’s natural building workshop. In one week two experienced women builders led a mostly inexperienced female crew to build the small, load-bearing strawbale building, Bella Ciao, from foundation to roof plate. For many of us it was our first time picking up a power saw or even other more basic tools. Although we all had an interest in building, most of had never had the context for learning the basic skills we needed to be comfortable on a construction site. Equally as empowering as watching the walls of Bella Ciao go up, was learning how to hold a circular saw or effectively swing a hammer. After all, a woman can do anything if she has the proper tools. . .and knows how to use them.

Besides feeling empowered by the experience of the women’s building workshop, I also discovered at that time that I really enjoyed building and came back to Dancing Rabbit multiple times that summer to continue working on Bella Ciao and other buildings. I then began to understand and appreciate the ways in which Dancing Rabbit culture was really empowering for someone like me. Besides having a commitment to building a feminist culture that encouraged all members to pursue the kinds of work that interested them regardless of gender,

Steph handling the cordless saw

The next winter I applied to be an intern at DR for the summer of 2000. The intern committee encouraged me to come back as a construction intern. I arrived in May to spend the summer putting up the bents of the daunting two and a half story Skyhouse, working on plastering the other buildings, and helping with the framing, roofing, and first bales of the Milkweed’s cottage. I also must not forget the slightly less glamorous hours spent de-nailing reclaimed lumber. Over the course of the summer I continued to develop building skills and confidence working on construction scenes with both men and other women. I also had the satisfaction of literally helping build Dancing Rabbit and became convinced that it wasn’t just the novelty of doing construction work that I liked, but the building itself. Wherever I ended up in life, in some capacity, either hobby or profession, I wanted to be a builder.

At present, I’ve been living at Dancing Rabbit as a resident since last September. I have been spending the biggest chunk of my working hours building and loving it. I spent the fall working with Gare on his and Don’s grain bin-turned-duplex, and now I’m spending 15+ hours a week working on the still large but somehow less daunting Skyhouse. Although I still think Dancing Rabbit is a wonderfully supportive environment for women builders, I would like to see more women on the construction scene. Now that Dancing Rabbit is down to its low winter population level, I almost always find myself the only woman on the construction site. Despite DR’s commitment to feminist ideals, currently almost all of the construction scene coordinators are men. I have learned a lot from those men and receive total respect and support from them, but I would love to have more opportunities to learn from and work with women as well. I still remember how incredible the experience was of working with a whole team of women at the women’s building workshop. It was so easy to work without feeling self conscious about what I wasn’t yet skilled at or didn’t yet know. Earlier this fall another woman builder, Tamar, and I coordinated the finish plaster of the grain bin and that was great. I hope that the women at DR who are interested in building continue to take on more leadership roles as they present themselves. If there are women on the construction scene at DR now, the village will have the opportunity to grow in a way that doesn’t just mirror the wider culture where men happen to hold the majority of the construction skills and women who are potentially interested in building may be too intimidated to jump in. I personally am very happy to have taken the plunge. I love the work I’m doing and enjoy reporting that I am learning to be a builder at a feminist ecovillage.

Footprints in the Snow * Hopper's Index * New Member Bio: Gare * Lying alone in plush tufts * Adventures in Straw Building * Lady Builder * Nature Corner * New Member Bio: Tamar