Poles for the Red Tent
Two weekends ago at the Winter Storytelling Festival, the Wood Sisters raised the money to start making the Red Tent – our red canvas and wooden-framed alachigh (dome-shaped tent from Northern Iran) to be a portable space for meditation and sanctuary, myth and crafts. Last Sunday morning we set out with master yurt-maker Tobias Fairlove to cut the ash poles that would make the frame of the tent.
Lisa, Sue, Ronnie & Alice ready for the off
We drove to Killerton House to the self-seeded ash woods which Toby has been gradually thinning over 15 years to provide different habitats for flora and fauna and to make space for some big trees to grow. “Why ash for a tent frame?” we asked him. “It’s local, abundant, strong and responds well to steam bending. ” he replied.
Killerton Woods
We entered the woods in the Spring sunshine with gloves, bowsaws, tape measures and enthusiasm. We took a moment to speak our intention to honour and to weave the magic of the living trees we were about to cut down into the making of the tent and to mark the sacred intent of this first stage of our tent making. We also thought of Sam, one of the founders of Wood Sisters, who couldn’t be with us today. Then, after a health and safety talk, we set about felling some tall, straight ashes and dragging them to the pile. The sun shone in a blue sky and jackets were soon off and provided helpful markers as we soon got lost in the tangle of trees in our search for the right trees to cut.
Ronnie gets to grips with her first ash
It was a job that needed close and careful collaboration to make sure the tree fell where we intended and to stop the half-cut trunk pinching the saw.
Alice lowers an ash
Timber...!
We stripped each pole of branches (they didn’t have many as they grew so close together) and cut them to a length of 14 feet with a base diameter of 2 – 3 inches and a top diameter of no less than one and a half inches.
The canopy
Most of our time was taken up searching for ideal poles, the right size and length and dead straight. After a while we learnt to stop crashing about in the undergrowth and losing ourselves in the woods and we simply stood and looked. Once we had our eye in, there were poles everywhere!
Sawing through
Once felled and cut to length, the poles were carried to a nearby fire-break where, as we worked, the pile grew…
Lisa builds the pole pile
The day wore on and we found ourselves lost in the physical rhythm of the work, broad grins on our faces, as this first stage of the tent build became a reality and absorbed us on all levels.
Sue cutting one of the last poles
Once the pile was made, we faced the long haul back to the car and trailer, through mud, bog, dense forest and a final bit of tarmac…
Toby has done this before
Ronnie and Lisa on the long haul
The beginning of every sacred journey requires an initiatory cut and the bow saw… did slip once …ouch. Luckily, 1st aid kit and surgeon were both on hand (only the first was needed). The trailer filled, the sun began to set…..
A trailer full of poles
Nearly there
Weary-limbed we drove back to Dartington and unloaded the poles with a sense of satisfaction and anticipation of the next step in the creation of the Red Tent.
Unloading
And as we left, a pheasant high in the tree bade us a noisy farewell at the end of a magical day.
Pheasant farewell