West River Community Project is a nonprofit community center dedicated to promoting local agricultural, economic and social activities, located in West Townshend, Vermont. The WRCP is housed in a historic country store and has become a gathering point for weekly community events including a farmers’ market, old time music jam, and a Friday night pizza cook in their wood fired oven.
As the Friday night event grew, a larger pizza pavilion was designed to house a new oven with in a timber framed structure. This workshop was conducted to support their growing community effort while providing a timber framing experience for women and underserved individuals in the trades. Led by timber framers Liz Johndrow and Ariel Burns, this week long workshop utilized hand tools to cut the timber frame allowing for each participant to explore woodworking at a slower, more traditional pace. The project’s culminating point was the raising day where, surrounded by the community, the frame was assembled and lifted into place by hand.
Being part of this team was a privilege and a great learning opportunity for both wood working skills as well as community planning. Visit the WRCP website here https://westtownshend.wixsite.com/wrcp for more information and stop in for a pizza if you are passing through southern Vermont on a Friday night!
