Solar Pavilion
The solar pavilion project started in 2017 as a solution to several issues the camp had faced for some years.
Solar Panel mounting
Dance Camp Wales always tries to minimize electricity use on the field. Some low-level lighting in the café, oil lamps or candles for workshop spaces, and the occasional use of a food blender were all the power we needed in the past. The focus on food hygiene regulations changed all that. Fridges and freezers for the shop and café now need to be kept on 24 hours a day and must be cool enough to pass inspections. Internet access for payments, and online bookings, not to mention personal devices that we can’t live without, all need power. We tried to use only solar to provide electricity. As a result, the number of solar panels increased every year. We had to erect a temporary mounting frame to hold the panels during the camp. The panels were taken away and stored in a barn over winter, and the frame was taken down.
Mounting the panels on a permanent roof saves a lot of sweat, wear and tear, and materials. The solar pavilion gives us a south-facing roof with no shading for the panels and a dry secure home for the other components.
Storage
A lot of things that were only used for the camp were being brought to the field every year by road. Members would store them at their homes, in sheds or barns across the country. Apart from the obvious cost of transporting, this increased our carbon footprint and was a lot of extra work and effort. Some things had to be stored left and deteriorated over the winter, needing cleaning, repair or replacement. Having a secure dry storage space on the field helps save the camp those costs.
Wooden floor
Some workshops only work well on a level solid floor. To build one inside a marquee is possible but expensive. A building with a wooden floor is ideal, so a side benefit of having a storage shed is being able to offer a workshop space for those dances. The pavilion has become a popular choice of venue for smaller workshops as well, morning yoga sessions, singing workshops, and gong baths.
Planning
The Dance Camp field falls inside the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Planning consent for new buildings can be difficult or impossible. We drew up some plans for the building and approached the planning department for a site visit. Their response was positive, and the officer who came to view the site encouraged us to go ahead with a full application, which was passed without any objections.
Ty Pren
A local roundwood building company offered to make the timber frame for our building at a substantial discount if we agreed to contribute some labour and assist with transport, groundwork, and refreshments. Ty Pren selects standing larch trees for each building and prepares and pre-fabricates elements of the structure using traditional methods of mortice and tenon joints secured with hand-shaped oak pegs. The result is a space that is a joy to be in, with a timeless organic ambience, that feels like it will last for centuries. All the timber used in the building was grown in Wales in managed woodland.
Investment for the future
The pavilion was completed in 2019 and was used for the first time at that camp. The COVID pandemic meant there was no dance camp in 2020 and 2021. During that break, the solar panels were fixed to the roof and a cable was installed underground to carry the power down to the café at the bottom of the field. Since 2022 all electricity for the camp has come from the solar roof. The pavilion was a major investment in the future for the camp, showing intention for the camp to endure through good times and bad.
Doors opening, Doors closing, lovely sunshine today, and they have just started to cut the grass on the field. Big thanks to Kate and Dai for another day of hard labour. Not long now!
Starting to take shape! West wall cladding on Sunday with Kate. We braved the rain in the morning and were rewarded with a lovely sunny afternoon. Almost ready now to complete the two gable ends with a hired scaffold tower 4th - 6th June. More help is always welcome, and we have the offer of staying at the Penquoit centre if you are coming from further away.
Another gorgeous day on the field, making progress on the pavilion. We put the last few boards down on the floor and started cladding the East wall. Thanks to Kate. Back again next week if anyone is free to lend a hand. Or come along for a few days 4th 5th and 6th June, when we will have a scaffold tower to work higher up on the gable ends. If you live further away we have the offer of staying at the Pencoed centre. Bring bedding and food. Come and join the fun.!
Spring gathering at Pencoed over the bank holiday weekend yielded some great energy: working on the field, sawing firewood, permaculture garden, compost loos, and getting the new floor laid in the solar pavilion! Many thanks to all who came and gave their time.
Lovely day on the field putting down the first floorboards. Great teamwork.
The first phase of cladding, Southside with windows. Many thanks to Graham, Tristan and Kate Proudlock, for sawing, hammering etc. in the sunshine. (We used a lot of screws too, but I didn't want to give the wrong idea).
"Call from the woodyard, our cladding timber is being sawn today and ready to take over to the field. Very excited. I will post some pics when I get the chance. Next few weeks will be getting the walls built. I have made some oak window sills from a tree cut down by my neighbour. I managed to get it sawn into planks after about a year of trying, and it has been seasoning in a stack for a year in our barn. We will have walls and windows, hooray !"
Bobby
Ready for the walls to go on.
Waiting for the cladding timber from the sawmill apparently, it is getting harder to buy standing timber because so much is being bought up for bioenergy.
Fabulous teeshirt weather on the field this week, boiling the kettle for tea on a wood fire.
Had a fun day with diamonds!
If you would like to help us please get in touch via the Get Involved page and select Core Group with your message, many thanks.
Roof sheets all on today, another great team effort. Thanks so much to all who came along.
Those big diagonal braces are temporary, to make it hold still while we put the roof on in really quite high winds.
We had fun.
Wall frames almost complete now, big thank you to Jashan, Netta and Penny Shipman for works on the field this week.
Rear wall framework of the Solar pavilion almost complete. With thanks to Roger and Netta for great teamwork today.
If you would like to help us please get in touch via the Get Involved page and select Core Group with your message, many thanks.
Today ground anchors have been secured in preparation for the next phase of the build.
These anchors are driven into the ground with a hydraulic breaker and then like a harpoon they turn in the ground and lock. They will make sure the building stays put in high winds.
Ty Pren has completed the main floor beams. The next phase of the project is getting the roof and walls on, so the frame can dry out ready for the floor. We are very much in need of helping hands with this, so if anyone can offer some time on the field it will help make it happen. Bobby will let folks know the days we will be there please get in touch and let us know you are up for helping us. If you would like to help us please get in touch via the Get Involved page and select Core Group with your message, many thanks.
