In light of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, Fabric of Life has made the difficult decision to cancel all in-person events for the remainder of 2020. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to being together with you all again very soon, virtually for now, hopefully in person in the near future.

Instructor: Jon Santiago

Jon Santiago began his journey as a builder 10 years ago while living in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Wood-fired heating and cooking were a normal part of life for many in this region, and he had ample opportunity to use, build, and live with a variety of wood-fired ovens and stoves. Upon leaving Argentina he sought out the North American masters of the oven-building world and dedicated myself to learning the craft. A big part of his learning has taken place within the ranks of the Masonry Heater Association of North America, a small non-profit dedicated to promoting the construction of efficient wood-fired heating units and cooking ovens. He now runs his own business Hearth + Timber, building ovens, masonry heaters, and timber frames for a variety of residential and commercial clients. They also have a sister business Hearth + Timber Pizza, which provides mobile wood-fired pizza catering using a mobile brick oven that he built. He is a big proponent of the “folk school” movement and has been a student at the North House Folk School, Driftless Folk School, and the Heartwood School. He has taught courses at Driftless Folk School, The Heartwood School, and Fabric of Life.

Program Description

Learn the ins and outs of wood-fired ovens! This class will cover topics such as the differences between cob ovens and brick ovens, choosing an oven type, building an earthen oven, materials choices, how to fire an oven, firewood management, potential costs of building and using an oven. We will also focus on how to cook in a wood-fired oven by firing the cob oven and cooking pizza and other goodies!

If you have any questions, please contact us at office@fabric-of-life.org.