Flashback: Solar Herb Dryer

Energy & Sustainability Food & Beverage

I'm a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. I was an editor on the first 40 volumes of MAKE, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. In particular, covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

Contact me at snowgoli@gmail.com or via @snowgoli.

View more articles by Goli Mohammadi

July 28th, 2009 6

Oftentimes, the bounty of the season is, well, bountiful and more plentiful than can be used immediately. In my garden, the mint, parsley, and cilantro are thriving, and while I love using these fresh herbs in my cooking, I still have way more than I can use fresh. Enter our flashback for this week: a solar herb dryer by renowned green architect Michelle Kaufmann from the pages of CRAFT Volume 09, our Crafting Green issue. Made with reused materials including a wooden picture frame, wire mesh, and 4 old wine corks, the dryer is not only functional but lovely to look at as well. Herbs grown and dried at home are by far superior in flavor to their store-bought counterparts, and they make great gifts when combined with crafty packaging.

Check out the full tutorial shared here in our Digital Edition. You can also still pick up a back issue of Volume 09 from the Maker Shed for much more green crafting goodness.