Farm Craft

History

The original Farmcraft Hall was established soon after the end of Ninth Pass. It located on eastern side of the Sea of Azov, at Beryl Plain Holds. The first few hundred turns the Hall was successful but a gradual change in climate made the Beryl Plains unsuitable for farmcrafters. The hall's location become too southerly and cold, with too short of a growing season. Three hundreds turns ago the hall was finally moved to its current location in Sapphire Meadows Hold. At the same time, the Hall's famous Arboretum was founded. The Arboretum soon became popular sightseeing place. Hold's guests were brought to see it and the farmcrafters were force to build marked paths and picnic tables for them.

The hall thrived until the Plagues hit. The crops were left rotting when there wasn't enough people to harvest it. The Farmcraft Craftmaster was one of the more eager supporters of the ban of women from crafts. During the Turn 1100 of the Tenth Interval, a destructive bush fire destroyed most of the Farmcraft Hall's fields. It took turns to replace the lost crops and experimental plant-hybrids.

When the signs of returning Thread appeared, the farmcrafters refused to heed them, being afraid what it would mean for their craft. They were last ones to start preparing for the Thread and the first Falls were catastrophical for them. After they learned to protect their crops with grubs, the situation improved but the Hall is still struggling to gain it's former glory. The elderly, arch-conservative Craftmaster isn't much helping, with his refusal of new technologies and methods.

This is the central Crafthall for the Southern Farmcraft. One other Hall, located at Agate Valley Hold, is on the large peninsula north of Far Island. While Sapphire Meadows's Hall specializes more in the temperate crops, Agate Valley's Hall studies the tropical ones.

Location

The Hall is located a mile outside the main hold of Sapphire Meadows, surrounded by rolling hills and fields. The orchards provide a visual cover between the main hold and crafthall, creating a sense of isolation. Behind the Hall is the famous Arboretum.

Building Information

The Hall's main building is a large, three-storey building with an open quad in the middle. The four wings of the building are built of stone and timber. The ground floor is stone and the upper floors are built of timber logs. The walls are whitewashed. Originally it had an thatched roof but it has been replaced with one made of thin metal sheets during the First Turn of the current Pass.

Technology Level

The current Craftmaster is old and set in his ways. He refuses to use the newest technologies. That's whythe technology level in Farmcraft Hall remains low. The Hall is connected to same power grid as the main Hold and it has electrical lights but the rooms and kitchen ovens are still heated with wood. The tools the farmers use have not changed in centuries and bovines are used to plow the fields. Water must be carried from well to the rooms and baths. Only modifications are allowed in a ways of manipulating plants and in methods of creating hybrids.

Female Policy

Females are not allowed to apprentice into the craft. Sometimes crafters' wives and daughters are allowed to help, especially during the harvests. Gardening is allowed to women as an hobby.

Population and Plague Effects

The current hall population is around 60 persons, more than half of them non-crafters: family members and support staff. The plagues hit the Farmcraft Hall hard, killing fifty percent of its population and the hall hasn't yet recovered completely. Some valuable information, working methods and plant-lines were lost.

Economy

The Farmcraft Hall was supposed to be there to improve the quality of farming, to create new plant hybrids and new farming methods, to preserve and study the flora of Pern. But lately the Hall has concentrated in growing large crops instead of looking for disease or pest-resistant breeds. The Hall supports itself by selling its products: fruits, grains, flower seeds, tree saplings and medical herbs. They also contract journeymen to holds, were they use their professional skills to improve local farming and to train the local farmers. The Hall prides itself having at least sample crop of every known nutritional or medical plant in Pern. They also store seeds and such in case of turns of crop failure.