NASEF Farmcraft: Land Demand 2026
The Three Build Challenges
How do we use the land to feed, clothe, and shelter our communities?
Season Timeline
Registration
Jan 20 — Apr 3, 2026
Sign up on Cleverlike School (code: 827333)
Build Challenges
Feb 9 — Mar 13, 2026
Three 2-week creative build challenges
Regular Season
Mar 18 — Apr 24, 2026
Competitive gameplay bracket on NASEF servers
Finals Stream
April 29, 2026
Live championship broadcast
Our Three Challenges
The What & Why of Crops
Feb 9 — Feb 20, 2026
NASEF Prompt
"Design a farm in Minecraft that highlights the crops grown in your area and the reasons we grow them. Think about what makes your region unique — its climate, history, and community needs."
Our TEK8 Approach
We center Pacific NW First Foods — camas, wapato, salal, Three Sisters polyculture — alongside the 100-to-400 STEAM pipeline (Big Mama Healing Teas) and hydroponics at MADF as a response to the Tacoma Smelter Plume. Indigenous food sovereignty as agriculture.
Research Questions
- What were the First Foods of the Puyallup, Duwamish, Nisqually, and Muckleshoot peoples?
- How does Three Sisters polyculture outperform monoculture?
- How can hydroponics address contaminated soil from the ASARCO smelter plume?
- What role do seasonal rounds play in food sovereignty?
Growing Into Your Clothes
Feb 23 — Mar 6, 2026
NASEF Prompt
"Explore the world of cash crops grown for clothing, fabrics, and textiles. Research how these crops are cultivated, processed, and turned into the materials we wear every day."
Our TEK8 Approach
Coast Salish fiber technologies are among the most sophisticated in the world: cedar bark weaving, stinging nettle cordage stronger than cotton, mountain goat wool Salish blankets, cattail/tule mats, and the legendary woolly dogs. We contrast these with industrial textile crops to reveal what sustainable fiber looks like.
Research Questions
- How did Coast Salish peoples process western red cedar bark into wearable fiber?
- Why is stinging nettle fiber stronger and more sustainable than cotton?
- What was the role of woolly dogs in Coast Salish textile production?
- How do water and chemical costs of industrial cotton compare to Indigenous fibers?
Wood You Believe We Can Grow a Home?
Mar 2 — Mar 13, 2026
NASEF Prompt
"Explore plants and crops that are used to create the building materials for homes or other buildings. Research what these crops are, how they are cultivated, and how they are turned into materials."
Our TEK8 Approach
The Pacific NW longhouse tradition represents millennia of engineering genius: western red cedar post-and-beam structures, Douglas fir framing, tule mat portable shelters, bent-wood box technology, and bark roofing. We connect these to the Tacoma Water Neighborhoods concept — buildings as infrastructure nodes within living watersheds.
Research Questions
- How were western red cedar longhouses engineered without metal tools?
- What role did managed forests and agroforestry play in material supply?
- How can tule mat construction inform modern portable/modular shelter?
- What is the carbon footprint of cedar longhouse vs. modern stick-frame construction?
How to Submit
Each challenge is submitted through NASEF's Google Form. You can submit a video walkthrough of your Minecraft build or a blog post explaining your research and design.
Video Format
2-5 minute walkthrough of your Minecraft farm build. Show your crops, explain your research, describe your TEK8 connections.
Blog Format
Written post with screenshots. Include your K-W-L chart, research sources, and how TEK8 petals guided your design.
Submit via Google Form
Links posted on Cleverlike School LMS. Use code 827333 to access the course.