Posted by Carrie Campbell

Natural Building Network – Board of Directors

Last chance to get board nominations in for 2010!

We are seeking NBN members with the passion, vision and dedication to help lead our organization and support our members in bringing natural building to the world.  If you or someone you know of has the skills and commitment to support the NBN board and other volunteers in our ongoing efforts in one of these areas, please submit a nomination.

Diane Jennings of Disputanta Cob,

Mt Vernon, KY

After recently attending a 4-day cob building workshop with my 62 year-old mom and 8-year-old daughter, I can officially say there are now 3 generations of fierce cob building women in my family! So I am personally excited to announce our featured member this quarter – Diane Jennings of Disputanta Cob in Mt. Vernon, KY.  Much to my happy surprise, after living on the west coast for the last 5 years, I have come back home to Kentucky to find the natural building movement is alive and kicking in this neck of the woods too.

Diane is the mastermind behind Disputanta Cob, a group of tight-knit and big-hearted local community members who promote and teach natural building. Located in the gorgeous foothills of Central KY where spring water is plentiful, land is reasonably priced, and there are few building restrictions, the setting is perfect for natural building. Diane has a knack for drawing people of diverse ages and backgrounds to her workshops (ours included many kids from still in the womb to a gaggle of teenagers all the way through to elders). The community support network is thriving from amazing local chefs to tractor-cob mixing neighbors to near-by permaculture goddesses turning barren hilltop soil into lush gardens.  Disputanta builds with lime mortars and plasters, cob and other earthen materials, and salvaged items. Through teaching, example and open-hearted invitations, their vision includes making natural building readily accessible to a population that has historically faced  issues of deeply-rooted poverty. Diane’s mentor is Christina Ott of Artisan Builders Collective (formerly Barefoot Builders) based out of Tennessee.

If you would like to nominate a future featured member please contact us at office@nbnetwork.org.

Teleconference

Instructor: John Buck

http://nbnetwork.org, http://www.governancealive.com/

Tuition: $35

Are you involved in a business or organization?
Do you have a feeling that the teamwork/decision process/structure could be optimized to better create efficient productive meetings while representing the people involved, create more involvement, and less resentment than in the conventional hierarchical structures?

These were issues faced by the NBN board, and we’re now in a process of implementing a system developed in the Netherlands called ‘Dynamic Governance’ (Also known as ‘Sociocracy’). And we’d like to invite you to join us in the experience!

During two afternoons in December a telephone seminar, presented by John Buck, (author of We The People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy) will cover the following topics:
-The importance of a common aim
-Consent decision-making (egalitarian like consensus but doesn’t get hung up by people blocking)
-Fun election process that incorporates principles of chaos and self-organization and doesn’t have winners and losers.
-Clear facilitation steps that both give everyone a voice and keep the meeting on track.

Take the first session, think about it and maybe practice what you learned, and return for the second session to deepen your skills.

It will be helpful to have a computer to attend the classes, but phone-only is possible. The format is interactive – with fishbowl type demonstrations and dialog – and will illustrate ideas with examples and stories related to natural building.

Dates: December 4 & 11, 2009 – 3:00pm-4:30pm Pacific time.
Cost: $35 total for the two sessions

For participants outside USA: We recommend dial up through a program such as Skype.

If you like the training, there are follow-on courses available or perhaps you want to join the NBN board’s intensive online training sessions during start of 2010: Especially recommended for those of you with ambitions to join us on the NBN board or as part of our project teams.

We used dynamic governance with good success at our recent board meeting in Ukiah, California, and we look forward to sharing the results with you all! We’ll be delighted if member organizations started using it, too!

Questions? Contact Carrie at carrie@nbnetwork.org.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Cerrillos, New Mexico

Treat yourself to a day of being, playing, and learning on the land. Joel will integrate lecture, movement exercises and site observation to bring a deeper awareness of the land we stand on, and the life it harbors. During this class, we will explore Ampersand’s diverse landscape of sandstone bluffs, volcanic geology, petrified wood and ancient petroglyphs. Joel will draw on his diverse knowledge of geology, native plants, natural history, ecology and tracking techniques as he guides an experience to deepen our understanding of the land and how to care for it.

10:00 to 6:00.

Instructor: Joel Glanzberg.

Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center.

Cost: $80 to $65 sliding scale.

http://www.ampersandproject.org/index.html

Cerrillos, NM

Learn how to create your own solar water heater in this one day class. Steve Baer will explain the energy dynamics of different ways of heating water and introduce solar heater designs suitable for home construction. He will give examples of how they can be integrated with existing structures and systems.

In the afternoon, we will put together a passive thermosyphoning water heater with Zomeworks’ ‘skymat’ which will be plumbed into Ampersand’s sustainable home. Helene will guide us through this process, detailing the proper tools and materials to use as well as explaining the necessary order of installation.

Skymats will be available for purchase. 10:00am to 5:00pm

Instructors: Steve Baer and Helene Beauchamp. .

Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center. Class Fee:$75 to $55 sliding scale.

http://www.ampersandproject.org/index.html

Quail Springs, CA

USD $695

Facilitators: Michael G. Smith & Justin Kirmse This practical class, taught by natural building pioneer and author, Michael G. Smith and by the Co-Founder of the Living Craft Project, Justin Kirmse. The course will cover a wide range of earth building options suitable for many different climates and applications. Load-bearing wall systems will include cob, adobe, and compressed earth blocks, including the design and construction of archways. Infill systems will include light straw-clay or slipstraw, wattle and daub, clay wattle, and the application of earthen plasters over various lath materials, both natural and manufactured. All of these techniques will be applied to the construction of a highly efficient two-chamber composting toilet.

Discussions and slide lectures will cover the history of earth building around the world, the use of earth in efficient passive solar design, the analysis and ecological harvesting of earth for building, and the safe process of composting human manure using the two-chamber toilet.” For more information contact Kolmi Majumdar at info@quailsprings.org or visit Carbon Economy Course at www.permaculture.biz.

Ancient Arts Center, Alsea, OR

William Coperthwaite has spent decades learning and documenting traditional craft around the world in the interest of finding simpler, more peaceful ways to live. Margaret Matthewson is a crafter, basket-maker, willow-grower, and martial artist. In the workshop, we will practice hand-skills in carpentry, basket-making, and earthen plasters (wattle and daub) to make a two-tiered, rigid-walled yurt. The walls will be woven from willow withies grown and harvested on the property. Then we’ll plaster them with a combination of lightweight, insulative mud, finished with earthen and/or lime plasters. The roof will be a “living roof” planted with native plants and setums; depending on time and interest, we may build some ovens/stoves on the side).

Please inquire directly for more information: 541-438-4300, or contact Margaret through www.ancientartscenter.com.

The 10-day workshop (framing, living roof, weaving and plastering walls, meals, dorm bed or campsite) costs $900. We’ll need a $400 deposit to hold your place. Some scholarships, fee-reductions, and work-trades available; please inquire. 15% discount for full payment before August 10th. Fees are refundable (less a $50 administrative fee) only if we receive notice before August 31st. After August 31st, we will be able to make refunds only if we can fill your space.

(http://www.ancientartscenter.com)

North House Folk School, Grand Marais, MN

http://www.northhousefolkschool.com/classes/