Archive for November, 2009

Nr Olsztyn, Poland

Instructor: Tony Wrench

http://thatroundhouse.info

Tuition: Entire month 360 GBP

A low impact cordwood round house workshop, with reciprocal green living roof. The workshop is lead by Tony Wrench, the author of ‘Building a Low Impact Round House’. You can find more at http://greenhamlet.com?whatson

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

Vista, CA

Instructor: Rebecca Tasker & Mike Long

http://www.simpleconstruct.net

Tuition: free

Come get muddy with us, learn about clay plaster, and help the Petitt Family build their dream straw bale home.

In this workparty, you will have an opportunity to get hands-on (and plenty dirty!) learning about nontoxic, low embodied-energy plaster by mixing and applying it to the straw bale walls of the Petitt Family’s new home.
We will be using a combination of site soil and locally sourced soil to create the clay plaster for the second exterior coat, which is applied with a trowel.

This workparty is FREE and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required.  To register, follow this link http://www.simpleconstruct.net/?workparty-registration,45   or go to www.simpleconstruct.net

Thank you for your interest,
Rebecca Tasker & Mike Long
www.SimpleConstruct.net

Asheville, NC

Instructor: Mollie Curry & Steve Kemble of MudStrawLove

http://www.ashevillage.org/avi/events_projects.php

Tuition: $200

Location: Ashevillage Institute (AVI), Asheville, NC

Fee: $200 includes tuition & materials
Contact & Registration: info@ashevillage.org, 828.225.8820
www.ashevillage.org
AVI is a project of Kleiwerks International

Greener than green…Learn how to make and apply your own beautiful, customized, totally eco-friendly plasters and paints with clay, sand and other organic materials. Create textured finishes; trouble shoot for various surfaces; play with color options — while actually practicing on real walls. By the end of the workshop, you will have enough information and techniques to make your own clay-based plasters and paints and you will leave with your own sample board.

http://www.mamaroja.blogspot.com

Tuition: $825

We will be offering an 8-week in-depth internship program to individuals interested in getting hands-on experience in organic gardening, natural food production, earthen and natural building, seed saving, and community living.

This will be an opportunity for personal growth through shared learning in which interns will cooperate in the different aspects of a dynamic sustainable community. The internship will be a chance to take responsibility for providing for ones basic needs in a positive working environment of like-minding people.

Topics of Focus:
Organic Gardening:
Composting and Soil Amending, Bed-Making, Planting, Seed Saving, Companion Planting, Natural Pesticides, Harvesting, and more…

Natural Building
We will be building a small Earthen Cottage from start to finish: Adobe Brick-Making, Foundation, Design Principles, Wall Construction, Plaster and Painting, Roofing, and creative use of site-found and salvaged materials…

Extended Sustainable Ideas:
Food Product Making, Jarring and Preserving, Alternative Refrigeration, Milk-Product Creating, Fermentation and Cultivating Micro-organisms, Animal Husbandry, Alternative Energies, Reforestation, and there will also be plenty of space to explore projects of personal interest and intrigue.

Also, there will be opportunities for practicing Yoga, Meditation, Massage (Thai and Swedish), Medicinal Plant Searches, Nature Hikes, Waterfall and River Swimming…

Boonvile, CA

Instructor: Donna D’Terra

http://www.emeraldearth.org/

Tuition: $75

Includes a delicious acorn lunch.

We will look at the important role that acorns played in the lives
of California’s indigenous peoples and learn how we can use this
nutritious, delicious food as a staple in our diets. There will be
hands-on processing of acorns, food samples, and recipes to share. Learn
to identify the primary oak species of Northern California and know
which ones make the best food for you and your family.

Bastrop, Texas

Learn to build a wood-fired earth oven to bake the best pizza and bread ever! We will spend most of the day actually constructing an oven, but there will also be a talk from the instructors about understanding, designing and using an earthen oven and where to find the materials to build it. Building an oven out of clay is lots of fun and very creative. Most of all, expect to have a good time! Workshop includes lunch.

The event cost is $80.

For more information visit http://www.barefootbuilder.com/upcoming.htm

Soil, Water, Carbon, Energy & Economy – Extensive problems require extensive solutions!

Hosted at Orella Ranch (Santa Barbara, CA) and Quail Springs (New Cuyama, CA)

Series for the 1st time across the USA

Comprehensive Modules including:

· Holistic Management(R) (Kirk Gadzia, Terry Gompert)
· Soil Food Web (Dr. Elaine Ingham, Paul Taylor)
· Broadacre Permaculture (Darren Doherty, Brock Dolman, Brad Lancaster, Penny Livingston)
· Natural Building (TBA)
· Effective Aid (Rosemary Morrow, Howard Shapiro, Warren Brush)
· Pathways to Relocalization (Joel Salatin)
· Fungi, Pyrolysis, BioChar Energy Systems & More…

Take the Series OR Pick & Choose! Details are TBA soon, visit www.quailsprings.org/events to stay tuned or join the interest list by emailing info@quailsprings.org.