Communities Events Calendar

Come see our Permaculture Design Course graduates present their Permaculture site designs! The presentation will include an introduction to Permaculture followed by examples of how Permaculture can be applied to urban, suburban, and rural properties, large and small. If you are curious about Permaculture or are considering taking the design course, this is a great opportunity to learn more. Please bring a vegetarian potluck dish to share for Saturday dinner. We encourage you to use ingredients that were grown within 50 miles of your home to support local agriculture. This is a free event. RSVP by calling 410-357-9523 or emailing education@heathcote.org. The event will be at the Sherwood House in Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore County, MD. Directions are posted online at: http://www.cromwellvalleypark.org/mapAndDirections.html

Each third Saturday of May, the Federatie Gemeenschappelijk Wonen (FGW) and Samenhuizen organizes the Intentional Communities Day in The Netherlands and Belgium. On this day about 100 communities in both countries open their doors for visitors who wants have a look inside. In 2013 on May 18th. See www.gemeenschappelijkwonen.nl/gemeenschappelijkwonendag, www.samenhuizen.be/content/open-dag and www.habitat-groupe.be/portes-ouvertes.html It's the fifth year the day is organized in The Netherlands and the third year in Belgium.

May 31 - June 4, 2013 Five-days, including camping and meals for $455 Three-day option available for $295. Reserve early! Instructors: Mollie Curry & Steve Kemble Discover natural building from its extreme green examples to hybrids that are surpassing owners’ hopes and expectations for beauty and performance. Earthaven Ecovillage offers a relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere for this mostly outdoor experience. Meet ecovillagers, learn builders’ tales, and get muddy!

Please join us as the Alzheimer Society of Washington celebrates their 30th year as an organization serving Whatcom County by providing education, resources, hope and support to all those who are affected by Alzheimer’s or other dementia related diseases. The afternoon’s event will consist of hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, networking opportunities, a ribbon cutting and the opportunity to meet our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and the new Executive Director.

Discover the power of life in community at one of the most dynamic examples on the planet, The Farm Community in Summertown, TN. Located in the middle of 4000 acres of protected forest, The Farm celebrates 40+ years of community activism with our fourth conference in partnership with the FIC. A unique opportunity to tour Green Homes of all types, see sustainable food production at work, over 80 KW in solar installations, learn about alternative education, conflict resolution, land trusts, midwifery and so much more. Meet and visit with FIC representatives from communities around the country, with an FIC books table. We'll have live music and jam some too.The $175 ($125 students) per person registration includes camping and all delicious vegetarian meals featuring local and homegrown produce. Bring bikes, instruments, some food to share, an open mind, ideas, and enthusiasm. Change your life. Change the world!

During our new Nursery Hours, you can peruse Occidental Arts & Ecology Center's heirloom plants appropriate for Permaculture Design throughout the summer and fall! We're open EVERY WEEKEND between: May 25 - June 30 and September 7 - November 3 10am - 5pm OAEC is the only Bay Area nonprofit education center with an 100% California Certified Organic nursery and intentional community onsite. We offer perennial food crops, including a wide selection of culinary and medicinal herbs, as well as bee- and butterfly-friendly ornamentals for drought-tolerant landscaping.

In this time of uncertainty and change in the world, it’s going to take more than our old modes of activism to turn the tides, it’s going to take our own personal transformation in learning to live from our wild and loving heart. Experience your own wild heart in this month long Immersion program, with roots in permaculture, re-wilding and personal liberation work. Spend a month living in the beautiful wooded valley of Heathcote. We are a permaculture and farming demonstration site and 48 year old intentional community. Work on our organic farm, play in our stream, and learn skills that you can use for the rest of your life. Space is limited, apply online, write or call for an application or more information. We look forward to meeting you! www.heathcote.org/immersion • immersion@heathcote.org •

Goals of this course include: • empowering and enabling activists and specialists • passing on design skills for effective projects • working in urban and rural environments • restoring nature and building community on our planet • building global consciousness for local action You will gain: • integrative design skills in four areas of sustainability: ecology, economy, the social and worldview • knowledge for building resilience and embracing complexity • basic tools for setting up EDE-courses in your region • personal coaching and empowerment • a network of supportive relationships Course Fee 2300 Euros (including Course Fee lodging, 3 meals a day and excursions)

Are you ready to take the next step in Living Green? You really can grow most of the food your family needs. With this 7 day intensive, we'll garden every day and you'll get the hands-on experience you need an gain the confidence to get started on your own. Visit the many different gardens and gardeners on The Farm Community and discover the secrets of: Organic Pest Control that works! * How to get the Best Free Mulch! * When to use Raised or Flat Planting Beds * Early Tomato Secrets * Successful Sweet Corn * Endless Fruit - Spring, Summer and Fall * How to put up food for winter. See examples of: Container Gardening, Square Foot Gardening * Easy, Automated Irrigation and Watering * Perennials - Plant once and harvest every year! * Worm Bins and Compost Systems * Beekeeping Only $350 for all 8 days including all meals. Don't have a week to give? Come for just the weekend at my standard weekend rate, just $225.

Join us for a potluck meal on Sunday, April 7th at 3pm. Movie &/or games at 6pm. Please RSVP by April 5th.

This residential three-day course at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center empowers women to conceptualize and carry out basic carpentry projects. Topics include essential tools and their proper use; safe and effective use of power tools; structural integrity; and basic techniques such as cutting, nailing, drilling, driving, and leveling. We will also tour the various OAEC buildings to showcase different styles of carpentry: standard professional, natural building, temporary, artistic, and hippie funk!

Three Weekends - Three Days Each June 14 – 16, 2013 - July 19- 20, 2013 - August 16-18, 2013 $750 Instructor: Patricia Allison This 9-day course covers about 2/3 of the required curriculum for a Permaculture Design Certificate. Classes include: Soil Health, Water Catchment & Use, Forests & Trees, Animals, Alternative Energy, Economics, Ecosystems, Microclimates, Natural building, Aquaponics, Mapping & Landscape Design, Urban Strategies, and hands-on experience in implementing Permaculture Design. A Design Practicum, which completes the requirements for certification, may be offered in the fall.

Aprovecho’s Sustainable Living Skills Program is the oldest program of its kind in the Northwest and includes hands on training in appropriate technology, sustainable forestry, natural building, and sustainable agriculture. The 72 hour Permaculture Design curriculum is woven throughout the program, leaving students with a framework for integrating strategies and techniques into cohesive designs for sustainable human settlement. A certificate of Permaculture Design will be presented at the end of the program. As a well established yet ever evolving 30 year old site, Aprovecho’s campus is an excellent working classroom for the development of hands-on skills. Various hands on projects from past courses have included constructing a solar shower, installing a greywater system, pond development, and ferro-cement tank construction. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to become proficient in mixing and applying natural plasters and finishes, harvesting trees with hand

During this hands-on residential course at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, explore the wisdom of food as medicine, medicinal herbs and oils, and gardening as a practical and spiritual practice. We will gather in OAEC’s Mother Garden for this 3-day workshop to remember our connection with the Earth, the soil, the food that nourishes us, and the healing ways of the plant world.

The Ananda Community of Lynnwood welcomes everyone to an Open House and Solstice celebration from 1pm to 7pm on Saturday, June 22, 2013. There will be tours, presentations, and opportunities to ask questions about this thriving intentional spiritual community. There will be booths of various Ananda projects, food and entertainment, and tours of the community. The afternoon concludes with a Solstice Celebration gathering from 6 to 7, featuring speakers from other Intentional communities, and a spaghetti dinner. Ananda Community of Lynnwood 20715 Larch Way, Lynnwood WA 98036. 425-778-4628

The Findhorn Foundation and community will host the conference of the International Communal Studies Association (ICSA) in June 2013. Titled, Communal Pathways to Sustainable Living: Past, Present and Future, it will bring together up to 250 communal scholars and community activists from around the world. The conference and associated events will offer a rare opportunity in a unique communal setting to share academic research and lived experience of collective life in intentional communities such as ecovillages, cohousing, communes, kibbutzim, sectarian communities and housing cooperatives. At this point in time, Oct 2012, we have 80 confirmed presenters coming from 25 countries. See conference web site for details.

We want to help building ecological homes in a healthy environment. We are using the appropriate technologies that will help us to become self-sufficient in terms of energy, water treatment, food and transport. - Ecological Dimension.

Join us for an incredible weekend at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center as we explore how traditional ecological knowledge can restore our partnership with nature, and—interwoven with Permaculture—restore degraded landscapes to support an abundance of life. We’ll discuss the philosophy & principles of Native American land management and implement different management techniques on the wildlands at OAEC to enhance wild food, medicine, fiber, and timber plants and to improve the ecological quality of the land.

Big Island, Hawaii - 8 Weeks – July 1st to Aug. 31st, 2013 Turned on by community living? Feel inspired to co-create a beautiful place to live that is a hub for personal growth, connection and love? Passionate about the environment and want to learn how to live more ecologically? Interested in high-vibration nutrition and growing your own food? Have a capacity for facilitation and leadership and a desire to develop these skills? If so, then this immersive training program is for you! ABOUT US The Institute for Conscious Sensuality was created with the inspiration to create sustainable communities focused on personal growth and transformation, permaculture and environmental living, as well as conscious relationships. It is our mandate to offer education and professional training to empower people as practitioners, facilitators and leaders within the new paradigm! PROGRAM DESCRIPTION This immersive training program offers a unique holistic approach to community building,

Ecovillage Education US is a 5-week immersion experience, diving deeply into the reality of becoming sustainable in the modern world. Our intention is to train leaders in a holistic understanding of what it takes for communities to embody sustainability, and radically change our lifestyles to meet the coming challenges of peak oil, climate change and economic destabilization. We teach compassion, cooperation and localization as primary tools to meet these challenges. The course is hosted by Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and sponsored by the Fellowship for Intentional Community.

Jul 6 -7, 2013 $125 Instructor: Diana Leafe Christian w/ resource guests Sociocracy/DG is both a governance and decision-making method that helps a group manage itself effectively and efficiently while incorporating the wisdom of every member. Thisintroductory workshop shows how to enhance and use ideas, inspiration, and influence to participate effectively in self-governance and decision-making. You will learn how to use the five basic methods of Sociocracy/DG in your own organization.​ The purpose of Sociocracy/DG is harmonious organizations, based on the values of transparency, equivalency, and effectiveness.

The UBC Summer Institute in Sustainability Leadership is designed to bring together and empower those from a variety of sectors - including business, academic institutions and government - to take a leadership role in developing policy, creating plans, and managing sustainability projects. In this award-winning professional development program, you gain the perspectives, strategies and resources needed to accelerate the sustainability agenda within your organization. Inspiring speakers from industry, academic, government, and non-profit sectors share insights and best practices providing you with the strategies and resources needed to create and manage sustainability policies and projects. More information on schedule, session topics and speakers can be found on our website: http://www.cstudies.ubc.ca/SISL

This residential course at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center’s 80-acre site will immerse you in ideas and inspiration for how to design sustainable, regenerative ecosystems. You will learn the ethics, principles and practice of “permanent culture” by organic gardening, mulching, natural building techniques, forest farming, water retention and regeneration, erosion control, community processes, and much more. Upon completion of the course, participants receive a Certificate of Permaculture Design.

Learn together, grow together, heal together. Be trained in the art of professional healing massage alongside local Nicaraguans and get a chance to practice your Spanish! During this course you will learn how to give a fabulous full body Swedish massage. You will also get a taste of more advanced bodywork techniques. This course is an opportunity to: Support career training in the local Nicaraguan community Practice your Spanish Experience an intercultural exchange You will develop skills in: Full-body Swedish massage Treating basic soft-tissue ailments Deep listening Self-care The course is taught in English and translated into Spanish. Please visit www.inanitah.com for more information and to register.

We supply 'prefab' and proven technologies to create vision/mission documents, governance, efficient and fun meetings, and compassionate communication. - Social Dimension.

Come celebrate the last days of summer before school starts in the little piece of paradise we call home, The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee. Stay for 5 days or come just for the weekend. Get in on some maximum fun, Farm style! We'll spend the week swimming, hiking, listening to and playing music, enjoying really great food and each others company. We'll tour green homes, visit organic gardens, attend workshops and more! I've designed the week to give you maximum rest and relaxation, with a full complement of adult and kid activities, something for everyone. Visit our web site to see a schedule of activities and workshops.

Natural Building and Green Design from the ground up! July 28th – September 14th, 2013 The Sustainable Shelter Workshop Series is a 7 week course designed to empower participants with the ability to design/build/renovate their own home using simple techniques and natural, vernacular materials. During this course we will start from the ground and move up teaching not only the art/science of natural building and green design, but the corresponding appropriate technologies essential for successfully integrating your shelter into a permaculture landscape. The course is taught by a TEAM of Pacific Northwest natural builders with over fifty years of experience in the field whose teaching emphasis is direct, hands-on involvement for the students complimented by classroom/theory time when appropriate. During the course we will be constructing a 200 sqft. model home giving participants the opportunity to see the principles and techniques they are learning put into practice. See

Advanced Permaculture Course in Optical Surveying August 5th – 10th, 2013 Basic surveying and layout are essential skillsets for every farmer, homesteader, designer, and consultant. In this 6 day course, Tom Ward will teach the use of many types of analog (non-battery operated) surveying tools, along with advanced skills in keyline, pond and swale layout, mapping, and other core knowledge necessary for design and execution of permaculture projects. Students will become familiar with swale, terrace, ditch and pond layout, profile cross-section drawing, keyline and trail system locating, solar assessment, ditch and wiggle water way layout, small cabin orientation and pad layout, staking, note taking, and compass and map reading. We will use telescope-like devices and other hand tools such as sight levels, pocket transits, builders levels, A-frames and various vertical measurement rods, as well as measuring tapes and wheels. The course will include flagging for trails, swales

We help setting up community owned businesses to ensure the economic viability of any P4D project. We assist you in creating the feasibility studies, business- and master-plans, and any other presentations required. - Economic Dimension.

The Women's Gathering (all female and women identified folks welcome) will be held at Twin Oaks Community in Louisa County, VA on August 16th-18th. The event will be a three day conference on themes ranging from sex and sexuality to positive relationship building to DIY music, art and movement. There will be scheduled workshops and performance spaces, as well as lots of free time to network, drum, dance and play. Registration fee (sliding scale from $60-$160) includes meals and tent space. Learn more and register online.

August 17th 2013 Come and enjoy an unforgettable day at La Cité Écologique and discover the dynamism of an ecovillage! An OPEN day for all ages where you can participate in various activities and savor a delicious organic buffet reminding the 80's famous Health Sundays. Also, what a good time to pay us a first visit or simply return to spend an enjoyable day at the ecovillage with friends or family.

Come join The Year of Mud in August 2013 for a comprehensive timber frame workshop at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage! Using timeless techniques and traditional hand tools, students will learn how to lay out, join, and raise a timber frame house with round wood and square elements during our 10 day building course. Learn valuable skills working as a team to build a small home in an inspiring sustainable community. All experience levels are welcome. Workshop Information at a Glance: – Date: August 18-27, 2013 – Location: Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Rutledge, Missouri – Cost (includes all meals, lodging): $995 Extra Early Registration Discount (register by June 16 – $300 savings!) $1145 Early Registration Discount (register by July 17 – $150 savings!) $1295 Regular Registration (register after July 17) – All-inclusive: tuition includes lodging, and 3 delicious meals a day at the Milkweed Mercantile Organic Cafe – Ecovillage Experience: Explore other aspects of sustainable life

We want to co-create celebration and rituals that favor the feeling of belonging and enthusiasm among the members of the community. - Spiritual Dimension.

Join us for a weekend of workshops, community-building and culture creation! Learn about intentional communities from co-housing and coops to communes and ecovillages. We’ll explore issues such as group-decision making, diversity in community, intentional relationships and sustainable living. In addition to structured workshops and sharing circles, there will be plenty of time to network, swap stories and play together at beautiful Twin Oaks Community. Participant fee includes food and tent space for the weekend. We welcome both community seekers and members. Our theme this year is Community Vs. Uncertainty What role do intentional communities have in the uncertain times we live in? How can we leverage cooperation and resource sharing to deal with the challenges we face? How are people coming together to create a society that might able to weather the coming storms and end up being satisfying and sustainable? Labor Day Weekend Aug. 30 - Sept. 2

Come join us in summer 2013 for a comprehensive 3-day cob oven construction workshop at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, where you will learn how to build your own inexpensive outdoor oven for baking delicious pizza and breads — all with natural and reclaimed materials! You’ll get hands-on experience learning how easy it is to build a traditional oven, acquire basic cob building skills, and enjoy the awesome experience of working with other excited, like-minded people in an inspiring ecovillage community.

Learn ethical principles and practical skills for producing your own needs from local natural resources by mimicking natural ecosystems. Topics include energy efficient site planning for house, gardens, orchard, woodlot and wildlife habitat; farm animal forage systems; beneficial microclimate; urban strategies for food and energy production; sustainable community economics and food security. Earn your Permaculture Design Apprentice Certificate. Six Weekends. Sliding scale $1,000 - $1,200. Register by August 15 to get the $100 early bird discount! Group discount available. For details and to register online see: http://www.heathcote.org/cms/content/home-scale-permaculture-design-course. For more information call 410-357-9523 or email education@heathcote.org. Co-sponsored by Heathcote Community, School of Living, and the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy.

Aprovecho’s Sustainable Living Skills Program is the oldest program of its kind in the Northwest and includes hands on training in appropriate technology, sustainable forestry, natural building, and sustainable agriculture. The 72 hour Permaculture Design curriculum is woven throughout the program, leaving students with a framework for integrating strategies and techniques into cohesive designs for sustainable human settlement. A certificate of Permaculture Design will be presented at the end of the program. As a well established yet ever evolving 30 year old site, Aprovecho’s campus is an excellent working classroom for the development of hands-on skills. Various hands on projects from past courses have included constructing a solar shower, installing a greywater system, pond development, and ferro-cement tank construction. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to become proficient in mixing and applying natural plasters and finishes, harvesting trees with hand

The best overview of the sustainable life, providing the inspiration you need to fulfill your life goals and live your dreams. We touch on a bit of everything, from alternative education to alternative energy, midwifery to natural building, vegetarian and vegan cooking to starting a small business and yoga. Friday evening starts with a welcoming circle and dinner, followed by a slide show depicting our history and present structure. Saturday night features a community dinner plus music and entertainment. Our 11th Year!

The Natural Building Practicum (NBP) is a 10 week work-study designed for natural builders of all backgrounds and levels of experience. Each week is split between in-class instruction, hands-on application and independent study. Classes follow the curriculum outlined in the Sustainable Shelter Series. For the Spring 2013 session we will be focused on the construction of Aprovecho’s new outdoor kitchen and the completion of the Bamboo Yurt started during the Shelter Series 2012. This session will involve hands-on experience in stone foundations, timber and round-pole framing, waddle and daub wall systems, rocket stoves, cob, earthen and lime plasters, living roofs and more. Sign up below! The Fall Practicum project is yet to be determined. Depending on availability and the order in which you sign-up, either a room in the strawbale dormitory or camping facilities will be provided. Meals are communal and participants are asked to share in the responsibilities of cooking and

The best overview of the sustainable life, providing the inspiration you need to fulfill your life goals and live your dreams. We touch on a bit of everything, from alternative education to alternative energy, midwifery to natural building, vegetarian and vegan cooking to starting a small business and yoga. Friday evening starts with a welcoming circle and dinner, followed by a slide show depicting our history and present structure. Saturday night features a community dinner plus music and entertainment. Our 11th Year!