Subject: great summer program on Sustainability and Permaculture (fwd)

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 20:27:56 -0400 (EDT)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 11:41:29 -0400
From: Gaia Education Outreach Inst. <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked],
    [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked],
    [email-masked], [email-masked],
    [email-masked]
Subject: great summer program on Sustainability and Permaculture

Greetings!
        Below is the description of the Summer Institute in Sustainable
Living we are offering at the Gaia Education Outreach Institute in Temple,
New Hampshire.  There are still spaces open, though the program starts very
soon (June 5-21).  Please contact me with any questions about this or other
programs we offer.

Peace
Michael Duffin
Administrative Director
*****
        
                        GEOCOMMONS COLLEGE YEAR
            Summer Institute in Sustainable Living: June 5-28
             including Permaculture Design Course: June 5-20
             University of New Hampshire Summer Session, 1997

In the summer beauty of New England, up to thirty students and six faculty
will create a special learning community for sustainable living. Through
observation, lecture, demonstration, discussion, and hands-on learning in
ecological design, students will develop their practical skills and
knowledge for living sustainably and in harmony with the natural world. 

During the first two weeks, students will participate in a Permaculture
Design Course (PDC).  For over 25 years permaculture has been evolving
worldwide as a system of ecological principles and practices for
sustainable food, shelter, livelihood, and community. A major goal of the
PDC will be to design an educational eco-village for the Geocommons College
site at Derbyshire Farm, a beautiful 75-acre hilltop farm in southern New
Hampshire bordered by 2,000 acres of protected wilderness.

During the optional third week, students will plan steps for implementing
some of their permaculture designs, further develop their skills in
sustainable living, visit local innovative projects, write project papers,
and enjoy the beauties of the natural environment and community. 

This is a special opportunity to be guided by outstanding faculty in
ecological design and to cooperatively explore ways to apply new learnings
towards making one's own home, community, and campus more sustainable. The
daily schedule aims for a balance of physical, intellectual, emotional, and
spiritual elements as a conscious experiment in sustainable group living.
Topics and activities will include:

€       permaculture principles and ethics      
€       cooperative community processes and forms
€       organic food production and healthy diets       
€       sheet mulching, composting, and companion planting
€       bio-system mapping and site evaluation  
€       edible landscaping and forest gardens
€       design patterns and microclimates       
€       appropriate energy systems and shelter
€       economic and career considerations      
€       mindfulness practice, shared inspiration, celebrations

Courses and Credit:  Those attending the full three-week Sustainable Living
course (EC 687) will receive four UNH credits which can be readily
transferred to other schools. All students completing the PDC will be
certified as Permaculture Design Trainees and may use the term
"permaculture" in the pursuit of livelihood and educational uses. (See
reverse side for more information.)

Instructors:  
David Jacke - Nationally recognized master permaculturist with 12 years of
professional experience.
Cynthia Edwards - Professional landscaper for 20 yrs and int'l permaculture
development worker.
Dan Earle - Professor of landscape architecture, Louisiana State
University, and permaculture designer.
Bruce Kantner - Founder/director of GEO, UNH faculty in sustainable living,
organic farmer, builder.
Daniel Greenberg - GEO faculty, PhD in psychology and intentional communities.
Leslie Goldstein - Member of Earthlands Community, organic gardener, PDC
graduate.

Cost: $1,200 for 3-week Institute; $750 for 2-week PDC only. Both include
tuition, food, and tent space.
Priority for applications received before Arpil 30, 1997.  For more
information contact:
GAIA  EDUCATION  OUTREACH  INSTITUTE
Derbyshire Farm, Temple, NH  03084
PLEASE POST     (603) 654-6705  [email-masked]     3/97
June 5-20, 1997 at GEO:
The Game of Eco-Village
A Permaculture Design Course

Eco-village Design
        As a human-designed ecosystem, the village is a fascinating study
in whole culture design.  The way our lives and communities are currently
organized creates massive ecological damage and social injustice.  How can
we pattern resources, technologies, and people in such a way as to form the
basis for regenerative, sustainable, and healthy communities?  

The Permaculture Approach
        As an ecological design approach and philosophy, permaculture has
many tools to offer.  The goal is to apply the principles, patterns, and
relationships inherent in natural systems to consciously designing
sustainable human cultures and repairing damaged ecosystems.  The
permaculture approach is applicable at any scale and in any climate of the
world-for farms, homes, and communities, urban and rural.

The Course
        The Game of Eco-Village is played on at least two levels.  The
first level is the community created by the participants, intended to be a
fun and engaging environment for learning about permaculture and
experiencing the design process.  The second level is the role play at the
core of the course curriculum: the participants are the eco-village
members, engaged in designing their own village on the course site, who
have hired the teaching staff as design process facilitators and
consultants.  Both levels of play are intended to model the community and
design processes that the course will teach.  
        The design effort involves participants in defining and refining
vision and goals, undertaking site analysis, and schematically designing
social, legal, and physical infrastructure, land use patterns, etc.  There
will be opportunity for those with more of an interest in home scale, farm
design, or other issues to spend their design time focused on these areas. 
 Most important is how all of these design elements interact to create a
resilient, functional system and support the honing of participants'
community and design skills.

Monadnock Eco-Village
        Current plans call for 12-15 households in the first building
cluster, residential and classroom facilities for 20 students, a
theater-movement-celebration space, green businesses, farm, and recreation
areas, and nature sanctuary on 75 or more acres of fields and forest. 
Adjoining property may be added.

Who Can Benefit From This Course?
        Anyone with an interest in communities, sustainable agriculture,
ecological design, education and/or homesteading: co-housers; community
members, activists, and organizers; landscape architects; planners;
architects; civil engineers; foresters; farmers; etc.  Students can receive
four undergraduate credits  from the University of New Hampshire through
GEO's three-week Summer Institute in Sustainable Living, June 5 - 28, which
includes this course as the first two weeks of the program.  

Accommodations, Food, and Participation
        Participants can camp either in their own tent or in the barn, or
can stay at local inns.  Food will be vegetarian, with as much locally
grown produce as possible.  All participants will need to take part in
helping create and live in our two-week learning community by sharing
rotating chores in the kitchen and other communal use areas and by
practicing the skills that community living entails.  Daily meditations,
involvement in design teams, and small support groups are required parts of
the course. In order to promote safe. healthy community living, no alcohol
or drugs will be allowed during the course.

Outcomes from the Course
        Successful course completion will result in certification as a
Permaculture Design Trainee, increased knowledge and skill in ecological
community design, and major progress towards the creation of Monadnock
Eco-Village.  Participants will have new tools and experiences for
community living, stronger capacities  for mindfulness, and feelings of
renewal and support in their personal development.  We look forward to your
joining us in the rich learnings and adventure of this experiment in
sustainable life education. 

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Gaia Education Outreach Institute | Ph/Fax: 603/654-6705; [email-masked]
Derbyshire Farm, Temple, NH 03084 |    www: http://www.ic.org/geo
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