Beyond Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture
Sep
9
to Sep 10

Beyond Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture

Join Kate Wallace and The Farming Artists for a two-day weekend workshop to learn the basics of Permaculture Design. This course covers the key principles of Permaculture and how we can apply them to make our homes and gardens more abundant and rooted in nature. Participants will learn the theory behind the concepts, along with practical tools and techniques that can be used to accomplish many different goals.

After becoming familiar with these ideas, we will work together to apply them to create a draft design for the Farming Artist's 133-acre property on the Ellsworth Rd. in Blue Hill. Through observation, lecture, hands-on learning and group discussions, participants will gain real experience with Permaculture Design and the confidence to apply it to their own properties.

Note: This workshop is a primer for the Blue Hill Cooperative Design Lab, where we will use the design we create to delve deeper into cooperative structures and social permaculture.

To register, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-sustainability-an-introduction-to-permaculture-tickets-36714687619

For questions or more information, call Kate at 207-449-8491.

Dates: September 9 & 10, 2017

Location: The Farming Artists, Blue Hill ME

Time: 9 am - 3 pm

Investment: $89 for the weekend

Coffee, tea, snacks, and a light lunch will be provided both days.

Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes that are weather appropriate! We will be exploring the Farming Artists' property, which involves walking moderate distances over uneven terrain.

Kate Wallace was weighed down by doom-and-gloom scenarios when she discovered Permaculture and was instantly drawn to the positive vision it offers for the future. She completed the Advanced Permaculture Design Course at the Resilience Hub in Portland with Lisa Fernandes and Jesse Watson, and has designed for clients around the state. She is a facilitator with Cooperative Design Lab and is a dynamic and energetic person who has pursued a variety of interests and experiences.

The Farming Artists is a cooperatively organized group consisting of Jonathan Hart, Todd Desautels, Angela Faneuf, and her daughter Elohi. They are artists, farmers, and visionaries with a mission of cultivating food, art and community on their 133-acre property in Blue Hill. They are beginning to live their vision of restoring balance to life on planet earth by working together for the good of the whole and celebrating that there is more than one right way. They are excited to invite people to apply the principles of permaculture to their newly formed endeavor of transforming an historic farm property to an agricultural based community.

 

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Blue Hill Cooperative Design Lab
Oct
19
to Oct 22

Blue Hill Cooperative Design Lab

Do you have a sense that the future is trying to emerge? That connection with nature, in society and with self are all possible?

That is exactly what the Farming Artist sense too! They want create an intentional community of farming and festival with a cooperative attitude toward co-living and creating viable enterprises. That is why the Farming Artists have been selected for the next iteration of Cooperative Design Lab. 

In one hands-on weekend...

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Cooperative Design Lab Weekend Three: Culture Design
Jan
7
to Jan 8

Cooperative Design Lab Weekend Three: Culture Design

Weekend Three, we gather to cultivate a culture for cooperation to thrive. Participants have set roots and they have a story to tell. They have a Co-op Plan including key documents. They have a set of processes for member and community engagement. By this time in the program, projects have secured their niches. They have answered a lot of questions and they more. They are skilled at framing questions for a group and holding perennial questions for future refining. With clarity of vision and a mission rooted in their community needs, they are ready to spark a chain reaction that will carry them forward. The final weekend is time for stitching up their cooperative plan as a living document. They have a systems point of view. They have a commitment to relationships. They have new goals for the year and a long term plan for their cooperative.    

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Cooperative Design Lab 2016 Weekend Two: Membership and Member Skills
Oct
15
to Oct 16

Cooperative Design Lab 2016 Weekend Two: Membership and Member Skills

Weekend Two of Cooperative Design Lab participants reconvene to focus on membership structures and membership skills design. Policies, sections of the bylaws, participatory processes, group dynamics, weaving of community needs into their project. Participants will revisit their cooperative plans and find some patterns that will serve their cooperative development forward. Participants will personally sharpen their skills and experience tools to cooperate and collaborate with others. Leadership strengths, conflict skills, diversity awareness and more skills and practical tools for managing cooperative projects through changes and challenges in membership. 

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Cooperative Design Lab 2016 Weekend One: Organizational Design
Apr
9
to Apr 10

Cooperative Design Lab 2016 Weekend One: Organizational Design

Opening Weekend of Cooperative Design Lab participants begin an iterative process of designing a cooperative project. They will shape common cooperative values, engage in a design challenge, map out the steps, assess their projects assets and challenges, and capture the questions they hold going forward. Exploring multiple forms capital, discussing ethics, assessing needs for governance and for management, are all part of this weekend. Participants will map out a current state on their project and a future state for their projects.

 

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