The Year at a Glance

Turning Water Scarcity into Water Abundance: Slide Show/Booksigning with Brad Lancaster

admin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:48:17 -0700

Start: Sep 8 2008 - 7:30pm

End: Sep 8 2008 - 9:00pm

Offered: Monday, September 8th, 7:30 pm - 9 pm

Presenter: Brad Lancaster

Cost: Suggested donation of $5 to $10 to support Brad’s great work! No one turned away for lack of funds!

Location: Occidental Arts and Ecology Center's North Garden Stage, Occidental, CA (directions)

Get out your shovels and dance in the rain!
That is what Brad Lancaster’s second volume in his trilogy on Rainwater Harvesting will make you want to do.

Rainwater Harvesting Earthworks are one of the easiest, least expensive, and most effective ways of passively harvesting and conserving multiple sources of water in the soil. Building on the information presented in Volume 1 ( www.HarvestingRainwater.com), Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Vol 2, shows you how to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen water-harvesting earthworks. It presents detailed how-to information and variations of a diverse array of earthworks, including chapters on mulch, vegetation, and greywater recycling so you can customize the techniques to the unique requirements of your site. Returns come in the form of beauty, food, shelter, wildlife habitat, and passive heating and cooling strategies, while controlling erosion, increasing soil fertility, reducing downstream flooding, and improving water and air quality.

Brad Lancaster has been active teaching, designing, and consulting on the sustainable design system of Permaculture & integrated rainwater harvesting systems since 1993. He lives what he teaches on a thriving, award-winning eighth of an acre urban Permaculture site he created in downtown Tucson, Arizona.

Suggested donation of $5 to $10 to support Brad’s great work! No one turned away for lack of funds! Plan on buying and having autographed by Brad several copies of the book for holiday gifts!!

This event sponsored by the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center’s WATER Institute
For more information call: 707-874-1557 x 206.

Chautauqua Revue - 3 days - Thursday, Friday & Saturday - 4 shows!

admin — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:45:49 -0700

Start: Sep 11 2008 - 8:00pm

End: Sep 13 2008 - 11:00pm

Revue Dates & Times:
Thursday, Sept. 11th, 8pm
Friday, Sept. 12th, 8pm
Saturday Sept. 13th, 8pm

Children's Matinee
Saturday Sept. 13th, 2pm

Music! Clowns! Storytelling! Magic! Dance! These elements and more are the ingredients that go into creating these wondrous evenings of entertainment and enlightenment. Celebrating its sixth year of production, the Revue is founded on the belief that local entertainment for local audiences can be a memorable and moving event. Performed under the trees on the North Garden Stage, the setting is half the show.

On Saturday there will also be a matinee offering; a one act version of our evening show that is equally delicious for children and their big people. This show has also been getting big crowds, so show up early for a good seat!

Tickets:

Thursday: $10-30, sliding scale, door or advance purchase online only
Friday and Saturday: $15-30 sliding scale (advance purchase - online or see other options below) OR $18-30 sliding scale (day of show)
Saturday matinee: $8-$15 sliding scale (adults), $6 (children ages 3-15), 2 & under (free admittance). Advance purchase - online or see other options below

To reserve a seat for the Friday and Saturday evening Revue shows, you must purchase tickets in advance. No reservations will be taken otherwise. You may purchase your tickets in one of three ways:

1) Check - Send a check made out to “OAEC” and addressed to “OAEC/Chautauqua Tickets, 15290 Coleman Valley Road, Occidental, CA 95465.” The amount of your check should be made out for the total number of tickets you want multiplied by the price you wish to pay within the sliding scale (e.g. 4 tickets at $25 each would be $100). Checks must be received by the day before the performance you wish to attend to guarantee your seat. You will receive a call confirming your payment and seat reservation. We will not send a hard copy of tickets. Instead, all tickets will be held at will call. If you do not receive this call within a timely manner, please call the OAEC office at (707) 874-1557 ext. 201

2) Credit Card – You may pay for your tickets by credit card. Call the OAEC office at (707) 874-1557 ext. 201 and someone will assist you with your transaction. Do not leave credit card information as a message. Tickets will be held at will call.

3) Online - We are selling tickets online through Brown Paper Tickets. Click below on the type of show you would like tickets for:

Thursday, Friday and Saturday Evening tickets

Saturday Matinee tickets

Garden Tour (September)

admin — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:12:09 -0800

Start: Sep 13 2008 - 10:00am

End: Sep 13 2008 - 11:30am

The public is invited to tour the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center on Saturday, September 13. This tour begins at 10 AM and will run approximately 1.5 hrs in duration. Tour participants will be introduced to the Center's organic gardens, which preserve thousands of varieties of rare and endangered food, medicinal, and ornamental plants. Sturdy shoes, brimmed hat or warm layers (depending on weather), and personal water bottles are recommended. A suggested donation of $10 per person is requested. For information call (707) 874-1557 x201.

Permaculture Design 2-Week Intensive (September)- COURSE FULL

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:07:13 -0700

Start: Sep 20 2008 - 5:00pm

End: Oct 3 2008 - 12:00pm

Offered: September 20th, 5 pm - October 3rd, 12 noon, 2008

Instructors: Brock Dolman and Kendall Dunnigan

Guest Instructors (may include): Benjamin Fahrer, Dougo Gosling, Michelle Vesser, Dave Henson, Adam Wolpert, Kate Lundquist, Carol Nieukirk, Jim Coleman, Chas Moore, Janine Björnson, Tamara Wilder, Matt Every, Julian Darley, Erik Ohlsen

Cost: $1400/$1300 if registered two weeks in advance (residential course). Some partial work exchange opportunities are available for this course; see below for more details. For registration information, click here.

NOTE: This course is currently full. Please call the office at (707) 874-1557 x 201 to inquire about getting on the wait list.

Whether you currently own property or dream of it, this two-week intensive course will immerse you in information, ideas and inspiration for how to design sustainable, regenerative systems in balance with your home ecosystem. You will learn the ethics, principles and practice of “permanent culture,” by exploring topics such as organic gardening, mulching, natural building techniques, forest farming, water retention and regeneration, erosion control, community processes, and much more. Using a combination of lecture, discussion, hands-on activities at OAEC’s 80-acre site, visits to local permaculture examples, and a group design project, you will have the chance to integrate and apply the concepts of permaculture during almost 100 hours of course time. Upon completion of the course, participants receive a Certificate of Permaculture Design.

In 2008, OAEC enters its second decade and fourteenth year as a permaculture school, the most established and longest continually operating school of its kind in California. We celebrate having offered 27 courses to well over 500 students, and consistently hear feedback from graduates that OAEC's design course is a “life-changing” experience.

Work Exchange: A limited number of work exchange positions are available. We award these positions to course registrants based on demonstrated financial need. Participants receive a $250 reduction in course fees in exchange for 20 hours working in our kitchen or doing other course-related support tasks. If you would like to be considered for a work exchange position, check the "Work Exchange" box on your registration form. Include a brief letter describing your situation, along with your $100 course deposit. If you are not chosen for one of the positions and cannot pay the standard course fee, your deposit will be fully refunded.

Sample Syllabus for the Permaculture Design Two-Week Intensive

Garden Tour (October)

admin — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:13:46 -0800

Start: Oct 4 2008 - 1:00pm

End: Oct 4 2008 - 2:30pm

The public is invited to tour the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center on Saturday, October 4. This tour begins at 1 PM and will run approximately 1.5 hrs in duration. Tour participants will be introduced to the Center's organic gardens, which preserve thousands of varieties of rare and endangered food, medicinal, and ornamental plants. Sturdy shoes, brimmed hat or warm layers (depending on weather), and personal water bottles are recommended. A suggested donation of $10 per person is requested. For information call (707) 874-1557 x201.

Community Organizing for Deep Democracy

admin — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:05:04 -0700

Start: Oct 10 2008 - 4:00pm

End: Oct 12 2008 - 3:30pm

Offered: Friday October 10, 4pm – Sunday October 12, 3:30pm

Instructors: Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap and David Cobb (see bios below)

Cost: $250–$400 sliding scale, depending on your income (includes meals and lodging at OAEC) - see below for detailed sliding scale information

OAEC is pleased to host this weekend workshop organized by Democracy Unlimited , an organization based in Humboldt County, CA, dedicated to building democracy and challenging corporate rule at the local level. This retreat will offer tangible strategies for participants to effectively organize in their own communities to reclaim the constitutional promise of a sovereign citizenry. Presentations and discussion will focus on the history of people’s struggles for democratic self-governance in the U.S., and analysis of how corporations, courts and legislators have manipulated law and culture to empower corporations with the constitutional rights intended for natural persons. We will focus on legal and educational strategies to more successfully organize for local democracy in our communities.

WHO: You are invited to join us for an empowering weekend retreat: “Community Organizing for Deep Democracy.” These events will be tailored to meet the needs of the participants based on pre-event feedback. This event is open to participants from all over the country.

WHAT: These full weekend workshops will help participants effectively organize in their own communities to reclaim citizen sovereignty and will offer tangible strategies for actions that we can collectively take to get our democracy back from corporations. These three-day intensive workshops will challenge the deep assumptions that we all hold about what it means to live in a democracy and what the proper role of the corporation is. We will draw on history as well as current events to illustrate the changing role of the corporation over time and how seriously our past people’s struggles have taken the concept of democracy.

Deep Democracy Retreats are right for you if you are:
An activist, leader, organizer, or trainer engaged in issues of economic, environmental or social justice in your community; An educator, activist, organizer, or trainer seeking to improve your understanding of the history of corporate power and more effective strategies for resistance. By the end of the weekend workshop participants will have a background on how corporate leaders and current judicial interpretations of the law are preventing us from defining our own communities. Emphasis of this weekend will be on giving participants the history, analysis, networks, and legal and educational strategies to more successfully organize for local democracy in their communities.

COST: Event cost is $250-$400 on a sliding scale. You determine what you can pay based on your income and current financial situation. Below is a suggested model to follow - if you can donate more to help others who need scholarships please do so.

If your income is...under $15,000 -- you pay... $250
If your income is...$15,001-$25,000 -- you pay... $275
If your income is...$25,001-$35,000 -- you pay... $300
If your income is...$35,001-$45,000 -- you pay... $325
If your income is...$45,001-$55,000 -- you pay...$350
If your income is...over $55,000 -- you pay...$400 (and we welcome additional donations to cover scholarships for others).

Are you being sent to the training by your employer? If so, don't use your income to determine the fee -- use the annual budget of the organization. For example, if the organization's annual budget is $38,000, your employer would pay $325 to send you to the retreat.

For more information visit www.duhc.org or contact Democracy Unlimited: info@duhc.org or (707) 269-0984. The Retreat is limited to 20 participants - so register early!

Materials, including a detailed agenda for the Retreat and a background reading packet, will be made available to all registrants prior to the training to help participants prepare for the Retreat.

Community Organizing for Deep Democracy Retreat Presenters:

· Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap is DUHC's Executive Director. In 2004 she was elected to serve on the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water Board, becoming one of the youngest elected officials in California. She has served on the smartMeme STORY board, the leadership team of WILPF's Challenge Corporate Power/Assert the People's Rights campaign, and the Housing Advisory Board of the City of Eureka. She is currently Project Co-coordinator for the Humboldt Exchange Community Currency Project and a principal for the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy and a Fellow with Liberty Tree: the Foundation for the Democratic Revolution.

· David Cobb was the Green Party nominee for President of the United States in 2004. He served as the General Counsel for the Green Party until declaring his candidacy in 2003. His entire legal career is dedicated to challenging illegitimate corporate power and to creating democracy. In 2002 he ran for state Attorney General in Texas on a platform to use the office to revoke the charters of corporations that break the law and challenge corporate ability to manipulate the legal system at the expense of the people. David is a member of the DUHC Steering Committee and principal for the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy and is a Fellow with Liberty Tree: the Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. He has also worked intimately with the Center for Voting and Democracy and ReclaimDemocracy.org.

Introduction to Permaculture

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:47:37 -0700

Start: Nov 14 2008 - 5:00pm

End: Nov 16 2008 - 4:00pm

Offered: November 14 - 16, 2008

Time: Begins at 5 pm on the 14th and ends at 4 pm on the 16th

Instructor: Brock Dolman

Cost: $425/$375 if registered two weeks in advance (includes meals and lodging)
For registration information, click here.

Reconciling the need to meet basic human needs with concern for the sustainability and regeneration of the natural world is the essence of permacultural design. This course will expose you to the basic principles and applications of permaculture with a variety of lectures, discussions and hands-on activities in OAEC’s 80-acre garden, community and wilderness. Topics will range from water catchment to erosion control, organic and polycultural food production, natural building, site design, and more.

Starting and Sustaining Intentional Communities (November)

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:27:28 -0700

Start: Nov 21 2008 - 10:30am

End: Nov 23 2008 - 4:00pm

Offered: November 21 - 23, 2008

Time: Begins at 10:30 am on the 21st and ends at 4 pm on 23rd

Instructors: Dave Henson and Adam Wolpert with guests

Cost: $425/$375 if registered two weeks in advance (includes meals and lodging). For registration information, click here.

Do you dream of establishing a land-based intentional community or education center? This course is designed to help you actualize that dream. Presentations and detailed hand-outs will cover topics such as visioning; how to find land and finance a purchase; the various legal forms available for holding land (limited liability company, corporation, land trust, etc.); organizing as a for-profit or a nonprofit; group decision-making process (meetings, agreements, facilitation, agenda management, conflict resolution); financial organization of your community; legal and insurance issues and costs; dealing with zoning and regulations; and long-term planning. We will also tour OAEC’s community and educational center, including our gardens, permaculture projects, natural buildings, and the community’s kitchen and food system.

Basins of Relations: Starting and Sustaining Watershed Groups

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:49:18 -0700

Start: Dec 5 2008 - 10:00am

End: Dec 8 2008 - 4:00pm

Offered: December 5th - 8th, 2008

Time: Begins at 10 am Friday the 5th and ends at 4 pm on the Monday the 8th

Instructor: Brock Dolman with guests

Cost: $200 - 500 sliding scale (includes meals and lodging)
To register, contact Brock Dolman at (707) 874-1557 ext. 206

This four-day intensive residential training is designed to promote and support the creation of North Coast community-based watershed groups. This training is specifically designed for teams of three to four residents, with each team representing a local watershed. You will learn about watershed processes, salmonid ecology, water quality monitoring, in-stream restoration, biotechnical engineering, uplands erosion control, road restoration, native habitat restoration, sustainable forestry, community group process, and funding opportunities for watershed groups. Your team will develop a watershed group formation plan during the training and commit to facilitating the creation of a community-based group in your home watershed. Enrollment is limited and subject to an application process intended to select committed watershed-based teams.