2009 Workshop List

Below is he list of workshops for 2009, enjoy!
-bucket

Cooperation is the Ecological Solution

Cooperative living is the most effective solution for peak oil and global
warming. We will look at how alternative energy and conservation
strategies can be cooperatively applied to live lightly and well, and how
cooperatives can lead the environmental movement toward real solutions. We
will look at cooperative energy conservation in a global context, as well
as some of the nuts-and-bolts of different conservation and alternative
energy technologies as they can applied in small groups.

Alexis Zeigler is a self-educated activist, green builder, and
orchardist living in central Virginia. He has organized numerous
campaigns around environmental and social justice issues, built
super-insulated buildings and alternative energy systems, and has lived in
intentional community all of his adult life. More information, including
articles, interviews, and downloadable books, can be found at his website,
conev.org or by contacting alexis@conev.org

Zen and the Art of Community Living -- Confronting the EGO of Communitarians

Community living can be personally transformative,
socially responsible, and ecologically sustainable -- so it's
unsurprisingly easy to feel self-righteous for choosing a communal life.
This interactive workshop will offer the opportunity to acknowledge,
challenge, and play with our egos' beliefs and judgments. Using partner
exercises, shout outs, and improv theater, we'll explore how to
celebrate what's great about community (and critique the problems of
mainstream culture) without thinking that we’re better than everyone
else.

Kate (Phoenix) Adamson (T.O. member ’02-’06) has been participating in
Communities Conferences for 7 years. She is a mother, actress, and
activist living in Charlottesville, where she's involved in several
collective endeavors, including forming an urban communal neighborhood.
Her passions include wild foods and medicine, sacred birth and death,
collective art projects, and (of course) community.

Income Sharing: Mutual Aid

In this workshop, presented by the Federation of Egalitarian Communities,
we'll talk about the ways that income sharing and our strong culture of
sharing and mutual aid serve us in times of boom and bust. We hope to
attract a mix of FEC members, members of non-FEC communities, and
economically independent folks to share thoughts and perspectives on
sharing wealth and risk.

This workshop will be presented by members of at least two communities that are a part of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. Each person will share their own experiences, and the group will include a variety of perspectives on the practice of income-sharing in community.

Everbody Wants to be Wanted: the Trials and Triumph of Diversity in Community

It's an old cliche: Why can't we all just get along? But it continues to be a relevant question.
In this workshop we will explore situations that commonly cause conflict in communities, and how our diversity is not always drawn along the more obvious lines like race, class, age,
gender...that a diversity of experience and opinion will exist even in a group of people with similar backgrounds and ideas. We will confront barriers to crossing culture lines (both individually and societally) and discuss strategies for creating community agreements that make it easier for people with seemingly irreconcilable differences to come together and benefit from each other.

Sarah Prendergast went on a quest to find
community just after graduation from Wittenberg University. She wound up
at Koinonia Farm 3 1/2 years ago, and is now a full member with her
husband and two children. She keeps herself busy welcoming visitors,
giving tours of the farm, preparing meals, fixing up houses, planting
gardens, caring for children, having deep conversations and blogging about
life in community.

Guerrilla Community Building

Community is in trouble in our culture; division and alienation have
become the norm. In this workshop, we discuss the meanings of "community",
investigate the forces that diminish community and promote separation, and
discuss ideas for breaking down the barriers between people and groups,
from the line at the bus stop to large organizations. This workshop is
more of a discussion than a lecture, sharing the wisdom and experience
present in the room.

Harvey Baker is a co-founder of 35 year old Dunmire Hollow Community in
southern Tennessee. He has been a community activist for over 20 years
with the FIC & the Communal Studies Association. He enjoys woodworking,
bicycling, soccer, and gardening.

Consensus for Dummies

Making decisions by consensus is an unnatural act. At least it is for
people raised in a hierarchic and competitive culture--which is just about
everybody. We'll go over the cooperative roots of consensus and explain
why it requires unlearning old adversarial responses in order to succeed.
We'll go over the essential ingredients of consensus, explain blocking and
standing aside, and make the case for why it's the most efficient form of
decision making, once you've learned how to do it well. Really.

Laird Schaub has been living in the fire of intentional community
since 1974, and active in intercommunity networking since 1979. He has
been involved with the Fellowship for Intentional Community since 1986 and
been doing consulting work on group process since 1987. Excited about what
community living has taught him and others about how to live
cooperatively, today he is a principal in the CANBRIDGE process
collective, making the learnings available to interested groups
everywhere. He can be reached at Rt 1, Box 155, Rutledge MO 63563 ph
660-883-5545 email: laird@ic.org

Conflict: Fight, Flight, or Opportunity?

Does conflict mean your group is sick, or just paying attention?
Starting with the premise that conflict is healthy and normal, we'll
explore options for unlocking its potential using the whole person--
rational, emotional, and intuitive. Rather than talking about "I"
statements or being nice, we'll focus on what happens and what can be done
when things get hot, concluding with a four-step plan for constructive
engagement. Special attention will be given to the advantages of working
in a group and in the dynamic moment, facilitated by those not in the
stew.

Laird Schaub has been living in the fire of intentional community
since 1974, and active in intercommunity networking since 1979. He has
been involved with the Fellowship for Intentional Community since 1986 and
been doing consulting work on group process since 1987. Excited about what
community living has taught him and others about how to live
cooperatively, today he is a principal in the CANBRIDGE process
collective, making the learnings available to interested groups
everywhere. He can be reached at Rt 1, Box 155, Rutledge MO 63563 ph
660-883-5545 email: laird@ic.org

Should You Start a Community or Join One?

For some people hungry for community life, this can be a fundamental fork
in the road. While starting your own group may look like the clearest
pathway to getting what you want, we'll explore the brambles you'll find
along the way, and lay out the pros and cons of joining versus starting.
There's more here than you might think!

Laird Schaub has been living in the fire of intentional community
since 1974, and active in intercommunity networking since 1979. He has
been involved with the Fellowship for Intentional Community since 1986 and
been doing consulting work on group process since 1987. Excited about what
community living has taught him and others about how to live
cooperatively, today he is a principal in the CANBRIDGE process
collective, making the learnings available to interested groups
everywhere. He can be reached at Rt 1, Box 155, Rutledge MO 63563 ph
660-883-5545 email: laird@ic.org