Ahimsa
Village: There have been two visitors, one is interested
in the community there. The summer camp held a few more sessions
although the number of children particpating was less than they
had hoped for. They will be starting their monthly talks –
this year they’ll be on Saturday evening. Programs being planned
include a talk on sustainability, and one on dirt. The orchard trees
are growing out of their cages. The bear hasn’t bothered the
bee hives this year, and they were able to get a few gallons of
honey. There was a great raspberry crop. Greg, the AVC partner in
California, didn’t get to Ahimsa this summer. There are now
5 chickens, and lots of eggs.
Common
Ground: There are two new provisional members, Ben and
Leah, who moved into Jo and Steve’s house. The gardens did
very well this year – Rita Jane wasn’t able to be as
involved this year, but others pitched in. Tony and Keri have installed
solar panels near their house. Glen Leasure passed away at the end
of the summer, and a home burial was held.
Continuum:
There hasn’t been much activity over the last quarter. There
are one or two people who are interested in joining the original
group as members.
Heathcote:
There are currently 19 adults, 6 children and 2 interns at Heathcote.
Kwame, one of the interns is leaving in a week. Lots of educational
activities are taking place – Gloria is taking on more of
the children’s education. There is a visitor’s weekend
coming up in 3 or 4 weeks which will include a hot tub party (a
cob hot tub). Polaris, the new straw bale house, has just one more
room to be finished up. A house-warming is being planned for October
30. There are 15 students participating in the Permaculture Certificate
course, which consists of 3 weekends in the fall and 3 weekends
in the spring. An intern, Matt, is working on a greenhouse in an
area cleared above the hill garden. The gardens have done very well
this year with Betsy as the garden manager. A Transition Town training
was held as well as a facilitation training led by Laird Schaub.
Another facilitation training will be held in December.
Julian
Woods: JWC celebrated their 35th anniversary of being on
the land – some of the people have been friends for 45 years
or more. There has been lots of activity in the various households.
Deb and John held the Greenshop this summer – it was a successful
endeavor. They held a number of workshops that brought people together
and helped build community. The trailer has now been moved up to
John’s house, and will be used as a guest spot. Sweats are
being held about once a week. Deb’s business is booming. Her
nephew is working around the community. The bear has been coming
after Deb’s bees. Barbara is studying to become a zen buddhist
priest. O-An Zendo has been active - Sunday morning sitting meditations
and yoga classes are being held. Robert is planning to move his
saw mill to the flat land at the entrance to the community.
Seven
Sisters: Kim will be leaving the property. Patty and Ginny
have presented a proposal to lease the farmhouse beginning November
1. A structural engineer will be assessing the underground house.
July
2010 Community Reports:
Ahimsa
Village: Kelle continues as the director of the Appalachian Zen
House at Ahimsa – a meditation and council circle is held
on Monday nights. Greg Martin is now a father, an enneagram workshop
was held, Kelle and Bob have been busy working in the gardens. A
new pump has been installed and there is now plenty of water for
the Straw property and the farmhouse. The renters in the Straw house
are not looking to become a part of AVC. The Friday night lectures
will begin again in the fall.
Common
Ground: The energy feels new – the gardens are doing well.
Tony, who lives with his wife Keri and their 4 children in Mel’s
house, came up to Julian Woods last weekend, thinking it was the
board meeting weekend. The Teen Adventure Program stayed a week
longer than usual this year – they used Common Ground as a
training ground for their staff. The gardens were expanded this
year to grow more food to help feed the Teen Adventurers. Ben, who
is a provisional member, is interested in doing market gardening.
Sally is still there – helping to care for Joan – Peggy’s
sister. Glen is still being treated for leukemia, and hopes to bring
students from Sierra Leone to Common Ground to learn shoe-making.
Tony put in some fruit trees and installed some solar panels. Life
is good at Common Ground.
Continuum:
The annual meeting was held. All is well and the woods are happy.
Heathcote:
Things are going very well. They have had 6 interns, along with
16 members. There were 5 graduates of the Permaculture Design course,
and the first facilitation workshop was held. A tree fell on the
mill – insurance will cover the repairs. Following the approval
of the Strategic Plan and the standard funding application, Heathcote
is submitting several proposals. The gardens are booming this year
– there is a new hoop house and a new drip irrigation system.
One of the interns is an organic grower and a Permaculture graduate,
and is planning to build a large hoop house. Heathcote received
a grant from Koinonia.
Julian
Woods: JWC hosted the facilitation workshop. It was a lot of work,
but it was really groundbreaking, and they enjoyed having it. The
Greenshop has opened – a trailer has been painted and will
serve as a base for the shop. Robert and a crew cleared the brush
in the area. A sign was made and raised beds built at the site.
A chicken tractor workshop was held, as well as a number of sweat
lodges. Kelle and Deb had Fresh Air kids visit. O-An Zendo was shut
down over the winter – it is now active. Sunday morning sitting
meditations are being held.
Seven
Sisters: There have been 3 or 4 raw potlucks with a bonfire, drumming
and singing held. People from a 50 mile radius were invited. Kim
needs to move out of the underground house because of mold and its
effect on her health. She attended the facilitation workshop as
well as other workshops to become an energy healer. A workday was
held in the spring to pull ivy off the farmhouse to reduce moisture
in the walls. The future of the property is undecided - Kim will
live on the property as a caretaker for 60 days.
2010:
School of Living's Strategic Plan Finalized and Approved. Click
here to
view document (pdf)
April 2010
Community Reports:
Ahimsa Village:
Kelle has taken over as the director of the Appalachian Zen House
at Ahimsa; Roslyn will be returning for about 6 weeks. A Transition
initiative has been forming in the Bald Eagle Valley, as well as
one in State College. They got about the same amount of maple syrup
this year as last year, and plan to have bees again. The Summer
Camp may not happen this year.
Common Ground:
There was a workday recently with 50 Quakers from Baltimore Yearly
Meeting who came to expand the garden so more food can be grown
for the Teen Adventure Program coming up this summer. The couple
living in Rita Jane’s house are applying for membership –
ideally they will move to Joellen’s house. They have been
working on the garden. Glen returned from Sierra Leone early –
he was very ill, possibly with malaria and typhoid, but after he
got back to the US it was determined he has 2 forms of leukemia,
which he is now receiving treatment for. He plans to offer scholarships
for students to come to him to learn shoemaking. He shared his expertise
about building compost toilets while he was there, and his ideas
are continuing to be used.
Continuum:
All is well. The original group is looking for additional investors.
Heathcote:
It is an exciting time at Heathcote – lots of energy and projects
going on, ideas being made manifest. The Educational Program is
going well – there is increased enrollment with Karen and
Patty teaching. The bunkroom, conference room and mill apartment
have been renovated. They have been having house concerts. Betsy
is the garden manager and has organized the hoop house. There are
currently 17 adults, 6 children, and 4 provisional members. They
are reworking how they are organized since they are dealing with
a larger group.
Julian Woods:
There are plans to have a farm stand at the end of the lane –
a “green store”, to sell flowers, vegetables, etc. Deb
and her flower business were featured in an article in a local periodical
about her weed walks, and she has made other local connections.
There are plans for a sauna at John’s.
July
13, 2009: School of Living Retreat a Big Success
We
THANK everyone for their help in shaping the future of the School
of Living at our Reaching In, Reaching Out workshop held
on July 10 - 12, 2009 at Julian Woods Community. Pictures, video,
and results of the workshop will be posted to this web site. Please
contact Ginny Green at Ginnyblackie@aol.com with questions.
School
of Living Archival Library ~~ Coming Soon !!
We
are in the process of designing and building a room, next to the
SOL Office, to house an Archival Library for School of Living. We
plan to hold the complete works of Ralph Borsodi and Mildred Loomis,
as well as other writers connected to the organization and its history.
We have some original papers and photographs as well. Further, we
plan to archive all volumes of Green Revolution. All items will
be available for archival research and perusing. The main idea is
to bring all of SOL’s printed matter to one safe central location.
Please consider becoming a “Friend of the SOL Library”
by donating to School of Living - a 501(c)3 tax-exempt educational
organization. An acknowledgement of your contribution is available
upon request.
No contribution is too large or too small - Thank you !
School of Living, 215 Julian Woods Lane, Julian, PA 16844
Reaching
In, Reaching Out, Strategic Planning Retreat
May
2009: SoL will be hosting its first Strategic Planning Retreat in
many years at the Julian Woods Community in July, 2009. Complete
details (pdf).
Strategic
Planning
Nov.
13, 2008: The SoL is currently undergoing a strategic planning process.
This is an exciting time in the organization as we plan for the
future. Please consider getting involved. Contact Ginny Green at
ginnyblackie@aol.com to participate.
AERO
Produces DVD Highlighting SoL
July
2008: Jerry Mintz of AERO (the Alternative Education Resource Organization,
the alt education wing of SoL) recently produced a 2-hr DVD that
highlights some of the history of SoL. He did the filming at the
July Board meeting and interviewed many SoL pioneers including Grace
Lefever and Robert Forsberg. It includes a tour of JWC and Ahimsa
plus captured Karen's "Saturday Night Program" on the
"Scholar Ship." Copies are available to members for a
$10 donation. Please contact Bob Flatley at e4bob@yahoo.com if you'd
like a copy. View a clip of the film:
SoL
Adds Straw Lot to Land Trust
May,
2008: The SoL has acquired a 3A parcel known as the Straw Lot. This
piece of land was an inholding in the 320 acre land trust that makes
up Ahimsa Village, Continuum Community, and Julian Woods Community.
The lot has been added to Ahimsa Village's leasehold.
Ahimsa
Village
Nov.
1, 2006: Ahimsa Village Community is our newest community addition
to the School of Living Land Trust. Continuum is located in Julian,
Pennsylvania next to Julian Woods Community. We welcome Kelle Kersten,
Bob Flatley, and Greg Martin to the School of Living Community and
extend our support and friendship. To learn more visit www.ahimsavillage.org.
