Facilitating Deep Ecology and The Work That Reconnects
with Ruth Rosenhek
When: September 13-14, 2008
Where: The Farm's Ecovillage Training Center
Cost: $100 to $175 sliding scale. We rely on those who experience financial abundance to pay the higher end of the scale to help support those who can only afford the lower end.
Bookings & more info email: ecovillage at thefarm dot org
What is Deep Ecology? This form of group work helps to decondition us from centuries of culturally induced anthropocentrism, and to heal our broken relationship with the natural world. It's an intrinsic part of the Work That Reconnects. The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves. These values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.
What is the Work the Reconnects? The Work That Reconnects is a pioneering form of group work that began in the 1970s. It demonstrates our interconnectedness in the web of life and our authority to take action on its behalf. It has helped many thousands around the globe find insight, solidarity, and courage to act, despite rapidly worsening conditions.
In this workshop, we explore the art of facilitating The Work that Reconnects, with particular emphasis on Despair and Empowerment facilitation and processes. As facilitators, we wish to create safe opportunities for participants in groups to express their worldly concerns, to enable them to move into their empowerment, and to explore ways they can more easily act on these concerns.
The Facilitation Training Workshop is geared towards those who wish to gain skills in facilitating Deep Ecology and The Work That Reconnects as well as those who are facilitators in other fields who would like to add the flavours of this Work to their current practice.
The training is a mix of experiential processes combined with debriefing sessions and a sprinkling of teaching segments on group facilitation, bound to add something to your toolkit.
The full richness of the experience of participants is drawn upon as well as that of Ruth Rosenhek, MS Organisational Management and Director of the Rainforest Information Centre in Australia. Ruth has facilitated Deep Ecology workshops worldwide since 1995 and has worked extensively with John Seed and was introduced to the work itself through Joanna Macy.
Ruth's many skills include the remarkable ability to improvise and adapt her processes as she works with a group. Her process intro's, the linking between processes, and indeed her ability to change stream to accommodate the group at any given moment, are all lovely to experience. She will enable us to fill up our kit bag so we too can pull out just what is needed by the groups we facilitate.
And of course this work is needed throughout society, not just in the obvious areas of social change. It is all social change.
All proceeds from the event go to grassroots conservation efforts of the Rainforest Information Centre (The facilitator, Ruth does not take a fee.). To see projects that the RIC funded last year, visit http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/projects/grants.htm
THE VENUE
The Farm is one of the largest and best known intentional communities in the U.S. Located on 5000 wooded acres in south central Tennessee, the Farm is home to approximately 200 persons today. It was founded in 1971 with a spiritual commitment to simple living and self-reliance, and has pioneered a wide range of social and physical technologies appropriate to low-cost, high satisfaction community living. The Farm community offers examples of solar building design, micro-enterprise, mushroom cultivation, large scale composting and food production, and regenerative hardwood forest management.
www.thefarm.org
Directions
Will be sent upon registration. If you are flying, you want to arrive at Nashville airport. We provide shuttles to and from the airport and the Amtrak station for no more than $65 each way, depending on the number of people sharing the van.
Food
We will provide dinner Saturday night and breakfast on Sunday, as well as coffee and tea. Participants will need to bring food for shared pot-luck lunches together.
Accommodations
We have limited space in our dormitory rooms as well as a few private rooms for an additional fee. A dorm room costs $20 per night, a private single costs $28 and a private double costs $40. We have a family suite as well as a private cabin for $45. We have limited private rooms so reserve your space early. Camping is also available for $12 per person. There are also several Bed and Breakfasts on the Farm.
The Eco-hostel at the Farm's Ecovillage Training Center is an old Farm house that has been recently renovated and expanded. The house was originally constructed by members of the Farm in the late 70's out of completely recycled materials. Our renovations have included three dormitories, two solar showers, rainwater collection, solar electricity, and wastewater recycling. We just added a 2-story greenhouse with a third story observation deck.
Bring: Chairs or pillows to sit on, pen and paper, musical instruments, special things etc.
Saturday Evening (Optional Film Evening)
Ruth will close the workshop for the day at around 5pm so we will have an evening together. Ruth will bring a new short film she has directed and published that we will set up to show after dinner.
Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Matthew Fox, Ruth Rosenhek and John Seed speak on Deep Ecology, Living Democracy and Transformation of Consciousness in a fast moving discussion of the type of change that needs to take place for a Sustainable Future. An inspirational and stimulating film including beautiful nature footage and a colourful array of global action shots.
Ruth will also be showing a film called Palmed Off featuring local communities and indigenous speaking out about the impacts of palm oil plantations on their homes.
Ruth's Bio
Ruth Rosenhek, MS Organisational Management, is an international environmental justice activist, educator, filmmaker, deep ecologist and Director of the Rainforest Information Centre in Lismore, New South Wales (Australia).
Ruth has been teaching and facilitating Deep Ecology seminars including the Council of All Beings and Earth, Spirit Action in Australia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, South Africa, Eastern and Western Europe for over 15 years. Ruth has written numerous magazine and web articles on the topic of deep ecology and spiritual activism. See www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/rosenhek.htm.
Ruth is an active member of the Dharma Gaia Trust, a group of engaged Buddhists working to support efforts worldwide that link Buddhism and Ecology. These efforts have led to the support for ecological projects in Ladakh, Tibet, Burma, Thailand and India
The Rainforest Information Centre
The Rainforest Information Centre (RIC) - www.rainforestinfo.org.au -- was born out of the successful struggle to save the sub-tropical rainforests of New South Wales, Australia in the early 1980s. Since then we have been involved in campaigns and projects which conserve nature and at the same time recognise the legitimate development aspirations of indigenous peoples and local communities. Through the RIC Small Grants Program, each year, the RIC raises funds and donates these to grassroots efforts to protect nature and to encourage sustainable livelihood through tree plantings, energy savings stoves and other activities which decrease the threats to surrounding forests. See www.rainforestinfo.org.au/projects/grants.htm