Hello Community!
Love is in the air! We love our planet and all its beauty and ecosystems. We love ALL THE PEOPLE on this planet. We love our oceans and want to protect them. We love having farmlands in our midst.
We love our neighborhoods and want to build a vibrant, sustainable community where we live.
So, let’s show some love to these local projects and events….
February 6 – Farmer’s Guild meeting at the SLO Guild Hall at 7pm tonight
Potluck style, so bring something tasty!
Come hangout and converse with fellow farmers and local food advocates.
We will be discussing our Farm to Buyer Mixer, and begin planning our next big event!
February 7 – County Board of Sups meeting includes an agenda item that unbelievably shows they want to OPPOSE the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Next Tuesday, February 7, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the SLO Board of Supervisors chambers, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will vote on whether they will oppose the creation of the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. This is an unprecedented move by the Board of Supervisors - to actually want to oppose coastal protections instead of support them! The support for this sanctuary was already approved by prior boards
Please show up to voice your public support to designate the marine sanctuary. See the attached talking points. Sign the petition here: https://chumashsanctuary.com/
February 7 – SLOW Money SLO meeting
6pm – 8pm at the SLO Guild Hall
We look forward to sharing Slow Money SLO plans for 2017, hearing from great local food entrepreneurs, and sampling their products. Also, we will be teaching people how to make fruit leather at home – use all that left over and gleaned fruit for long-lasting snacks!
Featured Entrepreneurs to speak:
Karli from Best Ever Salsa (Paso Robles)
Chris from Tiber Canyon Olive Oil (Arroyo Grande)
Alisha from Rock Front Ranch Jujube’s (similar to dates) (Santa Maria)
February 18 – Our Global Family Day at our farm plot at City Farm. 1221 Calle Joaquin Road, SLO
10am – 12noon - Planting Chinese vegetables and having fun on the land. Come enjoy the land together in the morning and then go to the Scion Exchange in the afternoon!
February 18 – CA Rare Fruit Growers Scion Exchange
Starting at 1 p.m. at Cal Poly, the Crops Unit. Free admission, open to the public... No reservations needed, free parking too!! Please come join the fun and shake hands with others who love to graft or eat fresh fruit!!
February 17-19 (Fri-Sun) San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden
Useful Plants, Mushrooms, & Seaweeds of San Luis Obispo County
Various class hours/fees (see link for details).
http://slobg.org/useful-plants/
February 28 – Fundraiser for City Farm – showing of movie “Gaining Ground”
6pm at the SLO Guild Hall – Silent Auction, Food & Drink, Local Speakers. See attached flyer
Get Tickets at: @CCGmovienight.brownpapertickets.com
First Annual SLO Village Building Convergence (SLO VBC 2017)
The SLO VBC is a 4 day convergence consisting of neighborhood-based urban permaculture (organic agriculture & holistic community building) projects by day, and evening festivities that showcase local talent in the arts, and local projects and people who are helping to improve our ecological and societal infrastructure.
Each day of the convergence, neighbors and visiting friends will come together to create community spaces that feature public art, permaculture gardens, and natural building projects. Participation in these daytime events are free for everyone!
Show some love and Get Involved!
Would you like to offer your permaculture skills, a workshop, live/electronic music, live painting, yoga, or anything else to this convergence? Contact us at solutionaryproductions@gmail.com
Help actualize this dream by donating to our
Crowdfunding Campaign: https://igg.me/at/O8q9qAuzL6c
Show some love to the Oceti Camp that are holding the line at Standing Rock:
We still need your help to keep everyone in camp safe and warm.
In light of the decision to move camp to higher ground, and in respect for the
call to clear Oceti Oyate for the safety of the Water Protectors here, we are asking
for the following kinds of help: Winter-Ready Vehicles, Sturdy Trucks & Trailers, Chains and Gas-Line Antifreeze http://www.ocetisakowincamp.org/donate
And also show some love to the Water Protectors Legal Collective
Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) is the on-the-ground legal team for the ceremonial resistance camps at Standing Rock, North Dakota. We maintain a presence on-site and provide legal advocacy, jail and court support, criminal defense, and civil and human rights protection to the Native peoples and their allies gathered there. https://waterprotectorlegal.org/
Shower some love for the homeless by donating to Hopes Village to install public showers:
Show some love to yourself and attend Workshops at Quail Springs, Sunburst Sanctuary or go to the Acorn Gathering
The Acorn Gathering is an opportunity to take a break from your busy life and come camp in a village-like setting amongst people from all walks of life and ages... You can re-learn primitive and earth-based skills from instructors that dedicate their lives to their work, or touch up on skills you may already have! Come meet new people from up and down the west coast and connect with our local community, building relationships that last a lifetime.
March 28-April 2nd, 2017
Central Coast of CA, just north of Santa Barbara
GO TO WWW.ACORNGATHERING.COM to REGISTER! Registration is open until sold out! Prices are on our website. Let us know if you have any questions!
Quail Springs Workshops:
SONGS & STORIES - A WILD SERIES SPRING FESTIVAL & BENEFIT
March 17 – 19
http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/wild-series/songs-stories/
Quail Springs is deeply honored to welcome some of our most treasured storytellers, wisdom keepers and musicians for a magical feast of story and song under the stars of Cuyama. Come and celebrate the beautiful seeds of culture that bring us together as we gather by the fire to listen, remember, learn and sing. Held by the enchantment of the high desert, our esteemed elders, teachers and song keepers will share beloved stories and songs from a range of world traditions. Join the Quail Springs Village and our dear community for this rare and meaningful Wild Series Spring Festival.
Proceeds from this event will go to our Seeds for the Next Generation capital campaign. Please endeavor to pay as much as you are able to support the beautiful work of Quail Springs to continue.
THE ART OF HIDE TANNING
March 23 – 26
http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/wild-series/hide-tanning/
Join us for a four day immersion into the traditional art of making leather by hand. In this intimate and experiential class, students will tan one deer or goat buckskin from start to finish, learn to make rawhide, and participate in a fur tanning demonstration.
The art of hide tanning is a cross-cultural human legacy, one with an ancient heritage that spans across continents and lineages. Besides full hands-on experience, we will spend time discussing history, methodology and various cultural approaches. Students will leave with an understanding of how to bring to life beautiful hand-tanned leather and fur in their own small home tanning set-ups.
Hide tanning is a physically demanding craft, so be prepared for four full days of very active and fun learning! We are going to learn as much as possible and our days will be packed with richness. No experience is necessary!
All of the hides used this class only come from reliable and sustainably harvested sources – either from California small farms, or from legally hunted deer
INTRODUCTION TO COB & NATURAL BUILDING
April 10 – 15, 2017
http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/natural-building/cob-intro/
Cob building combines clay sediment, sand, fiber, and water, and is hand sculpted to form walls, benches, ovens, and fireplaces. Cob building makes use of readily available, affordable, non-toxic materials to build beautiful, organic structures.
The course is appropriate for both first-time builders and for professionals in the building trade who are interested in natural materials. In this cob workshop, we focus on the characteristics of the natural materials most commonly used in construction: clay soil, sand, and fibers. Our main focus will be cob, though we will touch on various other building techniques that utilize the same materials, including adobe block, light straw-clay, wattle and daub, and plasters. We will discuss how to find and choose appropriate soil for construction, how to create various mixes, how to attach wood to earthen walls, and how to use earthen materials to build walls, sculpt niches, shelves, and furniture.
This course is primarily a hands on course, where we learn by doing. We will be building a small structure from start to finish. As a complement to the hands-on portion of the course, we will include slide shows and discussions of the theoretical aspects of natural building. Subjects include building design and siting, passive solar design, foundations and drainage, earthen floors, appropriate roof design, and wiring and plumbing for natural structures.
RESILIENCE DESIGN TRAINING:
A PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MAY 21 – JUNE 4, 2017
For more info: http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/permaculture/pdcid
This course equips people working in international development and grassroots projects with the perspectives and skills needed to engage with communities in partnership to incorporate elements into the design of communities, smallholder farms and land with household agricultural production that are holistic, appropriate, strategic, effective, diverse, as well as ecologically and economically sound. This course includes the 72-hr Permaculture Design Certification through the Permaculture Research Institute.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a design science utilizing an innovative systems-approach to consciously design landscapes, human settlements and smallholder farming systems that integrate functional diversity and biological fertility by mimicking natural eco-systems. Diverse and fertile systems act resilient in the face of shocks.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for people who work with Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s), Government Organizations, or are Community Organizers. The teaching is directly relevant for international development practitioners, including the technical teams from agency Headquarters and field teams engaged in implementation.
Celebrate Life Retreat at Sunburst Sanctuary
Featuring: Hands On Permaculture
May 26 — 28, 2017
Reconnect with yourself, with Spirit, and with our sacred Earth. Enjoy heartfelt camaraderie, yoga, meditation, music, and delicious meals amidst pristine natural beauty.
Special Saturday session: Integrate inner and outer spiritual practice with hands-on permaculture projects.
With Sean Fennell