On Monday, September 11th, we turned 23 years young, managed a small parade in the wake of Hurricane Irma weather, and packed the White Owl for a community lunch and some good old socializing! Then on Saturday night, the 16th, nearby Celo-community-based gypsy jazz band Carpathian Spruce lit up the Council Hall with their wild and celebratory style, while friends and neighbors joined members for a whirl of a celebration!

Many changes lie ahead for Earthaven in 2017 and ’18, as most of our neighborhoods turn into linked, separately owned, residential parcels, and we pursue an updated way to manage our Village Center.

As you read this edition of our newsletter, please picture us thriving through the changing process and coming out feeling robust and ready to keep growing. It’s a big change from our original all-in-one vision and, though more complex in some ways, it may actually be a reasonable template for other groups considering coming together to protect land and nature.

Photos from top to bottom:

Birthday cake crafted by Tricia Baehr

Early Permaculture Design Class site map of the Earthaven neighborhood now known as Bellavia Gardens.

Determined members carry on the Founding Day parade tradition, in the wake of Hurricane Irma’s soggy weather.

below: Whirling away at Saturday night’s 23rd anniversary dance party.

The post Dancing Into Our 24th Year! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Twenty years ago on September 11, 1994, a dozen people so disillusioned with existing options for satisfying, life-affirming living situations, put their hands and available capital together to put Earthaven Ecovillage on the Western North Carolina map. This year, in the midst of much rethinking and refreshing of goals and potential, we celebrated the theme of Giveaway, a time-honored indigenous peoples’ response to prosperity and abundance. No, we haven’t gotten that big endowment yet, but we recognized our wealth in this special bioregion, this splendid forest, these crystal creeks, these developing farms and gardens, these gorgeous children, the skills and talents among us, and most of all the rich and abundant relationships we’ve formed with one another.

Gathering on the Saturday night before the 11th, we enjoyed a delicious finger-food buffet donated by Tricia, and then joined each other at the community Fire Circle. Carleigh got the fire going with a bow drill (whew!) and then Zev led off a spontaneous offering of stories and memories from our two decades of growth, as winding as the roads that lead us here. Old friends, some who only came around early on but who never lost touch with us, retold favorite memories for the newest EHers to hear.

On Sunday morning, quite a few folks turned up both for Kimchi’s Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) mini-workshop and a Trauma Release session with Gaspar. Gaspar also organized a volley-ball game on the Village Green, and Rainbow coordinated a mural painting party to brighten up the game room that has blossomed inside the old brown storage containers. The younger ecovillagers were given paint and the run of the interior of the game room.

We feasted together on the Village Plaza with local and donated dishes and desserts, and were thrilled to look around and see old friends and former Earthaven family showing up to celebrate with us. A ceremonial circle of gratitude and abundant wishes for the future was followed by a Timeline brainstorm in which we recalled the many big and small events still in our hearts, charting the year of their occurrence as best we could, for a chronological outline of the history of Earthaven. In the afternoon, informal teach-ins and tours were offered, while many just lingered in the Village Center to socialize and absorb the good vibes.

The post Earthaven Celebrates 20th Anniversary with “Intimate” Gathering of 125 Local Friends and Neighbors! appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Earthaven celebrated our 15th anniversary on September 11. See the article in this newsletter for information on the celebration.

Marie Reilly jumped the candle to become a new provisional member.

 The third bridge over the stream crossing near the Hut Hamlet is finished! In the photo, Founding Day parade marchers rest on the sturdy rails made from white oak from the Useful Plants Nursery clearing.  Thanks to Paul Caron, Lynn Armstrong, Mihaly Bartalos, Tom Moestl, Reed Murphy, Art Myers, Andy Bosley, Jack Fermoil, Clark Goslee, and Ishmael for their work on the bridge.

The post News Notes – Autumn 2009 appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

The Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference is the sister company of Red Moon Herbs –  sharing the same mother, owner and director, Corinna Wood. Corinna, a long-time Earthaven member, runs these two businesses here at Earthaven, employing not only herself but other local women, bringing much-needed income to families in our economically depressed Appalachian region.

Two Earthaven women, Corinna and Lee Warren, as well as a neighbor, Ema Carmona, work year round to organize The Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference, which offers hundreds of women the opportunity to learn, connect, and deepen in to the Wise Woman Tradition. This year marks the 5th anniversary of the conference which will take place in Black Mountain on October 2-4

The Wise Woman Tradition is very close to many of the values embodied at Earthaven. In brief, it means simple living, earth-based healing, and local plants. It encourages connection to place, honoring of cycles, nourishment of the body–of the human and of the earth, and community with each other. The conference is an opportunity to introduce these ideas to women from many different walks of life in a format and style that is empowering and deeply transformative.

The conference draws hundreds of women (expected participation this year is 500) from around the Southeast coming for classes taught by more than 30 teachers, herbalists, wise women elders, and gifted healers. They will teach more than 50 classes on topics such as: Herb Walks, Tea Blending Secrets, Herbal Skin Care, Herbal Baths, Menstrual Health, Menopause, Women’s Wellness, Nutrition, Phytochemicals, HPV, Shamanic Breathwork, Talking Stick, Self Esteem, as well as art, dance, yoga, poetry, and more.

The post The Wise Women of the Blue Ridge Are At It Again appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Earthaven’s 15th anniversary celebration began with the Founders’ Dinner on Thursday, September 10, and continued with a parade and ceremony Friday afternoon, September 11.

           The Founding Day parade and celebration used the analogy of our community as a flock of birds, each of us carrying part of the load and trading off leadership. Puppeteers from the Elkland Arts Center in Virginia helped create a large bird puppet, which led the parade.

The post Earthaven Celebrates 15th Anniversary appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.