potluck Archives - Earthaven Ecovillage

Celebrating in Community

Earthaven Admin Team — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:52:23 +0000

by Sue Stone

I wanted my 70^th birthday to be a gift to myself, as well as to my community, and to celebrate it with my friends here at Earthaven. It began with a work party and open house, then a potluck and celebration.

So many people came to help. I was amazed by how much work got done here at our Earthship, and by the joy and generosity of those who participated. Two members, Bob and Alice, came a day early to prepare our tool shed for painting. The day of the party, the shed was painted, railings and stairs were sanded and treated, firewood was collected and stacked and flower beds were weeded.

One work exchanger, Deb, dug a ditch along the front of the house so Geoff could repair the stucco, and another, Lindsay, entertained our two grandchildren, taking them to the orchard to pick strawberries.

People kept coming with small gifts and food for the dinner, and the day ended with songs and hugs and Eli’s famous carrot cake.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate a milestone birthday, and a reminder of the many benefits of living in community. Several people said, “We should do this more often. Who is next?”

Sue Stone and her husband Geoff have lived at Earthaven since 1999. Sue has served the community in many leadership and committee positions, in addition to helping Geoff build their 1200 sq. ft. Earthship. She also enjoys gardening, reading and playing piano, and her passion is creating beauty.

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Ancestor Feast

Earthaven Admin Team — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:27:14 +0000

On Day of the Dead (November 1-2), which is celebrated in so many cultures, we hold an Ancestors Feast. It includes a ritual of sweeping out the old and setting intentions for the new year, many wonderful songs, an ancestral potluck feast, and stories and toasts to those who’ve gone before us.

Silent meditation before the altar with photos of ancestors and mentors.

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News Notes – July 2010

Debbie — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:17:12 +0000

Greetings from Earthaven Ecovillage! We’re enjoying the hot, hot days of summer, with tomatoes and basil from our gardens and swimming in the creek!

Now you can read about Earthaven daily life in the Earthaven blog, featuring anecdotes and photos from Earthaven residents. Recent articles report on the Salvation Alley cleanup, garlic harvesting, and preventing birds from striking windows.

Tanya Carwyn became a full member on June 13. Since our Spring newsletter, Kaitlin Hetzner, Jonathan Swiftcreek, eli Swiftcreek, and Karen Taylor have all become Provisional Members. You can read the second installment of Jonathan’s journal about being incoming member in this newsletter.

Left: Tanya being lifted to the song: “Tanya, you are beautiful. Tanya, you are strong. So wonderful to be with, we’ll help you carry on. Tanya, hear our loving song.”

In construction news: The Council Hall addition, featuring a small kitchen, bathroom, and hookup of the Taylor water stove is complete! Many thanks and kudos to Todd, Darren, Brian, Greg, Paul, Geoff, and all the folks who carried it through! Rudy Ballentine and friends started building his home in the Loving Acres neighborhood and the Natural Building School apprentices have started the rubble foundation for the circular starwell in the new Village Arts Building.

Kimchi Rylander and Suchi Lathrop have been participating in Transition Asheville – a group co-creating a sustainable Asheville beyond Peak Oil.

Kimchi organized a Potluck Potlatch about sharing resources on July 7. A potlatch is a way for people to pass on things they no longer need, similar to a white elephant exchange except the gifts are intended to be useful rather than humorous. The Potluck Potlatch was also attended by Earthaven members Suchi, Debbie Lienhart, Goodheart Brown, and Chiwa.

Right: Kimchi explaining how the potlatch works.

Culture’s Edge and Earthaven Ecovillage are hosting a gathering on August 14 & 15 for people who are eager to use their heads, hearts, and hands to build community resiliency. See the articles about the Transition Town movement and about the gathering in this newsletter.

In Earthaven business news: The Southeast Wise Women are preparing for the sixth Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference at Lake Eden October 1-3, Steve Tormarenamed his teaching and consulting business The REAL Center, and Mihaly Bartalos and crew completed an extensive Appalachian-style railing project with mountain laurel.

The Earthaven office is seeking the donation of a used laptop that will be our new “networking computer hub” and offer villagers a place to surf the Internet. If you know of anyone who might like to support a growing ecovillage with an extra laptop, please ask them to consider donating it to Earthaven Ecovillage!

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