- Date: 3 – 6 September 2015
- Location: Twin Oaks Community - Louisa, VA, United States
- Language:
- English
- Region:
- Areas:
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If you live or want to live according to the values of cooperation, sustainability, and equality this conference is for you. You’ll get something out of this event whether you’re brand new to communities and cooperatives, or have been living and working in them for decades. The conference focuses on Intentional Communities, including models such as Ecovillages, Cohousing, and Housing Cooperatives, and the larger cooperative movement, including all kinds of cooperative and collective organizations.
From September 4th – 7th, 2015, network and learn about communities of all kinds — co-housing, co-ops, communes and ecovillages — at one of the best-known intentional communities in North America. At the conference, you can attend workshops topics such as group-decision making, diversity in community, intentional relationships and sustainable living. Camp in a beautiful forest alongside fellow participants and be a part of a temporary, once-in-a-lifetime intentional community.
Register: http://communitiesconference.org/register/
The Twin Oaks conference site has open air facilities and the basic registration option includes camping. Indoor accommodations are also available. Meals and snacks are provided (including food contributions from participants) from Friday dinner through Monday dinner.
Find out more about the logistics of the conference: http://communitiesconference.org/info/
Activities at the conference include formal workshops and presentations, open space workshops provided by participants, community introductions and networking, tours of three different intentional communities, a rockin’ dance party, and plenty of time to hang out and have fun.
Check out the schedule and descriptions of activities and workshops: http://communitiesconference.org/schedule-of-events/
Please consider making a donation to help us keep the conference financially accessible. Tax deductible donations can be made to Fellowship for Intentional Community, a 501(c)3 non-profit which acts as a fiscal sponsor for the Communities Conference. Non-tax deductible donations can be made directly to Twin Oaks Community, which is a 501(d) non-profit.
Register: http://communitiesconference.org/register/
Friday, Aug. 29th
3:00 pm – Registration opens
4:00 – 6:00 – Tour of Twin Oaks, and tour of local Earthship construction
6:00 – 7:30 – Dinner
7:30 – 9:30 – Evening program
Saturday, Aug. 30th
7:30am – 9:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 – Welcoming Circle – announcements, ice breakers
9:30 – noon – “Meet the Communities” – group representatives in attendance introduce themselves and their communities and answer questions. This is a great time to network!
10:00 am – noon – Tour of Twin Oaks Community
12:00 – 1:30 pm – Lunch, conference childcare meeting for parents and caregivers
1:30 – 3:15 – Workshops
3:15 – 3:45 – Break
3:30 – 5:30 – Tour of Twin Oaks Community
3:45 – 5:30 – Workshops
6:00 – 7:15 – Dinner
7:30 – 8:30 – Dessert party and FIC benefit auction*
8:45 – late – Dance party at the Twin Oaks dining hall
*Benefit Auction: We will be holding a fast-paced, high-energy benefit auction for the Fellowship for Intentional Community, publisher of the Communities Directory. Proceeds will help the FIC continue to bring the exciting news of community to a world hungry for it. You can help in two ways: 1) bring items to donate to the auction– products, crafts, services that can be delivered locally, a weekend stay for two at your luxurious home… use your imagination! 2) bring your wallet–there will be bargains galore, and every dollar spent will be used to make community that much more accessible to those seeking it.
Sunday, Aug. 31st
7:30 – 9:00 am – Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 am – Workshops
9:00 – 10:45 – Tour of Twin Oaks
11:00 – 12:00 pm – Open Space introduction period
12:00 – 1:30 pm – Lunch
1:00 – 3:00 – Tour of the Twin Oaks Community Seed-growing Gardens
1:30 – 4:15 pm – Open Space, a time for anyone at the conference to lead discussions, activities or workshops on any topic under the sun!
First Open Space period: 1:30 – 2:45 pm
2:45 – 3:00 – short break
Second Open Space period: 3:00 – 4:15 pm
3:30 – 6:00 – Tour of LEF*
4:30 – 5:00 – “Closing” circle**
5:00 – Late – Tour and festivities at Acorn Community***
*Tour of Living Energy Farm: Ride share to nearby, recently-founded fossil fuel-free community Living Energy Farm for a tour. LEF is a project to build a community, education center and farm that demonstrates that a fulfilling life is possible without the use of any fossil fuel. Their mission is to actively promote lifestyles and technologies that are truly sustainable, and to make these sustainable technologies accessible to all persons regardless of income or social position.
**Closing Circle: There’s still lots of more happening through Monday, but many people will be heading home around this time and we’ll do a round of appreciations, parting thoughts, and announcements.
***Tour and festivities at Acorn: Head over to Twin Oaks’s neighboring community, Acorn Community, where we’ll start with a general tour, including residences, current and recent construction projects, extensive gardens, and our business, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE). You’ll have a chance to visit the green office for SESE and pick our brains about radical business – at SESE, we cooperate with our “competitors” and coordinate our work with almost no managerial control of anyone over anyone else. After the tour, we’ll eat a home-cooked dinner, and at dusk, we’ll light a bonfire and bring out some drums. You’re encouraged to bring instruments as well.
Monday, Sept. 1st
7:30 – 9:00 am – breakfast
9:00 am – 5:00 pm – The Community Clinic
Register: http://communitiesconference.org/register/
For more information, please visit the event website.
