Join the Guild at the Green Home Show at the Fairgrounds, January 25 to 28.
The Permaculture Guild will be tabling at the Home Show. E mail Bryna to help out at brynalivingston@yahoo.com
Tabling is a great way to meet the public, promote permaculture/eco logical living and improve communication skills. Last year’s Guild table set up was impressive and we will improve on that for this year.
The Green Home Show starts Friday the 26th at 5 PM and will close Sunday the 28th at 6.
Also, Jan Spencer will be presenting at the Home Show on Saturday the 27th, check back for time. Jan will be making the connections between affluence, US foreign policy, capitalism, Suburban Permaculture and Culture Change. You may contact Jan at spencerj@efn.org or see his website www.suburbanpermaculture.org - many before and after fotos.
Sunday’s education programs will focus on local farmers.
The Green Home Show was a big hit last year. It’s all about buying and selling but it is visibly different from the regular home show. Many of the products are greener. Some businesses were actually turned down entry because they were not green enough.
The education part, see above, is definitely worth going to. Its all free. Consider The Green Home Show as an evolution in a better direction. The people who make it happen are sincere in thier concern for the environment. They have donated $900 in boothspace so the Guild can be there. Please join us!
Minutes, December 11, 2006
Eugene Permaculture Guild Steering Comittee Meeting
212 Benjamin, Eugene, OR 97404
Present: Aleta, Jan, Brad, Nick and from LVEC, Nathaniel and Chris. The minutes below incorporate post-meeting email feedback from Jan and Jude after the initial minutes were posted to the steering committee listerv, with a request for corrections.
1. There was concern over a workable venue for the guild solstice party on the evening of Wed 20th. Jan said he would connect with Sue to determine whether her house was a possibility. [Update: Jan determines this is not an option. No new venue has been volunteered.]
2. Green Eugene Show: Jan will check in with the event organizers to determine a favorable location for our booth. Nathaniel suggests placement near the climbing wall which attracted a great deal of foot traffic last year. It was agreed we will use our presence to help circulate written materials from like-minded organizations - such as the eco-building guild. We will put out an announcement/invitation to the listserv for literature from sympathetic parties. Aleta will handle epg literature needs, such as a brochure. The show will rank as our top agenda item at our next meeting.
3. One day Spring Permaculture Conference: The local Energy Roundup group is looking to organize a one-day conference in the Spring. Jan suggests this would be a great opportunity to piggy-back a one-day permaculture conference, given that there appears to be some strong organizational on the part of the energy crowd. The idea was supported by those present. Jan will explore the possibility further.
4. Nick described the need for there to be at least one more co-signer on the guild bank account. Aleta agrees to be a co-signer. Jude offers also. Nick asks that Jan be properly compensated, as was originally agreed, for his contribution to the Fall gathering. It was agreed by those present that between $200-$300 would be suitable. Jan suggests $200. All agree. Nick will make the payment.
5. Nathaniel and Chris from Lost Valley sought feedback around the LVEC Permaculture and Native Plants event scheduled for May 11. Opinion was strong and varied. Jan, for example, thought it might be useful to tie-in larger societal concerns such as the petroleum crisis. Those present ageed that the guild will sponsor the event to the tune of $100 and help fund a scholarship account, at Nick and Jude’s (in absentia suggestion) to enable attendees without sufficient funds to attend the event. Nick mentioned the possibility of a $500 contribution to a scholarship fund. This set fiscally conservative pulses a-racing. Jan feels the $100 co-sponsorship fee is perfectly sufficient and feels that LVEC should be funding Guild events. Jude affirms the $100 co-sponsorship fee, and suggests an additional $100 scholarship fund for the event to build off. Chris and Nathaniel remark that the cost structure for the event is still very unclear. It seems appropriate not to formalize making a decision about any scholarship contribution until we have all had more in the way of an opportunity to brainstorm further about how LVEC and the guild might work together to tie scholarships workably into the picture. It was suggested a working group would take responsibility for handling the scholarship discussion. The possbility of a working group to handle this was discussed, but not formally initiated.
6. Website advertising. The sense of the meeting was that ‘advertising’ per se is not welcomed by the guild, but that sponsorship of the guild in the form of donations or underwriting is, and that donors and underwriters can be thanked on the website and in guild literature. It was agreed that handling underwriting/donations would be brought under the group’s Treasury function by Nick and Aleta. Jan reminded us that we can still accept tax-deductible, non-profit donations, using the Whiteaker Community Council bank account and surrendering a 4?% cut to the council.
7. Process report. Nick reported on plans for facilitation training. The most likely option currently appears to be marrying the steering committee’s training (and our commitment to make such training open to the public) to Tree Bressen’s plan to offer facilitation training to the public at large on a by-donation basis in the New Year, along the lines she successfully followed earlier in 2006. We will need to work out details of how Tree and the Guild’s relationship will work - including finances. Jan expressed concern that the Guild would end up paying for large numbers of people to attend facilitation training at a time when the guild has no ready source of income: Nick suspects that a workable solution will involve the guild paying less than pursuing the training unilaterally, would afford. He agrees to explore details with Tree. Two dates currently being considered for the training are Saturdays, January 13 or February 10. Jude would prefer the 13th.
8. Feedback on group process at this meeting: Our meeting was very informally moderated by the group as a whole. It was agreed that keeping the meeting style as informal as possible, in our traditional style, seems eminently workable. And that we can revert to the formal facilitation function on an as-needed basis (when circumstances demand it), now that the steering committee has formally signed off on empowering the role.
9. The next meeting is scheduled for 6.30 on Monday 8th January. Venue is as yet undetermined, given that we now know Jude will be out of town and her office therefore unavailable. Can anybody volunteer a space?
WINTER TWIGS. 1:00 – 4:00. $10 - $30. Meet at Amazon Parkway and 24th. With Tobias Policha. Learn to identify your favorite trees and shrubs in the absence of leaves and flowers. Winter identification requires observing many unique characters that are often overlooked, discover hidden beauty while learning a new skill! We will use the book Winter Twigs by Gilkey and Packard. OSU Press, 2001.
Contact:
Tobias at 541-513–8263, or
contemporaryethnobotany@yahoo.com
www.foodnotlawns.com
Eugene Permaculture Guild
Steering Committee Meeting
November 13, 2006
In attendance: Brad. Nick. Jude, Krishna , Julia, Sherab, Bryna, Joshua, Sue, Jan and Aleta
Opening/introductions/announcements/clarification of ground rules
-Jude informed those new to the Steering Committee (SC) that the EPG was in the process of generating new guidelines for participation and decision making. As such, new attendees were welcome to participate in discussion with the understanding that existing SC members would generate decisions.
Agenda was then reviewed and prioritized.
Update on Regional Gathering- Jan mentioned the bigger and broader focus of the Gathering Committee, emphasizing more networking and collaboration with other regional sustainability groups. Aleta added we are in the process of meeting with Oregon Country Fair staff to determine feasibility of holding the Gathering at the OCF site this coming August.
Green Home Show- Aleta questions whether the EPG will participate this coming year. Jan reports that he has been contacted by Green Home Show staff who is very keen on including the EPG. Group decides to participate. Brad, Sue and Bryna express interest in helping out.
Process Arts Group- Nick reports the need for EPG to create better process for decision making and meeting protocol. A handout compiled by the Process Arts Group is reviewed. Sue observes that more people involved with EPG will mean more structure necessary. Brad says the level of trust in the group is crucial. The recommendations as outlined on the handout were accepted by the group. They are:
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1. the steering committee gives permission for the creation of a formal facilitation function*; and that this ‘process stewardship’ role be managed by two people in any meeting – co-facilitation.
2. the steering committee respectfully commit to honor this function on an ongoing basis, with goodwill, constructive feedback, and resources where necessary.
3. facilitation training be made available – before our next meeting - to any members of the steering committee who wish for it and (in keeping with our agreement in Spring ’06) that this training be made freely available to any members of the public who wish to attend.
4. the steering committee agree, initially, to the Rule of Three**.
5. the steering committee initially commit to a basic meeting protocol which includes but is not limited to:
a. agenda planning
b. a brief (5 min) end-of-meeting feedback evaluation of meeting process
c. minute-taking with minutes made publicly available
6. the process art group continue to evolve, refine, document and research techniques and ground-rule agreements that foster healthy group culture, reflecting feedback from steering committee members.
*The role of facilitator: A facilitator is the servant of the group, the steward of the process so that others can mainly focus on content. It is a neutral role, a service role, not an authority role.
**The Rule of Three: A person must attend three consecutive meetings in order to become a decision making member. At the first meeting she/he may only listen to the group; at the second consecutive meeting she/he may participant in discussion; and the third consecutive meeting she/he may participate in discussion and be part of the consensus process.
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Bring an update to the next meeting regarding feedback from the handouts.
Leveraging the EPG/Gathering- Jan sees the evolving components of the Gathering as a great umbrella for culture change. By including more groups and encouraging further collaboration the Gathering can really create a momentum for year round activities. The Gathering could become a flagship event for the groups involved. Krishna thought of the Gathering as creating an experience to design the mosaic for the future or a preview of things to come. Jan further saw the EPG as a vehicle to generate events and activities generating interest with a speaker’s bureau, website and newsletter to bring education to the community.
Sue questions the ownership of the event as well as the notion of widening the definition of permaculture. Joshua shares that whatever is needed to promote these vital and necessary skills covers everything about permaculture. Evolution and transformation is what permaculture is fundamentally about. This kind of focus may spark a movement towards change. Brad wonders where funding will come from if the EPG is no longer the sole stakeholder. After some discussion about this topic the group decided to place fundraising and other money related ideas as an agenda item for a future SC meeting. Sue suggests that the Gathering have some sort of informational flyer/brochure for the Home Show in January. A consensus was reached for the following statement:
The Bioregional Gathering will be the responsibility of a group other than the EPG. The EPG can continue to be part of the Gathering. Should the new organizers decide to no longer continue organizing such an event, the EPG will have the option of organizing this event.
The group then shared visioning and ideas for future EPG activities-
Sherab-less talking and more action
Bryna-respect for those making a living in permaculture
Brad- encouraging other cultures to become involved
Jan-design session and education at host homes; host would provide refreshment; design would be one session and implementing design subsequent session
Joshua-irony for him of the EPG giving away expertise and his struggle at making a living; he would be willing to give away information to needy groups. Demonstration site as an education and experience center.
Julia-public access and cable stations that would be interested in sites already in existence or being created..
Sue-involving others; teaching and learning; working across the boundaries of race and class; inclusiveness is so vital.
Krishna-labor cooperative and farm/processing work brigade; using EPG skills and knowledge would be useful and important.
Jan-Solstice/ Culture Change Potluck, December 20; this would include a storytelling time for Solstice/Yuletide/Hanukkah tales.
Lost Valley Gathering of Native Plants and Permaculture (May 2007)- Nick says this is a key deep ecology event. Saying yes doesn’t lock us in. Jude will e-mail info to the group for further consideration.
Website- Brad tells the group that the website has been refurbished and is really only bare bones right now. He invites everyone to go, see and use it; make note of what you would like to see, complaints; familiarize yourself with the posting of events and discussions. Brad would further like the site to evolve into a repository of various literature and art; a FTP (file transfer protocol) area will be developed to that end. Nick sees the possibility for local ads on the site (agenda item for next meeting.) Desire from the group to have a better list serve created for the SC. Brad will use the e-mail addresses from this meeting to create this.
Next meeting- December 11, 2006 at 212 Benjamin, Eugene , OR at 6:30 PM.
Potential items for agenda:
-Green Home Show
-Process Arts Draft
-Bioregional Gathering fund/EPG fundraising
-LVEC May 2007 event
-Website advertising
Meeting adjourned about 8:20 PM.
