NEW COURSE FOR EARTHY ACTIVISTS
Earth Activist Training

10th - 24th July 2004, England
with Starhawk & Erik Ohlsen
Ragmans Lane Farm, Gloucestershire

A permaculture design course for visionary activists:
Learn the skills to transform a piece of land, a community and our political and economic systems.

Permaculture is a system of ecological design. Spend two weeks in rural Gloucestershire learning:

• Nature and wilderness awareness.
• Diversity in ecosystems and in our movement.
• Pattern thinking in design, strategy, and movement building.
• Solutions that exist: alternative energy, organic farming, natural building, bioremediation and restoration.
• Soil and forest ecology and ecological economics.
• How to collect, conserve, and clean water.
• Ecological base camp design for action camps
• Movement building, strategy and direct action principles and practices.
• Consensus process, facilitation and conflict transformation.
• How to transform fear, rage, grief and frustration into creative action.
• How to stay grounded and centred in tough and challenging situations.
• How to create ritual and weave magic into action.  … and more!
• On completion, participants will receive a permaculture certificate.
• Participants will take these skills back to their communities and actively share and apply them.

Core facilitators:

Starhawk is a lifelong activist, direct action trainer, ecofeminist and author of many books that link earth-based spirituality with political struggle, including The Spiral Dance, The Fifth Sacred Thing, and The Twelve Wild Swans: A Journey to the Realm of Magic, Healing
and Action.  www.starhawk.org

Erik Ohlsen is an experienced permaculture teacher, community organiser and activist from California.

There will also be visiting guest speakers.

Cost (including two weeks accomodation and all meals):
£100 - £400 sliding scale according to income:
£400 waged
£250 low income
£100 unwaged (This is negotiable).

We welcome applications from people with disabilities, although unfortunately the venue is not wheelchair accessible.

Accommodation will be either camping or small dorms/bunk rooms.

The food will be vegetarian and organic as far as possible.

Selection criteria: As there are only 21 places available on this course, it is necessary to have a selection criteria rather than accept people on a first come first served basis. Priority will be given to people who are:

• involved primarily in the activist* community/movement 
• have some experience of being involved in activism.
• involved with local groups and who will make a commitment to share what they learn with their own communities and affinity groups 
• are active in the UK, although we are open to applications from people in Europe.
• would be interested in thinking and planning for the G8 meeting in the UK in the Summer of 2005

* we do not have a restrictive definition of what an “activist” is and invite people to give us their own definition as part of their application.

The closing date for applications is Monday 31st May 2004.

If you are interested in taking part in this course, please contact the organising collective for an application form, at:

Earth Activist Training
C/o 3 Yew Tree Cottages
Pitt Court
North Nibley
Glos
Gl11 6EB
or e-mail:  earthactuk@123mail.org