HSS Week 3
This week was definitely the most “kinesthetic” week of the program, as we got to do hands-on mapping activities, in-field surveying, and painted the entrance to the maintenance building!
Lost Valley Week 3 – A-Frames and Artwork
First Ecstatic Dance
My First, First Saturday Ecstatic Dance
I was still reeling from Friday’s LEAF and was in a very vulnerable space. Which probably influenced how I experienced my first ecstatic dance at Lost Valley.
Lost Valley Week 1 – Orientation and Classes
Holistic Sustainability Semester Week 1
All but one of the students had arrived by the time Monday began, and we had gotten to meet each other helping move-in and set-up, running into each other around town and in the bathrooms!
Lost Valley Week 1 – Move-in and Introductions
Holistic Sustainability Semester Week 1 (Pre-Program)
My first week at Lost Valley Education & Event Center was like stepping through the wardrobe into the edible Eden of Narnia, combined with a “polar plunge” into a new subculture (inside of a subculture) that took me some time to adjust to – having come from urban-suburban Frisco, Texas.
Finding Lost Valley – Pursuing my PDC and EDE
I resigned from my latest agency job at the end of July to pursue what I feel is my next step in life, earning my PDC and EDE from Lost Valley Education & Event Center in Dexter, Oregon.
While the Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) and Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) certifications are offered in many places around the country, and the world, I chose Lost Valley because it was one of the few locations that offers both certifications, has a long running history of development, is recognized by Gia Education and UNESCO, and teaches classes in English!
Receiving my PDC and EDE are not essential for me to make a difference in the world, but I would rather educate myself on proven tools, strategies and sciences so I can better help others so they can help themselves.
To provide a little background context, I consider myself a fairly self-reliant person and strive to blaze my own trail through life. So the idea of financial handouts and institutional dependency grinds my gears. Which lends itself to the timeless proverb…
“Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”
This proverb really resonates with me, and motivates me on how I can give back to the world – by teaching others to be self-reliant, with the hope that the change reverberates into the world. And in my case, this involves agricultural techniques and enriched community practices.
So continue following my adventure as I post more blogs, document my trip and share insights of what I’m learning!