From EcoReality

Contents 1 We're Almost There! 1.1 S.E.E.D.S. Resurrection 1.2 Thank you, super-WWOOFer Jess! 1.3 Adam Perry to present natural building August 31 1.4 Tree Bresson workshop at EcoReality

We're Almost There!

It's been another incredible couple of months at EcoReality. I've always joked that, "Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once." But Time itself seems to be broken these days, because things keep happening faster and faster. So we've had to be extra careful of the "dopeler effect" -- if bad ideas come at you fast enough, they seem like better ideas.

One of those bad ideas you always hear about is people committing to buy something they can't afford. "Yea, but that will never happen to me!" is what I always thought. After all, when it came to money, I had been sober, responsible, and never did anything foolish. (Well, not too foolish. Except for putting $5,000 into heating oil futures at the peak of the last energy crisis, just as Reagan came into office and convinced the Saudis to pump as fast as they could. That $5,000 dissipated like a shot of whiskey in an irrigation pond, and within months, my life savings were gone.)

There's a funny thing about history repeating itself, only instead of petroleum, it was the peak of the housing market, and we had a binding offer on our dream property, while still holding EcoReality Lite, our "starter" ecovillage. What sort of fool writes a real estate sales contract without a finance clause? Perhaps one who unconsciously knows that no bank was ever going to loan us a cent -- which we later proved quite decisively. If we had put in a finance clause, the deal would have collapsed at the end of May, when we swallowed hard and removed conditions of sale, hoping, praying, that EcoReality Lite would sell, or that Some Other Miracle Would Occur(TM). So, oblivious to the relentless push north of the US sub-prime crisis, we counted on selling EcoReality Lite before August 1.

But a miracle did not occur. We fretted while the showings of EcoReality Lite dribbled off to every other week or longer. We had too many sleepless nights before slashing the price. And then we turned to begging, asking you, our advisors, for any possible help you might be able to render.

But then, a couple minor miracles did occur. The seller agreed to loan us the closing funds until EcoReality Lite sold, something no bank was willing to do. There would be crushing interest payments of nearly $4,000 a month, but only until EcoReality Lite sold, which was the second minor miracle: after weeks without any showings, we got an offer. It was way lower than even our reduced price, but we were not in a position to argue.

To make a long story even longer, the conditions of sale of EcoReality Lite were removed just last week, and closing of both properties happens next Wednesday. Whew!

But we aren't out of the woods yet. On Wednesday, we'll have 53% equity, with a balloon payment coming no less than one year from now, after successful subdivision of the 63 acre community farmland. Watch this space for updates, and continue to envision talented, resourceful people coming our way who want to live in a sustainable intentional community!

S.E.E.D.S. Resurrection

Carol and I first came to this island through our involvement with the Saltspring Ecovillage Education and Development Society, a group formed for the purpose of starting an ecovillage on Salt Spring Island. Founded and held together by Tom Billings and Irja Kriegel, SEEDS had become inactive as Tom and Irja and other members travelled.

When they heard the news of our new property, Tom and Irja gathered together some of the original SEEDS group, and voted a new board that includes a majority of EcoReality members. Carol and I will resume our former SEEDS roles as Treasurer and Secretary, and Shannon will begin a new term as President.

A common model for intentional community legal entities is a non-profit closely associated with an equity organization. This is precisely how Occidental Arts and Ecology Center and Sowing Circle, a well-established ecovillage in California, is organized. The equity organization allows people the option to leave with their investment, while the non-profit can conduct proper non-profit operations on the site, such as education and public service.

We have been considering such a legal entity model for some time, but are grateful for the opportunity to carry on the work of SEEDS in a way that will allow a proper division and synergy between equity needs and public service.

Thank you, super-WWOOFer Jess!

Of all the new friends we've made during this adventure, Jess Andrews has been one of the greatest. With a dairy-farming upbringing and a new degree in Womens Studies, Jess sought out community to see if her farming roots still called her.

An observant, tireless worker, great self-starter, and wonderful work companion, Jess whipped the garden into shape, as well as organizing the workshop tools and numerous other tasks. She also enjoyed learning beading and pine-needle basketry while here, and worked on a couple puzzles, as well!

She left us on July 31st, just after my sister and family arrived for a visit. She's off on other adventures before returning to her family farm in Saint Thomas, Ontario. If you come to visit, be sure to check out the thoughtful thank-you booklet Jess made for us, which includes photos, poems, and touching thoughts pulled from her stay.

Come back any time, Jess!

Adam Perry to present natural building August 31

Natural builder and EcoReality Advisory Council member Adam Perry has been making buildings out of mud and fibre for a number of years, throughout southwest BC, the US, and Africa. Carol and I have had the privilege of working on three projects with Adam, and have been hoping to get him over to EcoReality for a presentation or workshop ever since.

Adam will start with a short movie produced by his collaborator, Elke Cole, who has designed and built numerous natural buildings throughout south west British Columbia, India, Tanzania, Germany, Costa Rica, and the US. Elke, schooled in architecture, lives in Victoria and is the Project Leader for Earth Rising Foundation’s Tanzania project.

Adam will then present a slide show on the work of Earth Rising Foundation in South Africa and Tanzania, followed by a discussion period about Earth Rising Foundation’s work, and natural building in general.

“Adam was such a wonderful spirit to work with,” said Adina Hildebrandt, who together with Andrew Haigh, owns Salt Spring Books and lives in one of the local natural buildings Adam worked on, “His knowledge and compassion made a challenging project go much easier.”

As with June's talk by Mike Nickerson, there will be home-baked cookies, refreshments, socializing, and fascinating discussions after Adam's presentation.

The presentation begins at 7PM on Sunday, 31 August. A contribution of $5 to $15 is suggested. Net proceeds go to the charitable work of Earth Rising Foundation.

Tree Bresson workshop at EcoReality

Carol and I attended one of Tree's two-day workshops in 2005, and loved every minute of it. We've been pining to bring her to EcoReality ever since. Now, Shannon has taken the lead in making it happen, and on September 27, we'll have Tree here for consensus and facilitation training. Tree specializes in working with intentional communities, and is one of the most gifted and experienced consensus and facilitation trainers out there. EcoReality uses consensus in our agreement-making, and we strongly encourage all members to take such training, ideally with the rest of the group.

This workshop is open to members and advisory council members only. (You can join the advisory council if you wish to attend.) Registration and deposit are required by August 31. Please see our web page for this event, or contact James Cowan, our Program steward, for details

Please contact James for questions or registration. Spots are limited for this workshop and it will fill up very quickly.

-- Jan Steinman