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Commenced:
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01/01/1994 |
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Submitted:
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02/02/2011 |
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Last updated:
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07/10/2015 |
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Location:
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184 Schoolhouse Rd, Summertown, TN, US |
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Phone:
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931-964-4474 |
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Website:
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http://www.thefarm.org/ |
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Climate zone:
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Warm Temperate |
We are a whole systems immersion experience of ecovillage living, together with classes of instruction, access to information, tools and resources, and on-site and off-site consulting and outreach experiences.
An ecovillage is only different from a traditional village in its ability to be sustained indefinitely into the future. In all other respects, it may have all of the features people in the industrial world have come to expect, like electric appliances, refrigeration, and videogames.
"It is a misconception that living in an ecological way involves sacrifice and hardship," says founder Albert Bates. "Many modern designs for buildings, vehicles, and new materials require no change in habit whatsoever, while reducing environmental impacts significantly."
ETC has hosted courses in permaculture, organic certification professions, herbalology, installing solar electricity and water heating, and yurt, bamboo, cob, earthbag, roundpole, and strawbale construction, biofuels, midwifery, an annual children's camp, and ongoing demonstrations in alternate energy, hybrid vehicles, constructed wetlands, horse farming and sustainable, carbon-negative agriculture. We inaugurated a student exchange program with Israeli kibbutz, Russian and Brazilian ecovillagers and a social justice program for training disadvantaged populations. We have ongoing projects in Palestine, Mexico, and Belize that our graduates can become directly involved with.
The Ecovillage Training Center assists transition towards a sustainable society by instruction in meeting basic needs for food, shelter, energy, fuel, gainful employment, and community process and progress. It comes around to understanding the needs of Earth's natural systems and the human role in healing and helping.
ETC offers an immersion experience in sustainable living: courses and workshops, apprenticeships, and special demonstrations in green lifestyles. Set amongst the Farm's 5000 acres of protected woods and meadows, the Ecovillage Training Center is a living laboratory with a mandate to save the world. Sustainable technologies and principles surround you as you study and work throughout the training center---its eco-hostel, organic garden, forests, swales and ponds---in a permaculture consciousness, within an outstanding networking community of students and teachers.
ETC hosts courses with a mix of paying participants and social justice participants. Trainees from all over the world include foreign students, disadvantaged and homeless children (Kids to the Country), indigenous peoples from Mexico and Central America, Israeli Kibbutzniks and Palestians, and Native Americans. Social justice participants are drawn principally from the surrounding 8-state mid-South region, with special focus on Nashville and Davidson County, where the Center works with the Green Neighborhoods Project and Earth Matters Tennessee. Seventy to 100 social justice program trainees take part in the program each year, with thousands of community residents affected.
We are also actively engaged with the relocalization and transition towns movements and bringing that into our five-county surrounds.
Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.
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MemberA member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation. |
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Permaculture MatchmakerOne of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile. |
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PDCPeople who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world. |
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PDC VerifiedPeople who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation. |
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PRI PDCPeople who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world. |
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PDC TeacherPeople who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world. |
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PRI TeacherWith the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable. PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows. |
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Aid WorkerThe individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation. |
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ConsultantThe individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation. |
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Community ProjectCommunity projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency. |
