welcoming friends

I love community and working with a group with shared passions. Being in Illinois doing sustainability and community felt a little lonely for a while. We had plenty of people coming through, but for short periods of time.

This year Meghan Hollister contacted me saying she was interested in learning more about our CSA. I asked her to take on a position organizing it this year while we teach her the ropes. She accepted excitedly and began work just as I left for a month in Tennessee for my apprenticeship in biofuels at The Farm Ecovillage Training Center. At that time I had someone else interested in learning about TFH Kinesiology and natural building and willing to be at moonCat regularly to help with building WWOOFers. A few others contacted us to share in our work in sustainability on a more regular basis.

Right before I left for TN my friend Ariel contacted me. I met Ariel in Taos, NM. When I interned at Earthship headquarters she worked there. Ariel and her new roommate had been looking at pictures of a cob build when they realized we were all connected. I met Andy Sahn at Christina Ott, Deanne Bednar, and Chris Mcclellan's two week cob building workshop last October in TN. Andy had apprenticed with the Cob Cottage Company and traveled around to work and learn with other Cob Cottage builders.  Andy and Ariel skyped with me one week before I was traveling back to TN to apprentice at The Farm Ecovillage Training Center and I got to spend time with them in Nashville and see what they were doing.

Andy's Gazebo build

While visiting everyone I found out both Ariel and Andy had been working with Marcus Sisk. I met Marcus in Guatemala at an Earthship build. He came back to the states and completed the Earthship Academy and started his own Earthship in TN. A couple of years ago I traveled out there to visit him and helped to pound his first row of tires. This time I got to see how much he has gotten done and was amazed.

Marcus' Earthship

At The Farm Ecovillage Training Center I learned that the Jason Deptula, whom I was apprenticing with, had lived at the same small yoga community that I had studied yoga at. It was fun sharing stories of magical experiences and interpersonal journeys of awareness.

 Jason at the house he is building

Leaving TN I felt loved and connected, not to mention all of the great new ideas I brought back from those sharing my passions.

Coming back to moonCatlife I met some of Meghan's friends who share our vision for a resilient and sustainable community. I look forward to growing and building visions with like-minded people who can transcend small differences personal dramas to create a more beautiful world.