Natural Building Colloquium

The sixth annual! ~ * ~ Seven full days!
Sunday, July 26 through Saturday, August 1, 2009
hosted by The PeaceWeavers :: Thunder Mountain — Bath, New York

Natural Building
and
Sustainable Living

From natural building and permaculture techniques to water and energy conservation . . . from alternative fuels to sourcing your food locally . . . this event is important for everyone concerned about how their lifestyle impacts our Earth.

It's the sixth year that the PeaceWeavers have hosted this family-friendly event at the Thunder Mountain Retreat Center near Bath, New York, offering very full days of teaching, learning, building, and networking. Top experts, authors, educators, innovators, designers, and builders offer hands-on experience and educational presentations with "close to the earth" building materials and lifestyle choices.

But in the end, there's one really important thing that makes these events amazing. Sure, there's all kinds of new, fun, valuable things to learn — tactile, hands-in-the-mud stuff that you just don't get from the books or the internet. Sure, people can pick up tricks and tips to save precious days and months of misdirected time and effort, as well as thousands of dollars of misspent money, on their own projects and in their lives. Sure, there's the great food, the beautiful natural setting, the music, and so much more. But in the end, the most rewarding and inspiring thing is the rare privilege of being with so many talented, smart, caring, willing, extraordinary people... some of whom just happen to be world-class natural builders, sustainable thinkers, and do-gooders. It's the people — all of them — who come together at Thunder Mountain that are the best thing of all.

Join us for our 6th Natural Building Colloquium!

— a hands-on event with an emphasis on natural building and sustainable living in the northeastern climate. Meet and be inspired by some of the movement's foremost natural builders, designers, and sustainable living educators.

Workshops, demonstrations, and presentations include such topics as:

Strawbale · cob · cordwood · timber framing · earth sheltered buildings · straw-clay infill · permaculture · community-supported agriculture · living roofs · thatching · renewable energy (wind, solar, and more) · natural plasters & finishes · building with hemp · alternative fuels · log cabin construction · international building projects · building codes · and much more...

(Presenters, workshops, & presentations are subject to change.)

· On-site camping and all meals (vegan) are included
· Arrive between 1-5 pm on Sunday, July 26th to set up camp;
opening ceremonies are at 5:00, with dinner and an evening
presentation to follow
· Event ends mid-afternoon on Saturday, August 1st

Register early for savings!
	Adults (18+)	College Students	Kids* (5-17)
Before July 15th	$675	$475	$275
After July 15th	$725	$525	$325
· 50% deposit due at time of registration — balance due by July 15th. · * Must be accompanied by an adult; otherwise college prices apply. · Deposit less $150 processing fees refundable through July 15; no refunds after this date. · Visa/MC/Discover/AMEX accepted. Link to the registration form (.doc format).

To receive information about upcoming PeaceWeavers retreats, events, products, specials, and words of inspiration, fill out the form on the home page to join our mailing list. Once you've completed the form, look for an email from The PeaceWeavers and click the blue link to confirm your subscription. Your privacy is safe with us, and you can unsubscribe from the mailings at any time by clicking a link at the bottom of any email we send.

The 2009 event has concluded.

But check these out:

PeaceWeavers to Host Natural Building Colloquium in Bath, NY

'Green' living techniques to be taught (same article here)

'Green' construction takes center stage (same article here)

NBCNY 2009 - Thinking about Thunder Mountain...

Some photos

Thunder Mountain site of environmental, musical programs

Lots more photos

2009 Registration is Open

All the info is here.

2009 PeaceWeaver Colloquium Dates Announced!

Sunday, July 26 through Saturday, August 1, 2009 - stay tuned...

Well, the 2008 PeaceWeaver natural building colloquium is over now...

But there's pictures! Mark Piepkorn is sharing his here. There are also oodles of fabulous photos in the PeaceWeavers' photo archive — start here and then scroll up... and here's the rest. If you took pictures and have them posted somewhere, let us know — we'll put up a link so others can enjoy them too.

So how was the 2008 event? We asked a few random participants:

"When I heard about this I knew it was going to be cool, but I've had ten times more fun than I ever thought I was going to. It's like nothing I've ever experienced. I'll definitely be back."

— Matt M

"I've been getting very interested in natural building, and this was recommended to me as sort of an overall vision of that. It's been great, very useful."

— Sue J

"Awesome. The timber framing project is great. Great instructor. Incredible group of people. And I had a ukulele lesson! It's very embracing."

— Liz J

"One thing I love about this colloquium is that it's a community — the fact that they invited all the adults to be aunts and uncles to the children... I love that."

— Kristen R

"With fuel depletion, peak oil, and climate change happening, it's easy to understand the many compelling reasons for natural building. This is where it's at for a sustainable future in housing, building design, performance, community design... the whole thing."

— Dan M

"Connections — connections to people, connections to the natural methods, and ways to learn and grow."

— Dave M

"The presenters are really awesome — they've got a lot of great information and really seem to know their stuff."

— Chris M

"Coyotes got into my fuel tank and drank all my grease last night."

— Tad M (who drives a veggie-oil car, and was kidding)

"This is great! I was sort of expecting 'hippies.' There are people here with progressive ideas, but still planted in reality. People I can really identify with."

— Clay D

"This is my second year here at this gathering. For me it's a combination of inspiration and vacation, retreat and refuge. Being around people who are thinking the same thing as me — mostly — except for the crazy stuff — is such a gift. I can't imagine not getting here. It would take a pretty big blizzard."

— Georgie D

"No matter what age you are, or if you have children or not, this is a great place to come and play, or let your inner children come and play."

— Alison B

"I worked on the strawbale a lot, and I'm really inspired to go home and try it out. I've been really enjoying the company of the people I've been working with."

— Emily A

"It's out of my own skin a little bit — but this is a place to grow into some new skin. Very refreshing."

— Aaron V

"I've been coming up here every year, learning a lot about natural building and community. I enjoy the food, and sitting around the campfire is really nice in the evening, talking to people. I just love being up here."

— Janice B

"The best people in the world are on Thunder Mountain today."

— David L