Farm Fresh News - April 2015
Hi Friends,
One thing I have noticed over the years is that media attention seems to come to The Farm in waves. Over the last month I have met with a regional magazine out of Florence, AL, aimed at young people 15 to 35. I did tours and interviews for a Lawrenceburg newspaper, a freelance reporter and photographer from Chattanooga doing a piece for the BBC, representatives from the TN State Office of Sustainability, and an intense several days with a 12 person crew for a show called "United Shades of America."
The Farm has a long standing tradition of using the media as a microphone to talk to a broader audience about sustainability, nonviolence, living with nature and that there are alternatives to mainstream culture! I continue to be amazed at how living in community leverages our ability communicate with the world!
I hope you will come join me to celebrate the joys of spring during the April Farm Experience and over Memorial Day Weekend at my annual conference  on Community and Sustainability. I am sending out a special invitation to birthworkers, doulas, apprentices, and midwives to attend our first annual birthworkers retreat. It looks like it will be a busy spring!
Thank you for your interest and support!
Douglas

Greenlife Retreats
Workshops, Tours. Great Food, Music 
ALL WE NEED IS YOU!
2015 Dates

The Conference On Community and Sustainability - May 22-24
For many of us who now live in community, this has become our life’s work. But every single person started out with a basic commitment to change our direction and follow a path that would lead us to community – whether we knew it or not!
 
 
When people ask me how to get started, how to change their life, I tell them to set a goal. Think about where you want your life to be 10 years from now.
 
Now consider your half way point. Where will you be in 5 years? Paint a picture in your mind of the life you desire. Your greatest hopes and aspirations.
 
Two years from now is right around the corner. To achieve where you want to be into two years, you need to make changes in your life that will set the tone for the next year, the next month, even the next week. What will you do today?
 
One of the strongest steps you can take to set yourself firmly on the path to community, is to attend the Conference on Community and Sustainability here at The Farm. And the amazing thing is… I have seen the results of this over and over again.
 
Marty was at last year’s conference. He went back home to Seattle, packed up his stuff, and  has been living here at The Farm since last September. Rhiannon came 2 years ago and made her move to our community just a few months later. Rick attended 12 years ago and has been with us for a decade now. He found a partner here and they have built a new home. He now runs our radio station and is the bass player in multiple bands. And these are just the folks I know directly.
 
There have been folks who were living in communities that have needed to re-inspire their vision. Others find they leave here fired up to buy a homestead and fulfill their personal vision of sustainable living on the land or build community in an urban setting. Some make the decision to hit the trail, exploring other communities until they find the place perfectly suited for them. It is all about recognizing that the time to live the life of your dreams is now, and getting started!
 
I believe that we are all energy beings… but even the strongest battery need to be recharged from time to time. The purpose of conferences such as this one is to pass through the community generator, to surround ourselves with like-minded people who share our vision of a peaceful and sustainable world. This is one of the best ways to build up our strength and carry on.
 
I hope to see you here in May! Now take the next step and register today.
http://farmcatalog.com/communities_conference.html

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Spring is the absolute best time for a hike on Big Swan Headwaters Preserve!
 

Join us April 18 for Big Swan Headwaters Day

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United Shades of America
Several months of planning finally came to fruition with the arrival the last weekend in March of a 12 person crew shooting episodes for a new show on CNN called United Shades of America.
The host of the show is a comedian named W. Kamau Bell, and I became a fan when Kamau had a show called “Totally Biased,” produced by Chris Rock. It played for 25 episodes on FX (and FXX), covering topical news to the left of Jon Stewart.  Kamau is from the Bay Area and I felt like we were on the same page politically. This gave me confidence that we would be portrayed in a positive, even if  humorous light. You can check out some of the Totally Biased episodes on his web site http://www.wkamaubell.com/ 


Robbin and Kamau shoot a selfie following a golf cart off-road "Safarmi."

About a week before the crew arrived I met with one of the producers and showed him around, introducing him to various people to possibly include on the show. The one hour episode will feature Joey and his sophisticated compost operation, and my wife Deborah with a mom and dad and their three month old baby, some of her more recent midwifery clients. We stopped by the Ecovillage to meet  the new ETC apprentices, and talked with Pete Schweitzer about Plenty International and the origins of The Farm. We even had an extra-large bee suit so Kamau could take a look inside my hives.
 
The show is expected to air around the first of the year.

The guys from the brewer's coop provide a taste of some of their latest beverages.

Kamau watches as I smoke the bees. The camera man only got stung a couple of times.
Thanks again for your time and attention.
Douglas

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Spread the word. Spread the dream!
Give  Out to Change the World and The Farm Then and Now

I hope you'll join me this year for a first hand look at The Farm during one of my GreenLife Retreat Weekends, and that you will find the inspiration you need to pursue your dreams and your chosen path!

Douglas

Out to Change the World
The Farm Then and Now

Order both and save!

Farm Experience Retreats and Workshops  2015 Calendar

March 20-22   Farm Experience Weekend: Spring is our favorite time of year, and attracts our largest number of participants. 

April 17-19   Farm Experience,The Land: On Saturday afternoon we'll hike to a waterfall in the 1475 acre Big Swan Headwaters Preserve. The Saturday night dinner and entertainment will be a fundraiser for Swan Trust.

May 22-24   Community & Sustainability Conference:    Memorial Day Weekend 
Your opportunity to explore the connection between lifestyle and intention.

June 3-7   June 3-7   Organic Gardening Intensive: Five days of hands-on gardening as well as garden tours on and Off-The Farm to visit Amish country, a bamboo nursery and more.

July 15-19   Summer Family Retreat: We'll spend the week swimming, hiking, listening to and playing music, enjoying really great food and each other's company. 

September 18-20, October 16-18   Farm Experience Weekend:  Don't miss fall on The Farm! the crisp, cooler temperatures are always a special time of year!

Now it's up to you. Register today! 

Midwifery Workshops: www.midwiferyworkshops.org/

Swan Trust Activities & Hikes   Contact: foreverwild@swantrust.org

Permaculture Apprenticeships: Learn straw, cob, earthbag, turf roofs, bamboo, thatch, clay plaster, adobe, alis, and food self-reliance at the Farm community.

Spiral Ridge Permaculture - Workshops and Classes

 Meet your host: Douglas Stevenson

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Birthworkers Retreat  May 15-18, 2015
A weekend to celebrate all those called 
 in service to mothers, babies, and the miracle of birth. 
For midwives, their assistants, apprentices and doulas 

The Birthworkers Retreat has been created as a weekend of sharing and networking, 
teaching and learning, reflection and empowerment.
The goal is to bring forth energy and rejuvenation, inspiration and sacred experience.
 
You are invited to attend a retreat that honor those who have chosen this very special path.
 
Grandmothers, mothers, daughters...Sisters who share a special bond. 
The journey of the birthworker is so much more than a profession. To be a Birthworker is truly to heed a calling.
 
Come this spring for what will assuredly be a very special weekend! 
Click here to see the weekend schedule of events.

Green Life Retreats
A division of Village Media Services
PO Box 259Summertown, TN 38483
931-964-2590 - office 931-626-4035 cell
Douglas@villagemedia.com
www.villagemedia.com
www.greenliferetreats.com
www.douglasstevenson.com 
Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com

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