June 20, 2008  to June 21, 2008

Celebrate birth and mothering on the summer solstice in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley, just 40 minutes from downtown Chattanooga.

Friday night will feature a birth circle open to all women who want to listen to/tell birth stories for celebration and healing. Pregnant women are encouraged to attend and be inspired by this community of experienced mothers. This is a free event from 7-9pm or later if necessary. We want all willing voices to be heard.

The Childbearing Year Women’s Workshop will be held Saturday 11am-2pm. Topics include a brief overview of herbal fertility enhancement and preconception health, with the main focus on herbs and nutrition for a healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum/breastfeeding “4th trimester”. The lunch break will function as an informal Q&A group discussion on baby & child health. Participants will take home a nourishing herbal vinegar they learn to prepare at the workshop. Cost is $25 including lunch.

If someone wishes to attend both events, camping at the village or moonshadow is available. Babes in arms welcome, but childcare must be arranged for toddlers & older children. Call for registration or with questions. Rachel 423.774.2720

Both events will be facilitated by Rachel Fee-Prince: doula, and owner of Tiny Seed Herbals. Tiny Seed focuses on organic & wildcrafted local plant medicines. Products are available every Saturday morning in Chattanooga at the Greenlife farmer’s market 9-2, and the first Saturday of each month at the Point of View Open Air Market on the corner of 29th St & Dodds Ave, as well as directly from Rachel.

July 19, 2008

1:00 pm

August 16, 2008

1:00 pm

September 20, 2008

1:00 pm

October 18, 2008

1:00 pm

Would you like an informational and educational tour of SVI?

We offer tours on the third Saturday of each month so the public can check out our permaculture gardens, edible landscaping and natural architecture. Learn about our use of active and passive solar energy, water conservation and natural waste management. The tour will begin at 1pm central time. $5 donation accepted.

The tour will begin at 1pm central time (if your watch is set for eastern time, you can show up at 2pm).

Space and time are limited, so please Email Alex to reserve a spot… or phone him at (423) 949-4598.

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

patrick has been out there every day, rain or shine.

beau (who is now off hiking the appalachian trail), alex, bradley and myself have dedicated quite a lot of our time to getting this structure under cover.
randall joined us for a week and then came back a few weeks later to be on the svi staff for the spring and summer. he became incredibly proficient with the power drill and is now in the garden every day.

didi, chad and their 2 month-old daughter, pippi, joined us for three wonderful weeks. they successfully juggled childcare, cooking (every day) and helping out on the structure.

andrew donovan was here for 9 days, bouncing between bringing new life to our computers and helping out with the building. we are so grateful to him for his help and gentle nature.

david del vecchio joined us for a fun-filled week. what a treat!

a group of past interns traveled together for a weekend of construction - sean, brian, melissa, berea and adam - they brought along their friend monica, too. hop, adalila, ayanna and sarah were here that weekend, also - we all got lots accomplished during the days and had lots of fun playing games together in the evening!

meli came up from florida for 5 days during her spring break - she was enthusiastic, helpful and a pleasure to have around.

and then there have been a few successful work days - some with one helper, others with a dozen. many thanks to jon, trish, melony, jeannie, caara, gilbert, chris, will, aurelia, jake, nada, willy, ashley haley, kelsey, sean, danny, trae and jerry!

and here are the pictures!

getting the logs from the ground up to the third floor as posts was a fantastic dance of bodies and wood.

anyone who wanted to sling a drill had plenty of opportunities. the posts were drilled into place while others drilled braces between them.

it takes a village to raise a building!

beau’s final project before heading out on the trail was maybe the most challenging job he took on during his two plus years at moonshadow - the stairs from the second to the third floors. will helped get the job finished.

after the posts came the beams.

then the rafters:

and to make the structure safe for the little ones - railings (soon to be followed by a fence):

and, yes, the most important accomplishment of all - the third floor roof!

now we’re ready for april - fencing below the handrails, the stairs from the ground to the second floor, bracing to ensure more stability and our opening event on april 12th - a tour of the grounds, two performances by david rovics, a pot luck dinner and more.

- ashley ironwood and the moonshadow crew

April 29, 2008

10:00 am  to 10:00 pm

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

Our time together will be an opportunity to deepen your sacred connection to the plant kingdom through neo-shamanic practice, wild plant walks and gathering, and plant processing. Join us as we celebrate the wondrous connections between plants and people.

10am - 10 pm on the 29th, includes 2 meals (daily) and many herbal teas

we are asking for $10-25 for the day with Frank (sliding scale)

if you would like to spend the night, please plan to give $5 to the community fund.

Schedule:

Moonshadow Convergence April 28-30

Monday 28th
Frank and Jessie arrive at Moonshadow early evening

Tuesday 29th
10:00 Opening Circle with wild tea served people expressing what they would like out of the experience
10:30-12:30 Walk the Gardens: edible landscape and forest edge gardening tour and walking discussion on recreating edible Eden’s everywhere, garden spirits, plants for the future, Permaculture… collecting edibles for tea and food
12:30-1:30 lunch
1:30-3:30 hike to bluffs doing botany basics/families, ID methods and elixirs (the magic world of frank)
3:30-5:00 Quiet return to moonshadow—personal reflection time and bonding with the plants
5:00-7:00 Discussion Circle/Demo
7:00-8:30 Dinner preparation and eating
8:30-10:00 Slideshow and discussion around Plants of the World and Holistic Science and Transition Culture/Elixir Sampling
10:00-11:00 Simple Shamanic Circle sharing Mugwort etc Tea

Wednesday 30th
7:30-8:30 breakfast
8:30-9:30 Plant Walk
9:30-11:00 cathartic and enthusiastic closing circle

Retreat leader: Frank Cook

Register Online

• Registration is closed…

September 6, 2008

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

This workshop will be led by Bradley from ulinawi, the homestead next door to Moonshadow, and will focus on earthen building, cob and/or earthbags and rammed earth tires.

The workshop will also address foundation solutions like french drains, rubble trench foundations, and poured adobe floors.

…check back for schedule and more information…

November 1, 2008

4:00 pm

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

Eat, drink and be merry at SVI’s seventh annual wine-tasting for members only (you can become a member at the door).

A tax-deductible donation for the wine-tasting event is requested. We suggest a donation of $25 per person, $40 per pair, or more. The wine-tasting showcases homemade, regional and organic wines accompanied by vegan and vegetarian hors d’ouvres.

We encourage folks to spend the night. If you choose to do so, you need to bring a tent, flashlight and bedding. Come dressed in your halloween best - it’s a costume party!

October 11, 2008  to October 12, 2008

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

Come out to the Land and learn as you help us build a cob bench. We will cover the basics of building with cob and have a blast playing in the mud. We will also cover cob and masonry ovens.

For more information or registration contact Raymond Hughes at 423-693-4660. 10am - 4pm Central Time. $60-80 (sliding scale). Lunches are included.

August 9, 2008  to August 10, 2008

This event has been postponed until September… please check back soon for the final date.

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

This will be a hands-on workshop with lots of physical work involved. The root cellar walls will be built with rocks from the Land - participants will learn how to do simple masonry work. We will also discuss how you can store your food if you don’t have time or space to build your own root cellar.

For more information, contact Raymond Hughes at 423-693-4660. 10am - 4pm Central Time.

$60-80 (sliding scale) Lunches are included. Add $10 for overnight, cave tour at Moonshadow and breakfast on Sunday.

Work share credit is possible, please confirm your intentions with Raymond…

July 12, 2008

10:00 am  to 12:00 pm

Please call for directions - do not google or mapquest without also talking to us (or prepare to get potentially lost)

This simple and valuable workshop will remind us of the importance of saving our food for later in the year. Celebrate the first harvest on the land across the creek from Moonshadow. We will cover drying food, canning food, Jams, and etc…

For more info or registration contact Raymond Hughes @ 423-693-4660. 10am - 12pm Central Time. $10-20 (sliding scale)

June 12, 2008  to June 15, 2008

SVI will be found in Planet-Roo in the middle of Center-Roo for our fifth year of natural building demos, craft sales, solar stage performances and academy presentations. Come say hi!