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SPRING 2010 Newsletter
by David Kirchhof
Looking back....Much of 2008
revolved around building a custom frame panel yurt for our friends Tim and
Jeannine on their property north of Sandpoint. Work here at Medicine Circle included reinstating our annual vegetable garden,
building solar and cob ovens and installing a grey water system running from our outdoor kitchen to herbs and raspberries. We also set up a humanure
toilet and composting system to reuse our human waste as a resource.
2009 was a busy year. In May we built a platform (and later, wrap-around deck) for
becky’s 21’ fabric yurt, followed by a yurt raising workshop in early June to
put up becky’s yurt and a small Mongolian yurt. In July we hosted Twin Eagles
Wilderness School’s overnight camps (for the fourth year running), followed by a
weekend Intro to Permaculture workshop. Other groups used Medicine
Circle’s facilities for their events, including an
STI (Sandpoint Transition Initiative) weekend retreat, and a yoga-based “Sacred
Relationship” workshop.
The highlight of the summer was having master educator and
mentor Bill Coperthwaite with us for 10 days to lead workshops on building a
tapered wall yurt and making spoons and bowls. People came from across the
country for the yurt building workshop—our community for the week included folks
from Alaska, Manhattan,
Wisconsin and Canada. We also had a film crew on
hand to film the entire workshop for a documentary.
We enjoyed visits throughout the summer from friends and
family. Becky added Permaculture food forests (with orchard and berry guilds) to our regular annual vegetable gardens. Daniel built a beautiful octagonal outhouse in the woods that is a joy
to visit, and added "wings" and a beverage bar to our outdoor kitchen. In August a tall, lanky man named Sean appeared to do some temporary
work, and wound up staying on to help caretake the land. We continue to benefit
from his hard work, good company and gentle presence at Medicine Circle.
Looking ahead... We look forward to offering some workshops ourselves during
the 2010 season, including three classes in herbal medicine making
and a yurt workshop where we’ll put up a Mongolian yurt and build a tapered wall
yurt for a covered eating area. Other projects for 2010 include work on our water
systems (ponds, water catchment, drip irrigation systems), building a green
house, ongoing work in the gardens and other projects to
enhance the work of the overnight kids camps, which we will once again be hosting.
SPRING 2008 Newsletter
Medicine Circle Vision for 2008
by David Kirchhof
Infrastructure
I
see 2008 at Medicine Circle as a year of in-depth planning and design, a
time to build some permanent buildings and infrastructure that will
facilitate future gatherings. We want to work on things this year so
that the land can comfortably host more visitors in the future, projects
like expanding our composting and water systems, and putting in some
demonstration gardens.
I'm especially excited about getting some yurts up, starting to put a
design in place for the landscape, and working on a permaculture site
plan.
Caretakers
It would be nice to have an additional caretaker or two here to help
look after the place when I’m not here, people who might live here all
or part of the year to join in to care for this sacred place.
In
the past people have been here as more of a retreat experience,
anywhere from months to a couple of years; it’s been a time to figure
out where they’re going, what their dreams and talents are, and then
move on elsewhere and live their vision. While
I don’t think a community is something that one can contrive (it has to
happen by attraction), we are setting the intention for the right
people to join us in caring for this place and receiving from it.
Being a caretaker
What
do I mean by “caretaker”? Being a caretaker involves helping with
gardening, learning, music, celebration and general work on the land.
We’re looking for people that really truly want to be themselves,
explore who they are, and help others to do the same.
In
a sense everyone who comes is a part of the family. Caretakers are
those people who live on the land for all or part of the year and
develop a more intimate relationship with the place so that they can
hold the space, along with the land, for what is meant to happen here.
Workshops
This
year some of our workshops will focus on infrastructure, like buildings
and gardens. Over Memorial Day weekend we'll put up a fabric
yurt together and build a wood-fired earthen oven. All of our friends
and Medicine Circle family are welcome to join us and help us set the
energy for the summer.
In June we're privileged to have Bill Coperthwaite, master educator, designer, yurt vuilder and author of A Handmade Life
join us for three workshops. For seven days (June 14-20) we will
work with Bill to build a tapered wall yurt that will become a central
workshop space and gathering place here at Medicine Circle. The weekend
after the Yurt Building Workshop, Bill will lead Saturday and Sunday
workshops on making spoons and bowls.
All of these workshops
include overnight camping and some meals. Evenings will be
spent sharing around campfires, and we have some special events
(slideshows, storytelling, poetry and music) scheduled for these
evenings as well. It will be a week not to be missed...
In July we welcome back Twin Eagles Wilderness School (www.twineagles.org)
for two week-long overnight camps, including a camp this year for 9-13
year olds, and another camp just for teens. These camps offer youth an
opportunity to steep in the teachings of the earth, connect deeply with
the essence of nature and have a powerful transformational experience in
a community of passionate learners.
We're also
finalizing dates for an Intro to Permaculture weekend sometime in August
or September. Please let us know if you're interested. |