road trip to other areas for netoworking

[David]

hey group,

I am gonna be going through Nashville the next couple of weekends and was wondering who would like to road trip and visit Gigi and Sara;s urban farm?

we could also set up a meeting with the members in the Nashville area.

what do the rest of you think?

[Kat]

No spare time right now. Working hard to set up my own urban farm,,,lol...and having a hard time keeping up with the hastening emergence of Spring. :)

[Sandi Brockway]

How far will you be from Summertown?

[David]

about 1.5 hours is south of Nashville near Columbia TN I would be willing to make that trip as well.

The cost of the classes offered at The Farm is a large obstacle to most of the folks I know. I understand the need to charge for the classes. I also feel the successful completion of the class is an investment. Most folks investment funds are scarce right now.

That is why i suggested a group road trip so the cost and impact could be reduced.

I will keep this thread up and see who else is interested.

[Kat]

Can you post more info here? So we can know about the classes (times, dates, location) ,etc.? Or did i miss a post elsewhere? Also, didn't get back to my prior post in time to add that I *do* want to see Gigi and Sara's farm sometime. It's just that time is really tight right now... Learning via DIY is a good investment too *giggle*...just takes a lot of work/time. It'd be great to visit personally with some experts!

[David]

A couple of the members here are residents of the Farm I hope they will post information regarding the offered classes. other wise just google the Farm in TN

or the link is http://www.thefarm.org/

[Kat]

Thank you. I've heard good things about the Farm. I wish they were closer. :)

[David]

SVI http://svionline.org/

does much of the same work but they are not as well known. They did not start as a commune so don't have the history. I look forward to getting over to Whitwell and seeing how we can help each other. They are close and seem to be good folks.

The road trip was just an idea cause i was traveling though Nashville any way. I will be doing so again. I just was wondering if any one else takes periodic trips and wouldn't mind some of us tagging along.

[Sandi Brockway]

If Summertown is expensive on their classes, i do not recommend for anyone with limited funds. I am big on self learning. I am a self learner. but i do spend lots of time looking through books and looking at how other people do stuff first for ideas. Occasionally i go to events and conferences, like Bioneers.

i like learning in small groups and doing practical projects. There is so much information at our fingertips now, too, with the Internet. I was thinking if Summertown allowed tours or day visits, it might be worth a trip. They have been doing this stuff longer than any of us.

I think Albert Bates here is part time resident of Summertown. I think he just wrote a book too. you can read about them online, and nothing is stopping any of us from emulating some of the stuff they do in our communities with the opportunities that present themselves to us locally. We have an abandoned grammar school here, and i am trying to get some interest in doing something in the way of a transition, permaculture, post petroleum center and school.

i think a regional networking trip does sound like a great idea. Every time i have tried to plan one, though, something monkey wrenched it.