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Maine Local Living School
nurturing the human-earth relationship
Active Hope University Homestead Immersion
A 4-10 day deep dive in bioregional living exploring elements of craft, culture, community and connection that inform living well in a place.
Our Big Questions:
~How do we live wisely in this place and in this moment?
~What is the place of physical work and craft in the 21st century?
~What does resilience look like in the 21st century?
~How do we build a regenerative economy?
~What can I do right now in my community and in my own life for climate and social justice?
~What is the best pizza topping?
Participants in this course have experiential opportunities to explore systems and philosophies of bioregional and place-based living. Using the working homestead of Maine Local Living School as an outdoor classroom, students dig into the theory and practice of crafting a life through building relationships with the world around them. Through daily regenerative acts like thinning a forest to provide fuel, or composting human waste to build soil fertility, students experience being a constructive force in the ecosystem while meeting their needs. From these daily actions spring self-efficacy and hope, powerful and grounding antidotes to the overwhelming challenges that face learners who care about the earth. Assigned readings and group discussions dovetail with daily work to deepen the scope and impact of the experience. Students leave this program with a new sense of what is possible and skills and understandings to enact positive change in their personal lives and beyond.
Essential learning outcomes:
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Create an experiential learning community and educational framework from which to explore, question and reconstruct the human-ecological narrative.
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Offer practical skill-building opportunities which empower students to engage in resilient, regenerative, and just life-ways.
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Cultivate a time and place for the experience of deep connection with the earth, ourselves and each other.
“I know of no restorative of heart, body, or soul more effective against hopelessness than the restoration of the earth.”
~Barry Lopez
Participants will (some options): weave a basket; identify, harvest and feast upon wild and domestic local foods; cook on fire; ask big questions; read voices from Indigenous, permacultural, bioregional and homesteading traditions; chop wood; sharpen a knife; milk goats; sew a patch; plant seeds; complete nutrient cycles; make their own rocket stove (extremely efficient wood-burning cooking stove). Daily routines include time for observation, subsistence chores, stillness, and community building.
Program Costs:
$125 per person per day. Minimum of 8 students, maximum of 24. We are striving for financial accessibility of our programs; our Financial Aid Request form can be found here.
Program Length: Customizable. Course content and depth varies with length and season;
recommended length: 4 - 10 days.
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