Hosted By
Center for Holistic Ecology
In Association With
Gaia University
Solari Investments
Ecovillage Training Center
Living Mandala
Global Village Institute
The Leadership School
Oklahoma Food Cooperative
Facilitators
Catherine Austin Fitts
Andy Langford
Liora Adler
Albert Bates
Jennifer Dauksha-English
Greg Landua
Thomas Hupp
Luke Staengl
Robert Waldrop
Jonathan Cloud
Sylvia Palmer
Ruchi Singhal
Johnathan Gonsky
Debbie Landers
Cindy Ayers
Eric Wagner
Jonathan Cloud
Carolyn A. Betts
Court Skinner
Franklin Sanders
Jason Eaton
Susan Johann
Anais Starr
Pat Therrien
Valerie Seitz
Matthew English
Ethan C. Roland
Course Inspiration
What Does a Sustainable Working Economic Model for a Modern Rural American Community look like? Communities throughout America are looking for the solutions to increasing energy costs, shaky financial markets, changing ecosystems, and job losses in a globalized economy. How do we respond to a world which seems to present us with changes and challenges almost daily?
Course Description
Join community investment experts, permaculture designers and sustainability entrepreneurs for this dynamic gathering and integrative educational experience of Greening an American Community. Learn valuable tools and skills in real life scenarios to address the economic and environmental challenges of 21st century America. In this real-time Green Business Development Summit we will explore creating forward looking sustainable businesses, money cycling, local investments, and optimizing the local natural and human resources to implement models of regenerative business and local sustainability.
Get access to cutting edge content about new business models, key industries, design solutions, and green investment opportunities that are ecologically and socially responsible as well as economically profitable. This workshop is a participatory, hands-on experience and design charrette to explore implementing regenerative economic models and applying them to create real, actionable business plans and investment opportunities for a zero-waste economy in the small town of Hohenwald, Tennessee.
Join a diverse crowd of local and national leaders including small business owners, city council members, financial advisors, permaculture designers, investors, accountants, construction workers, philanthropists, local officials, students and more as we come together for this real-time Green Business Development Summit to create solid businesses solutions and tangible investment opportunities to empower robust local responses to the challenges faced by communities around the country and planet.
FAQ
What kind of people should come?
This course is designed to be an inter-generational, trans-cultural and interfaith opportunity to learn how to leverage local resources, diversity and talent to create business opportunities that give back to the local community, bio-region, country, and the world. Attendees will include lawyers and bankers, small business owners, philanthropists, community organizers, investors, financial planers, accountants, construction workers, permaculture designers, financial advisers, city council members, local officials and students of ecology, education and business, and more.
Are there any pre-requisites required to coming?
While a background and understanding of permaculture as well as business is not required, it is helpful. There will also be a recommended reading list for the course.
What is the format and educational style?
The education style for this event will be content driven participatory design. We will be providing key content from experts in financial planing, investment, ethanol production and engineering, green construction & natural building, cooperative legal structures, and more. We will also be utilizing the knowledge and skills of participants using open space technology and design simulations. For more detailed information about the course instructors and facilitators click here.
More Frequently Asked Questions?
Click Here to download a pdf file of frequently asked questions and more detailed information.
Goals Articulation
There are three overall goals for the event:
1. Local Participation:
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-Local Economic Development
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-New Green Businesses Incubated
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-Education
2. Model Green Business Development
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-Consolidate and add value to existing models
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-Replication of simulated designs
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-National participants disseminate model in their communities
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-Generic template for green business development
3. Model Community Development
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-Consolidate and add value to existing models
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-Replication of simulated designs
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-National participants disseminate model in their communities
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-Generic template for community development
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-Networking forum
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-International conversation
Additional Goals
1. Enjoy the community of being together and have a great time.
2. Create linkages between networks of economic development, permaculture, and finance leaders.
3. Enrich templates for community development and green business start-up.
4. Begin the development of business start-up and investments that contribute to the financial health of Hohenwald, TN on a permanent basis.
5. Connect through blogs, videos, audio to collaborate with and further inspire people around the world doing similar things.
6. Create a powerfully, hopeful vision of how changing the flows of money in an ecosystem can help to transform our situation that will help expand options and build political and economic support for business, community, and government leaders across America and the world.
Adding Value
The strategic value of this event on the local community is three fold:
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1.Educational Value: We're offering a cutting edge educational opportunity to an otherwise disadvantaged rural area. This event is bringing national attention to Middle Tennessee, highlighting the area as a prototype community/region successfully facing current day challenges.
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2.Economic Development: Through the event we'll be simulating the design of 5 new green businesses to be developed in the area. We've already held 4 design sessions open to the public to prepare for the October simulation. At these sessions we surveyed the businesses most needed in the region. We've enlisted more than 20 local representatives, senators, bankers, brokers, lawyers, etc., to assess the feasibility of the designs produced through the October simulation.
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3.Environmental Protection: The event is going to be a 'Green' event. We'll be calculating and then offsetting our carbon footprint. The offset will go directly to planting trees in this county and to local biochar production. We're implementing every strategy that we can to 'Green' the event. We'll be marketing the event locally as 'Green' and educating the local participants about our efforts.
Summary of Possible Outcomes:
1. Specific business designs for Hohenwald, TN
2. Generic models for specific businesses
3. Generic business start-up templates
4. Specific and generic local economic development models
5. Specific and Generic community development models and networking templates
The Primary Focus of the Design Teams will be on the development of practical and applicable business designs relevant to Hohenwald, TN and Lewis County.
Outreach & Collaboration
The strategic value of this event on the national or global community will be most noticed through our collaborative post event forum. Documentation, communication and outreach are an integral part of our design strategy because we want the idea of Financial Permaculture and the design model for community economic development that we're co-creating to permeate media networks. We'll accomplish this through our organizational network and our outreach campaign.
Our organizational network consists of an interdisciplinary coalition of individuals from the business, non-profit and education sectors who have come together to create a forum to address the economic and environmental challenges of the day. There are eight organizations involved with the event. Through grassroots organizing, participatory design, and democracy we are working with local communities to create holistic and regenerative economic solutions for local and international sustainability. We're opening up the idea of Financial Permaculture over blogs and wikis on-line to encourage cross-pollination between professions and diverse demographics to further build on the idea and increase media hits. We hope to have open and diverse portals of entry for people around the world to join in this conversation and development.
