Resources (do scroll down; many of the older resources are very timely in this new era of sustainability)  updated 7/1/10
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More about Composting Toilets (posted 7/1/10)

Peak Moment TV airs a video on my composting toilet! 
Interested in learning more, watch the video here:
http://www.wordpress.peakmoment.tv/conversations/?p=391
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Free peach trees
80 Acres of peach trees are available to be dug up and taken for free.
They are located in the Antelope Valley 15 miles from Rosemond.
For information contact
"Andrew Werner" <andrewwerner@westerndev.com>,

Spread the word.

(posted 6/1/10)
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The 9th International Permaculture Conference and Convergence (IPC9) proceedings can be viewed and heard at http://www.ipcon.org    The event was held in Malawai. Many thanks to Wesley Roe, Margie Bushman, John Calvert, Mada Siebert and to all presenters and to all those who assisted in the process of realizing this achievement. Enjoy the updated site.   Best regards, Mugove Walter Nyika, IPC9 Coordinator  (posted 2/2/10)
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New FreeSkool comes to the Westside (posted 10/7/09)
The Westside Permies are proud to announce the formation of a new group called the Westside FreeSkool.  The Westside Free Skool is an opportunity for people of ALL AGES to come together to share knowledge in a non-commercial setting to strengthen community. We believe education is a way to achieve equality and freedom. Everybody has something to teach and something to learn. By stepping out of our traditional teacher/pupil roles, we can strengthen self-reliance and the DIY (do-it-yourself) ethic. Only by sharing our skills and talents can we break away from the commodification and hierarchy of society.

Anyone can teach a class in anything they want.  WE NEED YOU!!!

The instructor finds a space in house, park, or community center, or gets help finding a space from people who help with organizing the free skool.

Please post classes you would like to teach or find out what class you would like to take at http://westsidepermies.ning.com.

History of FreeSkool
Wikipedia has an interesting opinion
An anarchist free school, sometimes spelled free skool, can be a decentralized network in which skills, information, and knowledge are shared without hierarchy or the institutional environment of formal schooling. The open structure of this type of free school is intended to encourage self-reliance, critical consciousness, and personal development. These free schools have their roots in the anarchist Escuela Moderna of Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are, at heart, non-institutional, non-authoritarian, and counter-cultural. Generally, these are formed at a grassroots level by a group of individuals acting collectively and autonomously to create educational opportunities and promote skill-sharing within their communities. These free schools often operate outside the market economy in favor of a gift economy. Nevertheless, the meaning of the "free" of free schools is not restricted to monetary cost, and can refer to an emphasis on free speech and student-centered education.

For more ideas on classes, check out the East Bay Freeskool, our inspiration.
http://eastbayfreeskool.wikia.com/wiki/East_Bay_Free_Skool_Wiki

Happy Skooling.

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Social Sustainability.    Dr. Jennifer Foskett visited LA Eco-Village in 2008 and included a lengthy and moving chapter on us in her just out book with Dr. Laura Mamo, founders of  the nonprofit  Social Green which is dedicated to enhancing green projects through an understanding of the social and human elements which shape them.  Check it all out at:  http://www.socialgreen.org/  Watch for a public talk at LAEV with Jennifer soon.  Learn about their new book, Living Green: Communities that Sustain (New Society Publishers 2009) at http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/4039
(posted 7/23/09)

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Resources for converting your lawn from a water guzzler to the new way of being in our city :  http://www.ergonica.com/weeding_tips_lawn_conversion.htm    (posted 7/23/09)

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Alternative currencies are coming of age.  Check out the Echo Park Time Bank:  http://www.echoparktimebank.com/echoparktimebank/Welcome.html

And the L.A. Eco-Village LETSystem:  http://laecovillage.org/lets.html

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Edible gardens can come to your home or neighborhood.  Here are some folks who can come personalize a workshop for you and your neighbors. using permaculture principles.  We'll keep adding to this list as we hear  about others (posted 3/18/09):

Brad Mowers bdmowers10@yahoo.com  Gives garden workshops (Brad lives at L.A. Eco-Village and works primarily in the LAEV area and Santa Monica)

George Patton c/o Lara Morrison  laraeco@hotmail.com (Lives in the central north San Fernando Valley and works extensively around LAEV)

Darren Butler allnet@pobox.com (818) 271-0963 www.EcoWorkshops.com  (Darren lives in Topanga, and works throughout the LA area)

Yvonne Savio, Common Ground Garden Program Manager.  This program is based in East Los Angeles  ydsavio@ucdavis.edu   323/260-3407 http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/Common_Ground_Garden_Program/  Master Gardener helpline:  mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu

Tyrone LaFay  tlafay@villagedesign.org 909.802.9177  Tyrone works primarily in the Claremont-Pomona area

Sean Jennings  swjennings@gmail.com  Sean works primarily in West LA areas

David Kahn  info@sustainablehabitats.org  Works primarily in Silverlake, Echo Park, Northeast LA areas

Camille Cimino  camillecimino@gmail.com  Works area wide

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Harvesting Rain:  http://www.rainbarrelguide.com/other-resources/  (posted 3/18/09)
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A Hero in the State Senate:  Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), chair of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.  See http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/03/parking_minimums_1.php for a summary of the amazing bill he introduced to the State Senate last week to "reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions by revealing the actual cost of parking and reducing governmental or government-required subsidies for parking."  Yeah!  And kudos to UCLA Professor Don Shoup who has been such an inspiration for such planning and legislation.  (posted 3/6/09)

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Some helpful resources and websites for living more sustainably in cities  (Updated 2/26/09/08)
Also, see http://www.laecovillage.org/RelatedEvents.html     Keep scrolling, this resource list is long and fun to skim.  There's something for everyone.
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http://www.350.org/     350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide--measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM--it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.  Currently, CO2 in the atmosphere
387 ppm.  350.org is a movement you can get involved in to bring awareness and action to society to get serious about this.
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Green Hive  http://greenhive.org/  a comprehensive library on sustainability. Green Hive has 
developed the concept of a moveable and easily duplicated information resource though the use 
of surplus sea / land containers. This concept will allow sustainable information to be made widely 
available on a local basis to the average business or household through easy and quick access to 
trained professionals and at the same time be able to see and touch the actual products under 
consideration.  
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Ecovillage Radio.  Kakawa Ecovillage <www.kakwaecovillage.com> founder and developer Russ Purvis has started an Ecovillage Radio series, and will be interviewing other Ecovillage founders and activists.  Tune in at:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ecovillage-Radio

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Transition Towns.  You'll be hearing more and more about this in months to come, so you may as well get a bit of a head start.  Perhaps, even think about how your Neighborhood Council District or whole town can take giant leaps forward to meet the twin challenges of Global Climate Change and Peak Oil.  More info here:

 http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionNetwork    or just google <transition towns> and especially on YouTube.com to learn lots about this movement.

And see this website for a local LA effort you can join and learn from in the Westchester community:   http://www.envirochangemakers.org/TTLA.htm            (8/4/08)

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Mobility and the City: Where Most People Live.  This 49 slide inspiring powerpoint presentation by internationally renowned bicycle and transportation activist Pascal van den Noort (The Netherlands) is available upon request from CRSP.  Pascal gave this talk to a very enthusiastic audience at LAEV in June 2008, and has given us permission to share it with others.  Contact us at crsp@igc.org     (posted 8/4/08)

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Making cities bicycle friendly:  http://velomondial.blogspot.com/   www.velomondial.net       www.velo.info      http://spicycles.velo.info 
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Los Angeles Post Carbon         http://www.lapostcarbon.org
Educating our Los Angeles communities on the issue of peak oil and taking steps to prepare ourseves for the post carbon age.

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The 7th International Eco Cities Conference and World Summit Video Presentations.  Many of the presentations at this rent San Francisco gathering attended by 100s of people from throughout the world were captured on video. More presentations and slides shows are being uploaded, so check back regularly.  http://ecocity.wordpress.com/  (5/23/08)

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Solar Hot Water.   http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm.  Amazing collection of do-it-yourself solar hot water methods.  Lots of other do-it-yourself renewable energy methods too on the top menu.  (5/21/08)
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Green Building & Salvaged Materials Resources
Many thanks to Green Real Estate Specialist Ryan Flegal <ryan@propertymix.com>, an extraordinary list of LA area resources has been compiled.  Write him to get a copy of the list (310/890-8111).   (5/16/08)

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Want to try out eco-community in an easily adaptable space for it?
Ryan Flegal has retrofitted an old light bulb factory in south Los Angeles across the street from the Firestone Blvd. Blue Line station.  Many quality salvaged materials with many new green materials too.  2 bedrom/2 ba, 2,300 sq. ft plus 4,000 sq. ft roof deck.  <ryan@propertymix.com>, (310/890-8111).  (5/16/08)

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THE ‘REUSE PEOPLE’ BRING AFFORDABLE BUILDING MATERIALS & ECO-CONSCIOUS MATERIALS RECYCLING TO LOS ANGELES AREA
 
HOME-OWNERS DONATE DECONSTRUCTED HOUSING MATERIALS AND RECEIVE TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION - NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

WHO BENEFITS:  

• All of us through a better environment
• Low income families who cannot afford to buy new
• Low skilled workers who are taught marketable skills in deconstruction
• Building owners by virtue of tax donations
• Builders and contractors through better service to their clients
• Other beneficiaries and direct recipients of our materials include:  Projecto Salesiano Tijuana, Jardine de los Ninos, Chula Vista Pony League, Habitat for Humanity (San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles County, Oakland), Volunteers of America and Goodwill Industries.
   

WHAT:  

• All building materials.  Shipments arrive on a regular basis.  Most items are priced between $25-$200.  As a general rule everything is priced at least 50% less than large retail outlets.
• Difficult to find upscale, vintage, quality retro and craftsman items
• Wood / Windows / Interior and Exterior doors with jams / Bricks / Kitchen counters / Cabinets / Appliances / Shelves / Home furnishings / Fixtures etc.

WHERE:  11017 Sutter Ave. Pacoima, CA 91331 T: 818-897-2798   F: 818-897-2807
 
For Additional Information: The public may call the ReUse People at 818-897-2798.  Media Inquires please call Julie Du Brow at 310-821-2463 or Agnes Gomes-Koizumi at 323-937.5488   (4/19/08)

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Now, a green store in the Silverlake area that does regular workshops on lifestyle changes with Deborah Tull and others.  Check it out:  http://allshadesofgreen.net/ 
(4/19/08)

323. 665.7454

3038 Rowena Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90039

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Check it out:  http://www.permibus.org/    (4/19/08)
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The Post Carbon Institute <http://www.relocalize.net/group/eugene>  assists communities in the effort to Relocalize and adapt to an energy constrained world. PCI is an international think, action and education tank with 172(and counting!) community "outposts" in 12 countries offering research, project tools, education and information to implement proactive strategies to adapt to an energy constrained world. The development of Post Carbon Institute came out of concern for the environmental, social, political and economic ramifications of global over-reliance on cheap energy.  (1/26/08)
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The Post Carbon Cities program <http://postcarboncities.net//>helps local governments understand the challenges posed by energy and climate uncertainty, and provides resources for elected officials, planners, managers and others to develop plans and responses appropriate to their communities.  (1/26/08)

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Fostering Sustainable Behavior Digest is an electronic digest of articles, resources and dialog on the topic.  Lots of information ahead of the curve.  Inquire about subscribing at  <fsb-request@cbsmlist.com> (1/26/08)

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Ecovillages on www.YouTube.com     Who'd thought it?  So many ecovillages to visit, ecovillage founders and activists to hear from.  Check it out.  I recommend especially Rob Boleman from Maitreya Ecovillage in Eugene, Albert Bates from the Ecovillage Training Center in Tennessee,  noted author on ecovillages and intentional communities Diana Leafe Christianson, Jonathan Dawson of Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, Brandy Gallagher MacPherson of OUR Ecovillage, and Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri.  Oh yes, there's even a couple of cutsy videos from L.A. Eco-Village.  Once you're on www.youtube.com, just search <ecovillage>, and they'll all come up, or search the person's name or ecovillage name.  Happy surfing.   (1/12/08)
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Weekly Cohousing conference calls, open to you...  Every Monday night at 8:00 PST we are having a conference call on co-housing subjects.  It will be professionally facilitated to assure a smooth call.  The call is open to anyone who is interested in co-housing.  There will be guest speakers, and topics each week.  The phone number is 1-712-432-2000.  The pin number is 09993#.   Chime in!  1/12/08
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The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) has created a wiki http://wiki.ic.org/, a growing a collection of shared knowledge, information, and resources for intentional communities, those interested in intentional communities, and those interested in creating more community in their lives in whatever form.  1/06/08  And to surf intentional communities, cohousing and ecovillages worldwide, articles, publications, discussions, go to www.ic.org (5/27/08)

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Resources for Post Carbon Cities, preparing local governments for energy and climate uncertainty.  http://postcarboncities.net/  (1/6/08)

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A Carfree Homepage.  http://home.earthlink.net/~jakre/carfree/index.html
The bottom line:  get rid of it.  And lots of  really good prose, statistics, humor, and culture change thinking  to help you along if you are struggling with this issue
or want to help someone else get autofree. (10/23/07)

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Assisted Living Intentional Community
Long time CRSP associate Grant Schably and his wife, who is a nurse, have opened up an assistant living home.  They really want this to be a home that can evolve into an intentional community and be more environmentally sustainable.  If you know someone who may need to be in such a home with these values, please contact them.  Sweet Serenity is located in the Simi Valley.  You can visit their website at <www.aspenhope.com>. There are also job opportunities at Sweet Serenity.  (10/23/07)

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GoinGGreen Productions
specializing in environmental films & videos
http://www.goinggreenproductions.com/

A half-hour video that delivers eco-living basics to your door. Using humor and down-to-earth examples, GOINGGREEN answers, What can I personally do to help solve the environmental problems facing us today? Narrated by Tony Shalhoub, GOINGGREEN tours the original Eco-Home™ with a group of middle-school kids who see first-hand some simple, inexpensive ways to become more earth-friendly. Guided by eco-pioneer Julia Russell, Founding Director of Eco-Home™ Network, the children discover sun pipes that light up a room without electricity,  drought-tolerant, California Friendly® gardening, non-toxic household products, munch on organic apples from one of Julia's 28 fruit trees, compost for the organic garden, get to know what a graywater system is, and make juice from tomatoes they picked right off the vine. They learn, hands-on, how to compost and have fun watching the progress of several serious-looking bugs that Julia describes as a crucial part of the "composting team." The kids ask questions and then come up with some of the answers. GOINGGREEN shows us how we can live earth-friendly lives on a limited budget, even in the middle of a city. Narrated by environmentally aware triple Emmy Award winner Tony Shalhoub (Monk). Running time is 24:20.  (10/23/07)

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Greenopia is your personal guide to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Several New books in 2006-2007 make for good reading and good resources for finding or being in ecological cooperative communities of various kinds. Here are a few of the best:

Finding Community:  How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community
by Diana Leafe Christian with foreword by Richard Heinberg (New Society Publishers, 2007, $25.95). 
See Diana's website for more detail and to order: http://creating-a-life-together.org/
"Open-hearted and hard-headed in equal measure--and with a delicious sense of humor--Diana takes the reader on a comprehensive tour of the world of ecovillages and intentional communities.  This is the volume for those exploring the options and willing to learn from those who have already trodden the path.  There could be no better guide on the path of exploring this lifestyle.  -Jonathan Dawson, president Global Ecovillage Network; author, Ecovillages: New Frontiers for Sustainability.

I was delighted to know that my friend and colleague was writing this book, and when it arrived I was happy for her and the many inquirers seeking community whom I talk and write to several times each week.  At last, a one-stop reference I could recommend for all of their questions about exploring and living in community.  However, I did not immediately jump to read the book:  Kind of a "I know what's in it, been there-done that, good to know it's out and be able to recommend it" attitude. Then, on a recent cross-country trip with several hours locked away from phones and computers, I took the book along, knowing I wanted to make a report on it.  My seat partners couldn't understand why I kept bursting out laughing.  I couldn't put the book down.  Read it from cover to cover.  I've been living in community at the L.A. Eco-Village for 14 years now and thought I had seen and heard it all, but Diana's book is full of surprises and delightful ways of describing just about every conceivable issue in the seeking and membership process.  Look at these chapter headings and if you think you want to live in community, you'll know that you must get this book.  - Lois Arkin (8/3/07)
|
SECTION 1: AN OVERVIEW OF COMMUNITIES
Chapter 1:  Why Community?
Chapter 2: Ten most common fears about joining a community
Chapter 3: Community Living-Day-to-Day (excerpt from Communities Magazine)
Chapter 4: Ecovillages: For Future Generations
Chapter 5: Cohousing Communities
Chapter 6: Urban Communities: group households and housing co-ops
Chapter 7: Rural Homesteading Communities, Conference and Retreat Centers
Chapter 8: Spiritual Communities
Chapter 9: Christian Communities
Chapter 10: Income-Sharing Communities

SECTION 2: RESEARCHING
Chapter 11: What Does it Cost?
Chapter 12: What does it take to live in Community?
Chapter 13: The Communities Directory, the internet, and You--Researching Communities
Chapter 14: Your Criteria for Communities to Visit

SECTION 3: VISITING
Chapter 15: My Marathon Tour of Communities
Chapter 16: Planning your visits
Chapter 17: Excerpts from a Community Seeker's Journal
Chapter 18: How to be a great guest (and make the most of your experience)
Chapter 19: Seriously seeking community
Chapter 20: Evaluating your visits (and debunking some assumptions and expectations)

SECTION 4: JOINING
Chapter 21: Taking a Second Look
Chapter 22: Choosing your community: The "Insider's Guide"
Chapter 23: The Membership Process
Chapter 24: Entering Community Gracefully
Chapter 25: "The longest, most expensive, personal growth workshop you will ever take!"

Appendix A:  Sample community membership documents
Appendix B: Can Living in Community Make a Difference in the Age of Peak Oil?

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The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook: Recipes for Changing Times with foreword by Richard Heinberg by Albert Bates (New Society Publishers, 2006, $19.95).  See Albert's website at http://www.thegreatchange.com/

"Who knew petrocollapse could be so tasty?  Albert Bates has shown us the way through the coming crisis with candor, humor...and good taste," writes Gregory Greene, writer/director of "The End of Suburbia" and "Escape from Suburbia"  And here's what Dr. Valentin Yemelin, climate scientist at the UN Environmental Program says about it:  A hopeful and humorous look at the next 30 years--to the world beyond petroleum! ...As we move from a global culture addicted to cheap, abundant petroleum to a culture of compelled conservation, this book provides useful, practical advice for preparing your family and community to make the transition.  Taking a positive, upbeat, and optimistic view of "the great Change," this book offers recipes for these turbulent times that mend the many rifts that oil culture has spawned. Wide-ranging in scope, topics covered include:
- Rebuilding civilization
- Changing your needs
- Water and waste disposal
- Energy and transportation
- Equipment and tools
- Food storage and first aid
Also featuring playful recipes--some using basic, wholesome foods, some illustrating food growing or preservation, and all emphasizing organic, flavorful and locally grown produce that readily substitute one for another... The books is like a Swiss army knife. Sharp. Simple. Very practical. Extremely useful. Full of survival tools, which you may need in the next five minutes or five years from now. (8/3/07)
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Watch for details on
Ecovillages: New Frontiers for Sustainability by Jonathan Dawson with foreword by Caroline Lucas (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2006, $14)

Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Solomon, photographs by Nigel Valdez with Foreword by Frances Moore Lappe (The Lyons Press, 2006, $19.95) http://www.littlehouseonasmallplanet.com/

Ecohabitat: Experiencias rumbo a la sustentabilidad, compiladores Laura Valdes Kuri y Arnold Ricalde de Jager, 2006.  This Spanish language book, with many color photographs is in Spanish and published in Mexico, $10 for shipping.  Contact crsp@igc.org

Blessed Unrest: how the largest movement in the world came into being and why no one saw it coming by Paul Hawken (Viking Press, 2007, $24.95) http://www.blessedunrest.com/

(8/3/07)

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WiserEarth <http://www.wiserearth.org/article/About/> serves the people who are transforming the world. It is an open source, community-editable international directory and networking forum that maps, links and empowers the largest movement in the world – the hundreds of thousands of organizations within civil society that address social justice, poverty, and the environment.  WiserEarth provides the tools and a platform for non-profit organizations, funders, social entrepreneurs, students, organizers, academics, activists, scientists, and citizens to connect, collaborate, share resources and build alliances.  WiserEarth is the first of three projects to be launched under WISER (World Index for Social and Environmental Responsibility): WiserEarth will be followed by WiserBusiness and WiserGovernment respectively. Another WISER offshoot currently in development is the WiserCommons project.   (5/21/07)

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Radical Caring: The People's Empowerment Publication
Dedicated to Encouraging, Inspiring, Networking, Celebrating
and Remembering Activists and Communities Worldwide
http://dsame.com/radicalcaring.html (8/3/07)

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Car Free and Car Light Resources.  About one-third of global greenhouse gases come from vehicle emissions.  Learn about the resources and places where people are radically reducing their vehicle emissions by living and working car free and car light.

List of car-free places from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The main square of Siena, Italy

This is a list of noteworthy car-free areas. To be included, areas should meet at least one of the following criteria:

• They are unusual for their country or region
• They make up a sizeable fraction of a city, town, or island

For example, Freiburg's carfree district is included because it is of significant size even for Germany; Leipzig's is not since it is merely average and is a small part of the city. However, Portland, Oregon's are included since carfree areas of any size are unusual in North America.
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http://new.carfreecity.us/

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World Carfree Network  <www.worldcarfree.net/>
Welcome to the on-line headquarters of the World Carfree Network, the hub of the global carfree movement, promoting alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning at the international level and working to reduce the human impact on the natural environment while improving the quality of life for all. Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens.
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Carfree Cities <www.carfree.com> proposes a delightful solution to the vexing problem of urban automobiles.
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http://www.autofreelife.info/
Through words and images, this Web site examines the so-called "need" to own a car. We explore the possibilities, challenges and rewards of living auto free and auto light.

On average, one-third of the population in any given community does not drive. Age, disability or finances are the usual reasons, but a few individuals choose to depend less on a car, opting for life on a human scale and at a human pace. These persons report that driving less has rewarded them with reduced stress, improved health and more spare time and money.

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Free Introduction to Permaculture Class Monthly 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
for specific dates, go to www.sustainablehabitats.org
at
Audubon Center at Debs Park www.audubon-org/debs_park.htm
4700 North Griffin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 221-2255

Permaculture offers positive solutions to the problems facing the world.  Using ecology as the basis for designing integrated
systems of food production, housing, technology and community development, you can learn to create a sustainable environment
wherever you are.

The Permaculture Design Course is for anyone interested in gaining skills and perspective for sustainable living and productivity.
A Permaculture Design Course is a way to share accumulated information with others.

This Introduction to Permaculture Class is an outline of the science and art of Permaculture. It will define the term and
its history, its founders, the curriculum of the design course certificate, its ethics and foundations. It will describe the
benefits and show some of the most important work undertaken by permaculture designers.

For More Information contact:
David Kahn 323 667 1330 or info@susltainablehabitats.org       www.sustainablehabitats.org

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Permaculture: Listen online for free at http://www.tilthproducers.org
Click on Tilth Producers Internet Audio Archive

BEGOOD CAFE.  This Japanese nonprofit organization based in Tokyo with activities in 13 major cities across Japan is emphasizing lifestyle changes through special events, concerts, conferences, and a portable veggie organic restaurant.  They are also a major resource for starting ecovillages in Japan.  Traveling to Japan?  Be sure to check it out:  <http://www.begoodcafe.com> (11/12/06)
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C.I.C.L.E. (Cyclists Inciting Change thru LIVE Exchange) <www.cicle.org>  is a not-for-profit group, based in Los Angeles that seeks to promote the bicycle as a viable and sustainable transportation choice.  Our primary objective is to get people thinking about transporting themselves responsibly -- making positive choices for ourselves, others and especially the planet. We believe in the possibility of clean air, calm and friendly streets, and a more closely connected community. We believe that by utilizing the bicycle to meet some or all of our transportation needs, we can begin to actualize this vision. We seek to unify and represent the incredible enthusiasm, diversity, and creativity of the burgeoning movement by becoming a hub for progressive bicycle news, culture and advocacy. Viva La Velorution!  Artists, media activists, writers, organizers, fundraisers, etc...  needed to contribute to our website and our organization. (11/11/06)
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THE MOVIE "COMMUNE" <http://www.communethemovie.com/>  The acclaimed documentary follows the four decade story of the Black Bear
Ranch commune, which is located near Mt. Shasta. Several notable folks emerged from Black Bear including actor Peter Coyote, herbalist Michael
Tierra, community activist Osha Neumann and his daughter Rachel, and Chinese Medicine innovators Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold. They are all in
the film.  And the film has many lessons for today's intentional communities.   (11/11/06)
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100 MILE POTLUCKS.      Share food that is grown within a 100 miles.  These potlucks could
become trendy.  Hold one in your neighborhood.   Become a  LOCAVORE.   (10/3/06)
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ANOTHER COOL BICYCLE RESOURCE AT www.bikenow.org or call (323) 478-0060. (10/3/06)
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FLEXCAR at <www.flexcar.com>.  Some recent research has shown that for every Flexcar placed in
certain neighborhoods, it can replace 14 private automobiles.  LAEV has recently had a Flexcar placed on
the CRSP owned property.  We hope this is a start toward radically reducing the number of cars in our
two block neighborhood.  (10/3/06)

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Space Share <http://spaceshare.com/>
People travel to festivals and conferences to connect. Yet their travels are often uncoordinated,
lonely and expensive. If you are planning a large event, how do you extend your welcome beyond
the conference doors or festival gate?  We customize environmental networking tools for your
event. SpaceShare web applications let attendees reach out to each other by submitting room
and transportation preferences, then our software finds the right connections... Someone to
share a flight, a room or a ride.  People travel to conferences to network; to festivals to make
friends. Make your event more environmentally friendly with carpooling, hotel roomshares and more.
Cut costs for your attendees. Offer a great way to network and make new friends. Build community.
Give attendees a few more reasons to come back next year. (7/25/06)

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Gaia University.  See www.gaiauniversity.org.  
Gaia University offers a unique approach to higher learning by offering students (called
Associates) access to accredited Bachelors and Masters degrees and Graduate Diplomas whilst
the Associate is actively engaged in self and planetary transformation. With Gaia University,
Associates link their ideals with self-directed practical experience, acting as world changers
 by working for local and global sustainability and regeneration, justice and peace.  Our self-
directed action learning methodology enables Associates to study locally, at work or on projects
supported by Gaia University's Regional Organizers, and a worldwide network of learning provider,s
tutors and mentors.  No longer do you have to choose between earning a living and studying.
With action learning your work and your projects become your places of study.  Note that GU
associates who participate in many of the CRSP Institute for Urban Ecovillages workshops will
be eligible for credit from GU.   (6/1/06)
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Wright Organic Resource Center http://elwright.net/wrightway/index.html
The Wright Organic Resource Center educates and activates people to be creative, aware, and environmentally responsible in all
aspects of life. We provide opportunities for people in the Los Angeles area, especially youth, to experience the legacy of Frank
Lloyd Wright and Organic Architecture, encouraging the creative integration of Nature, Art and Community. Our goal is to spark
the imagination of people who come to land and activate them to envision and participate in building a socially and environmentally
connected world.  Wright Organic Resource Center is located in Malibu, California on a beautiful and rustic 24 acre site where we
host workshops and events, have a resource library and a variety of demonstration projects.  Wright Organic Resource Center is a
project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, (SEE), a 501(c)3 not for profit organization providing technical assistance toward
s our development as an independent entity.

Our mission is to:

Teach and practice the concepts of Organic Architecture which have evolved through the life works of four generations of Wrights

Develop ecological and social models for future generations

Create an environment for contemplation and exchange
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Food Not Lawns, How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community. Visit 
www.foodnotlawns.com for more information and to place preorders for signed 1st Editions of the new book by 
FNL co-founder Heather Coburn Flores. With a foreword by Toby Hemenway and over 400 pages of  text, 
enhanced by almost a hundred drawings by Northwest artist Jackie Holmstrom, Food Not Lawns offers a theoretical 
and practical handbook for ecological community transformation. (6/1/06)
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The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.  A very inspiring documentary on DVD with lots of lessons for urban places.  55 minutes.  $20.   http://www.communitysolution.org/cuba.html  Also available from the CRSP library for free two week loan to members

This documentary was inspired when Faith Morgan and Pat Murphy of Community Service in Yellow Springs Ohio took a trip to Cuba through Global Exchange in August, 2003. That year Pat had begun studying and speaking about worldwide peak oil production. In May Pat and Faith attended the second meeting of The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, a European group of oil geologists and scientists, which predicted that hummankind was perilously close to having used up half of the world's oil resources. When they learned that Cuba underwent the loss of over half of its oil imports and survived, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, the couple wanted to see for themselves how Cuba had done this.  Their lessons for us are clear and inspiring.  (5/4/06)
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Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities.  Considered the current "bible" of starting and "fixing" intentional communities, author Diana Leafe Christian has a new website.  Check it out at http://creating-a-life-together.org/  (5/4/06)
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Simple Living America http://www.simplelivingamerica.org/
is a nonprofit membership organization for individuals, families and communities that fosters balance and fulfillment in a complex world. It achieves this through the Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska television series, airing on PBS stations around the country. Simple Living America members can receive a free DVD of the entire second season to organize a house party, plus the quarterly newsletter, blog privileges and more.
You can also take a simple anonymous quiz to measure your simplicity score, developed by Virginia Commonwealth University.  (5/4/06)
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Down by the L.A. River,
by long time L.A. Eco-Villager Joe Linton, is a lovingly illustrated and meticulously written guide to walks and bike rides along the river’s banks. There are short essays on conservation efforts, history, and flora and fauna of the river, but primarily it is a practical guide, explaining to would-be adventurers important details such as where the bathrooms are.  Linton, both author and illustrator, subscribes to the strategy of FOLAR co-founder Lewis MacAdams who said that if you can get someone down to the river, they’ll fall in love with it.   Wilderness Press, 2005, $17.95  (5/4/06)
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Rethinking the Commune by Barry Yeoman, March & April 2006.  Article published in AARP: The Magazine (world's largest circulation magazine).  Across America bold pioneers are building a new kind of housing for the 21st century  http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/rethinking_the_commune.html
(5/4/06)
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Los Angeles Environmental Change-makers
A circle of Environmental Change-Makers holds monthly meetings in the Westchester area of Los Angeles.  We offer speakers and topics promoting real life actions to bring society (and our city) to a more Sustainable existence.  We meet on the 4th Thursday of every month, 7-9 p.m., in the Community Hall of the Church of the Holy Nativity, Dunbarton at 83rd St., (6700 West 83rd Street), Westchester 90045.  All meetings are free.  Check us out at http://www.legacyla.net/LA.htm
(5/4/06)
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Community Tool Box promotes community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources:  http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/tools_toc.htm 
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Our movement is growing, and with it a several new books to spread the word.  Here's just a small sampling of what came out in 2005.  You can order these materials at <http://store.ic.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=34>

Communities Directory:  A Comprehensive Guide to Intentional Communities and     Cooperative Living: 2005 Edition (Fellowship for Intentional Community).  Profiles on 850 intentional communities, articles, maps and more.  Available from www.ic.org.

Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living: The Handbook by Charles Durrett (Habitat Press 2005).  Fresh off the press.  Excellent resource.  Watch for Chuck's book talk at LAEV in a few months.

EcoVillage at Ithaca:  Pioneering a Sustainable Culture by Liz Walker (2005).  Another excellent resource.  You can order it at <http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/evi_store.html>. Liz may be coming to LAEV in Spring 2005

Sustainable Community:  Learning from the Cohousing Model by Graham Meltzer (Trafford Publishing 2005 Canada).  A wonderful architect Lois met at Findhorn.  He has focussed on urban cohousing communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Head, Heart & Hands:  Lessons in Community Building by Shari Leach (Johnson Printing 2005).  

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The Bicycle Kitchen <www.bicyclekitchen.com> continues to provide a variety of services to L.A. area bicycle lovers.  They've expanded their hours and are conveniently located at 706 Heliotrope @ Melrose (2 blks west of Vermont) just south of the L.A. City College campus.  The Bicycle Kitchen was incubated at LAEV, and we're proud to see their growing success.
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Latino Urban Forum.  You can subscribe to this informative list about environmental, architectural, social justice and planning goings-on in the L.A. area by writing to <Latinourbanforum@yahoo.com>.
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Co-Abode <www.co-abode.org>
Co-Abode offers a unique "matching service" to provide single moms with one or more children the opportunity to share housing while pooling resources and finances with another single mom of their choice.  Check it out if this is what may raise your quality of life while reducing your environmental impact. 
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Ecovillage Network of the Americas <http://ena.ecovillage.org>
Catch the current e-news.  ENA's mission is: To engage the peoples of the Americas in common effort to join the global transformation towards ecologically, economically and culturally sustainable human settlement.  Our goals are to demonstrate how to meet the needs of present and future generations for a safe and healthy planet to inhabit, and to link like-minded projects in the Americas.
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Communities Directory
The new print version of the Communities Directory has recently been released.  You can order it at <www.ic.org>.  You can also access its information on that website via a searchable database.   Click on <Communities Directory>.  You'll be amazed at how easy it is to find all the communities in the world that are part of the intentional communities network.  
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Green Building Resource Center in Santa Monica
Doing some rehab or new construction work and want to make sure you're using the least polluting, least toxic, most local, most recycled content materials available and just can't seem to do the time to do all the research?  Well, take a sigh of relief.  Now, here in our very own region, brought to you by Global Green and the City of Santa Monica, you can visit on-line, in-person or call the Green Building Resource Center.  They also sponsor very information special events and use interns on a six month rotating basis.  <http://www.globalgreen.org/gbrc/>, 2218 Main Street, Santa Monica, 90405, 310/452-7677 <gbrc@globalgreen.org>.
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Fallen Fruit  <www.fallenfruit.org>
Fallen Fruit. is an artist project about mapping of all the 'public fruit' planted on private property that overhangs public space. This project encourages people to harvest, plant and share public fruit. The project is a response to accelerating urbanization, as well as issues of grassroots community activism and social responsibility. The
mission of this web project is to expand our community fruit maps, photos and essays to create an online global public fruit resource.

Fallen Fruit was originally created for The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Volume #3, 2004.
This artist project is a collaboration of Dave Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young.

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