permaculture

[cshaw <cshaw@mum.edu>]

**PIONEERING ENVIRONMENTALISTS TO OFFER WORKSHOPS IN FAIRFIELD, IOWA**

Michael Corbett, Time magazine "Hero of the Planet," to Speak at 
Eco-Fair


Michael Corbett, hailed by Time magazine as a "Hero of the
Planet," and author Eliot Coleman, master organic farmer, will
be among the internationally famous speakers at Eco-Fair 2002,
a weekend of lectures and workshops being offered by Maharishi
University of Management May 9­12.

The goal of Eco-Fair 2002 is to educate people about the
latest, most efficient, practical, affordable, and ecological
technologies.

Ongoing events scattered throughout the campus will include
workshops, booths, an environmental film festival, an eco-art
exhibit, a variety show, and a fashion show. There will be
tours of the Abundance Eco-Village, a hike sponsored by the
Sierra Club, and a tree planting.


Sustainable Communities and Year-Round Farming

Mr. Corbett is the architect of Village Homes, the first
sustainable community in North America. Located in Davis,
California, and established in the early ¹70s, Village Homes
has combined sustainable community design with agriculture and
is a successful prototype for eco-friendly, energy-efficient
communities. He is a co-author of Designing Sustainable
Communities: Learning from Village Homes and will speak about
steps involved in establishing sustainable communities.

Mr. Coleman, master organic farmer and author from Maine, grows
vegetables year-round using inexpensive techniques without the
use of fossil fuel. His approach removes the confines of the
growing season and provides technologies for conserving energy
and the environment. Eliminating the need for shipping produce
further reduces fossil fuel use.

"We are pleased that this year's Eco-Fair will feature
individuals who have done so much to show that it's possible to
live comfortably and well and yet still avoid damaging and
depleting the environment," said Marielle Savard, one of the
organizers. "We think this weekend will be interesting and
useful to anyone who is concerned about living in harmony with
the environment."


Living "Off the Grid"

Other speakers include George Swanson, one of the nation's
leading experts on energy-efficient, non-toxic building
materials. In recent years he has completed more than forty
low-toxic, energy-efficient, "fully breathing" buildings.
Lonnie Gamble, an electrical engineer and co-owner of Abundance
Eco-Village, an ecologically oriented development in Fairfield,
will discuss his own home, which is completely run by renewable
energy (solar and wind). He has been living "off the grid" for
the past 20 years. He will also lead a tour of similar
sustainable homes in Fairfield.

Also presenting will be Mrs. Hiroko Goto, an 80-year-old
environmental and peace activist from Japan. She will talk
about the EM Bokashi composting method, which accelerates the
growth of microorganisms beneficial to the soil.


Open to the Public

Many of the presentations and events are free and open to the
public. The Coleman and Corbett workshops will range from $10
to $30 per half-day workshop. Evening presentations will be $5
general admission. The fashion show will be $4.

Co-sponsors of the event include The Leopold Group of the Iowa
Sierra Club and the Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-
Renew). I-Renew will have its Solar Traveler 1,000-watt
portable solar power station on exhibit during the Eco-Fair.

Eco-Fair 2002 is also being supported by donations from
American Pride, Everybody's Whole Foods, Iowa Progressive Asset
Management, Creative Edge, First National Bank, Fairfield
Lumber, Insultech, and Soil Technologies; by grants from
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and from Wal-Mart;
and by in-kind contributions from the Sierra Club, Abundance
Eco-Village, Natural Merchants Association, Iowa Renewable
Energy Association, and Alok Singh.

Maharishi University of Management is located on Highway 1 on
the north side of Fairfield, Iowa. For a complete schedule of
events, see http://www.ecofair2002.org. For more information,
please call Joan Masover at Iowa Progressive Asset Management
at 641-469-4000 or 800-509-9096 until May 1. After May 1, e-
mail Marielle Savard at msavard@eudoramail.com or phone 641-
472-9180.

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