July 2012 Volume X

Stopping to Reflect

A Note From Dastan Khalili & Sheefteh Khalili

It is not always easy to stop what we are doing and take a moment to step back and look at the bigger picture. Running a nonprofit is full of challenges, and often we just keep our heads down and focus on taking care of the day-to-day needs. It is truly selfless work, just as our father intended it to be; focused on service to humanity above service to oneself. In his first book, Racing Alone, he writes, “My quests became more meaningful when my goals met with others’ needs and goals.  And I became important, in my own heart, only when I reached the others, as a drop of water becomes important only when it reaches the sea.” His quest lives on at Cal-Earth through the dedicated team of instructors and apprentices who work tirelessly to share this knowledge with the people throughout the world who need it the most.

There are still a few instructors at Cal-Earth who studied under Nader Khalili, but now, there are many who never had the privilege of meeting him. Some might ask, is his spirit and essence still present in this work all these years later, or has it been lost? The answer to that although our father is gone, he is very much alive in this work. In Spain our students still end each workshop with the same Rumi poem he shared year after year, “Earth turns to gold in the hands of the wise,” or as they would say, “La tierra se convierte en oro, en las manos del sabio”. Throughout the world our students are finding one another across borders and languages as they share in this experience of building with the earth.

We are on our way to hosting a total of 20 workshops this year, the most ever in the history of Cal-Earth...and half of those are in other countries. We are honored and blessed to have the opportunity to spread our father’s important work to people all over the world and we look forward to seeing how Cal-Earth continues to grow and evolve in the coming years. Thank you to all of our supporters and fans, we haven’t met all of you, and many of you never met our father, but pick up a copy of Racing Alone or watch his video clips online and you will feel like you are sitting in the Rumi Dome at Cal-Earth with him as he shares his favorite stories.

Sincerely,

Sheefteh Khalili, CFO
Dastan Khalili, President

	Upcoming International Workshops
	Location	Date	Details
	Naturmaz, Spain	30 July-5 Aug 2012	7 day workshop, €600
	Caceres, Spain	9-15 Aug, 2012	7 day workshop, €600
	Bogota, Colombia	27 Aug-1 Sept, 2012	6 day workshop, 1.450.000 COL$
	Melbourne, Australia	Sept/Oct 2012 TBD	Two 6 day workshops planned details TBD

Cal-Earth is coming to Iowa!

Cal-Earth is launching an off-site workshop program for people who live in other parts of the United States and cannot travel to California. The workshop curriculum is based off of our standard week-long workshops at Cal-Earth but modified in some ways since there are no pre-existing buildings to work and learn with. Participants will have the opportunity to build a dome from beginning to end and learn each part of the process. The workshop is organized by Cal-Earth and taught by a Cal-Earth instructor. Students are also provided with the same study materials included in the Cal-Earth workshop program.

JULY 23-28, 2012: West Branch, Iowa

Location: This workshop will be held in West Branch, Iowa, just 10 miles outside of Iowa City.

Accommodations: Camping accommodations are available on the site or there are plenty of hotels and motels in the area to chose from. For those who register early we'll try to arrange for a group discount in one of those hotels.

Tuition: $950 (Included in the tuition is a full set of educational books and DVDs from Cal-Earth. Additionally, breakfast is provided each morning of the workshop.

If you are interested, please submit an online workshop application and the required $200 deposit. Once you have registered, you will be contacted by the Cal-Earth instructor with all the additional information regarding the workshop (travel details, what to bring, etc.)

This workshop will only be possible if we have 10 or more participants, so please register as soon as possible.

Director's Corner

Isn't it said that good things take time? First we must set our course and eventually our quest takes us to where we need to be. So we set our intentions and off we go! Yet we cannot control when, how, and with whom these intentions might manifest. Since the passing away of our architect things have been reasonable enough at Cal-Earth—all things considered—but there has been a sense that we were waiting for something. Our intentions were set and have sustained us through some choppy waters—yet we can never tell when things will skip along quickly and easily or when they will drag.

Our recent intentions have began to blossom into tangible results and although the tide will always ebb and flow, things have been great at Cal-Earth for some time. Research and development is moving forward on-site and our long-term apprenticeship program is producing high caliber individuals. What's interesting right now is that Cal-Earth is part of a much larger and dynamic moment in the human story! We live in exciting and dynamic times! Sustainable cultural solutions are vital. Since we interact with many individuals and groups in the US and also overseas, it is clear that sustainability is a rapidly increasing global imperative and that citizens all over the world are themselves setting new intentions and witnessing an almost magical high-speed manifestation of those intentions. My guess is that the experience at Cal-Earth Institute at this time, and the manifestation of our intentions previously set, is being mirrored all over this planet and that the greater movement towards a better way of life is emerging so quickly that no account of its unfolding will ever be current! There is much good news—and even the bad news is propelling the good news.

I sign off for now, excited about this moment and with a message that our work, all of our work for justice and for equality, is manifesting right now as we take our very next breaths! Follow your intentions, don't ask when, don't ask why—just keep doing what you are doing. And as the Sufi mystic poet Rumi says: "mitarash o mikharash"– just keep sharpening your pencil and scratching your paper!

Ian Lodge, Site Director

2012 Workshop Season

Second Annual Permaculture Workshop: October 8-19, 2012

Last November, Cal-Earth and Midwest Permaculture offered a combined workshop. As a member of the Cal-Earth team, I had the privilege of participating in the Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) portion of the workshop. It was a great experience. The Cal-Earth team and Bill and Becky Wilson of Midwest Permaculture have decided to offer a second combined workshop this fall. All of us at both organizations are excited to be able to provide such a brilliant learning opportunity once more.

But the excitement is rooted in more than just providing an excellent education. The relationship between earth architecture and permaculture can be described as “symbiotic.” The mission of Cal-Earth—the reason so many people, myself included, come to Cal-Earth to learn to build—is guided by the crazy notion that shelter is an absolute right for all human beings and that all people should have the ability and the tools to build a home for themselves.  This idea alone is powerful. This idea, coupled with the design principles espoused by permaculturalists can surely affect positive change in the world we inhabit. Permaculture holds three core tenants: fair share, care for the earth, and care for the people. From these tenants follow the twelve design principles which teach the students to (among other things) take the time to observe and interact with nature, catch and store energy, produce no waste, and creatively use and respond to change. Cal-Earth teaches its students to build their homes and communities with the earth beneath their feet. Superadobe, and earth architecture in general, is about creatively responding to the natural and social constructed world around us. It is about creating closed-loop systems and designing beautiful earthen structures that can care for communities of people and restore the natural systems of the earth.

Perhaps a better word than “symbiotic” would be “synergistic”—wherein the whole is much greater than the sum of the individual elements. Superadobe and permaculture—the brilliant and singular elements—together form a remarkable instrument for change in this world. This is what makes the second combined permaculture and superadobe certification workshop so exciting. It is not the information taught, though that is crucial to the success of our alumni, but the potential of this work in the hands of the dreamers who come through Cal-Earth each month determined to change the world. Workshop Details The combined workshop will deliver the full Cal-Earth and Midwest Permaculture (PDC) curriculum and upon completion students will receive both their superadobe and Permaculture design certificates. Space is limited for this workshop and early registration is highly recommended. The deadline for applying is September 24, 2012. Dates: October 8-19, 2012 (12 days total) Cost: $2500 (includes Cal-Earth Workshop Certificate of Completion, Full set of Cal-Earth Books and DVDs, Permaculture Design Course Certificate, Permaculture Design Book, Access to both Cal-Earth & Midwest Permaculture Forum) As with all Cal-Earth workshops, some partial scholarships are available. http://calearth.org/permaculture

Children’s Workshops

Education and training are central to Cal-Earth’s mission and as such, we offer tours and workshops for children and teens of all ages. Students learn how to use earth under their feet as a building material and the role buildings play in building a sustainable future.

The interactive tours of Cal-Earth are offered for students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade. They two hours long and include a discussion and the opportunity for students to play and explore the site. The four-hour long workshops are offered for students between the third and twelfth grade. Workshops include a tour of the site and hands-on experience building with brick and superadobe.

Interactive Tour: Grades K-12 Two hours $10 per student Guided tour and discussion Exploration and play time	Youth Workshop: Grades 3-12 Four hours $25 per student Guided tour and discussion Exploration and play time Building with brick Building with superadobe
To schedule a field trip for your school or classroom send an email to workshops@calearth.org

Open House at Cal-Earth

Rumi Corner