An Alternative Living Education

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Many hands make light work, especially when the alternative living project is a rammed earth solar greenhouse.
Many hands make light work, especially when the alternative living project is a rammed earth solar greenhouse.
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A few of the many seminar activities: Alcohol-powered Pterodactyls made the Ultralight Aircraft Seminar a hit among the would-be pilots.
A few of the many seminar activities: Alcohol-powered Pterodactyls made the Ultralight Aircraft Seminar a hit among the would-be pilots.
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Part of the fun in the Backyard Livestock class is visiting with newborn animals.
Part of the fun in the Backyard Livestock class is visiting with newborn animals.
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MOTHER EARTH NEWS staffers were on hand to operate our brand new sawmill, which is powered by this wood-fired steam engine.
MOTHER EARTH NEWS staffers were on hand to operate our brand new sawmill, which is powered by this wood-fired steam engine.
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Classroom discussions of biogas were illustrated by a close-up look at some methane digesters.
Classroom discussions of biogas were illustrated by a close-up look at some methane digesters.
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B. Allan Mackie — of the Mackie School of Log Building — demonstrates how to construct an attractive, low-cost home with logs.  
B. Allan Mackie — of the Mackie School of Log Building — demonstrates how to construct an attractive, low-cost home with logs.  

It was a busy, full-to-the-brim summer for MOTHER EARTH NEWS’ staff, as some 2,200 eager students, family members, and friends converged on our Eco-Village during July and August.

After the record-breaking (both in number of attendees and, for the second year in a row, in amount of rain) June seminar series, we could only hope for an equally good turnout for our Mother Earth Weeks Two and Three … and we weren’t disappointed! A fine bunch of folks showed up — from all corners of the United States and from places as far away as New Guinea and Nigeria — to visit MOTHER EARTH NEWS’ beautiful square mile of mountain property and learn a whole passel of back-to-the-land alternative living skills.

And, as pleased as we were with our guests, they seemed just as satisfied with their experiences throughout the six days of classroom discussions, hands-on demonstrations, and down-home entertainment. (As a Rhode Islander noted with pleasure, “I feel I’ve gained much more knowledge than I had anticipated — or even thought possible — from a one-day seminar.”)

We also had our share of especially dedicated seminar-goers. One woman — who visited us from her home in Columbus, Ohio during each of the first three seminar weeks — reported that the classes she attended were “very, very informative and well worth my money.” Another reader from Sweden — who was not able to attend in person — sent his daughter across the Atlantic to “take notes” for him. By the time she’d finished the final week of seminars in September, the well-informed young lady had taken just about every one of the 22 classes that MOTHER EARTH NEWS offered!

Serious Study

  • Published on Nov 1, 1980
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