GET IT ALL

It's that time again... Twin Oaks Communities Conference time! The Transition Team has been attending this conference since 2013, and as each year goes by, more and more Transition supporter and Contributors join us there. It has become an annual reunion of sorts even though most of us have never met in person. It's great when we have our members from all over the US (and sometimes out of the country) come and get to meet each other. So far the farthest someone has come was Germany! We hope to have YOU there this year as well!

Here is more about the conference taken from their site:
"If you live or want to live according to the values of cooperation, sustainability, and equality this conference is for you. You’ll get something out of this event whether you’re brand new to communities and cooperatives, or have been living and working in them for decades. The conference focuses on Intentional Communities, including models such as Ecovillages, Cohousing, and Housing Cooperatives, and the larger cooperative movement, including all kinds of cooperative and collective organizations.

The Twin Oaks conference site has open air facilities and the basic registration option includes camping. Indoor accommodations are also available (for an additional charge). Meals and snacks are provided (including food contributions from participants) from Friday dinner through Monday dinner.

Activities at the conference include formal workshops and presentations, open space workshops provided by participants, community introductions and networking, tours of three different intentional communities, a rockin’ dance party, and plenty of time to hang out and have fun."

More info about the conference can be found here: http://communitiesconference.org

The Transition Team keeps a tally of how many people are intending on going each year so we can make time to:

• personally meet with you
• spend some meals together
• give you more one-on-one time to help you with your personal projects you are currently working on

The Transition Team's Seed Nicole Bienfang has had her workshop approved for this year's conference. So she will be speaking again this year and representing The Transition while in attendance. The name of her workshop is: Where’s the UNITY in the Communities Movement?

The following is the workshop description:

"When you look at the writings of many founders who started ICs their intentions were to create a concept that grew to global proportions, but how does that happen when there is no unity of vision on how to grow the communities movement? How can we build a global system that supports our growth on a grassroots and global level when each IC acts as an isolated silo? This workshop intends to dig deep into these questions and many more like them. Through group participation we will find out what participants are currently struggling with, what is working for them, how neighboring communities can better support each other, and what overlapping issues resonate with all of us present. Here you will find practical advice and resources with opportunities for self-reflection using group participation to illustrate workable examples and determine the focus our session takes.

Things we will cover:

How each individual can contribute to the global growth of the IC movement

How to prevent founder burnout

How to create partnerships between individuals and ICs that are mutually beneficial

How to tap into an IC mutual aid network for tangible items and skills

This workshop is right for you if you are:

Struggling finding IC members that meet your ICs needs or criteria

Need resources or funding to get your IC off the ground

Would like to reduce your stress in founding your IC

Could use some sage wisdom from people who have “been there done that”.