Friday, June 15, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
Healthy Future Farm
Healthy Future Farm is at the base of Mount Equinox in Manchester, Vermont. We are a small family farm. We sometimes hold yoga and activist retreats here. We hosted a yoga retreat with Teri Leigh in 2007. New England 350.org climate activists gathered for a summit meeting, (highlight was a talk by Bill McKibben in our big room!) We hosted volunteers for the Wanderlust Festival last summer and created a cheerful scene that felt like "an ashram for a weekend." That's the spirit we'd like to infuse our gatherings. To me, 'Ashram for a weekend" means a sangha of practitioners, gathering good will and cooperation, to serve a Larger Cause. Ideally, folks organize to come with a friend or few, have fun weekend, everybody goes home more powerful with some internalized awesome art, and we support our struggling family farm with some green energy.
guest house details and prices
lodging: $20 a night, $75 for 5 days
food: $10 a day or bring your own food.
includes free yoga classes
Do expect: clean sheets, ecological soap, good coffee, fresh bread, herbs and veggies, good meals, washer/dryer access, nature trails.
Details on getting here from NYC:
Ideally folks carpool! Or, we can arrange pickup for guests, with small fee for gas/driver's time. Our ideal is to meet folks at http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak in Albany. We encourage folks to catch this bus: Megabus departs Friday 2:40 pm from NY, West side of 9th Ave between 31st and 33rd St, arrives Albany 5:25pm, Rensselaer Station, 2hrs and 45 minutes trip, $12. Monday return trip: 1:30pm, Albany, Rensselaer Station, arrives 4:15pm at 7th Ave & 28th, (an earlier bus is possible if folks want.) Megabus online: http://us.megabus.com/Default.aspx People could ride the rails & take a beautiful trip along the Hudson, leaving NYC 3:15 arriving 5:45pm, $40. http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak
Ski/snowboarding: we'll have access to some ski/snowboard gear/clothes. We'll schlep people to the mountains, (Bromley, Magic or Stratton Mountain are the closest) Ski/snowboard lessons are available. Retreats would probably go half day Saturday and/or all day Sunday, depending on enthusiasm. Winter hikes, snowshoeing and nature explorations are also available.
Yoga: Our big room can fit about 20 mats. We have a big wood stove suitable for creating a warm yoga space.
Musicians: We can make high quality music recordings in the big room. We invite bands to stay with us between gigs. Late post-gig arrivals welcome.
History of Healthy Future Farm: My family moved here when I was 8. For the last ten years, we've been an organic farm, successful in swiss chard though not so profitable. We were certified organic by NOFA for 4 years. Over 30 guest farm workers stayed with us thru the WWOOF.org program. Last summer, I took a 'fallow' year-off from farming last year, to concentrate on other passions, like activism, music and writing. This summer I'm enjoying the growing again.
Because we are looking out for everybody's happiness, we politely discourage people from coming who are easily dissatisfied with housing. We'll have clean sheets but we aren't the Hyatt. We are not a rehab or a mental health clinic, so the struggling should seek those services elsewhere. We invite people willing to do some of their own dishes and to contribute to the well-being of the Farm. We especially invite people who are dedicating some of their life in service of Mother Earth and Divine.
Healthy Future Farm intends to create a space that feels safe, ethical, healing, fun, spiritual, honest. We offer this work to the Divine, in the spirit of karma yoga, and invite the Divine flow to protect us, lead us to success and help us save the planet.
for the Earth,
Theo Talcott
Manchester, Vermont
theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu
802 362 4428
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Aspiration for Climate Work Weekends
(Editor's Note: This is the design for a gathering of Climate Activists.)
Please join us for a gathering of people to work on the Climate Crisis. We want to bring together people for weekends of creativity and collaboration.
Here is a description of the events:
The Climate Activist Skills Teach-in: We hold a teach-in around climate issues. We'll have some video cameras and we'll make some video to support the movement. A recent letter from Bill McKibben and 1Sky encouraged us to talk more about the Climate Crisis and Climate Science. So we will! We'll study the Council Method. Based on Native culture, Council helps people talk in a deliberate, heart-centered about emotional topics like planet death by oily stupidity. Also, we'll have a workshop on using media, running cameras, editing, etc. We'll film an episode of a cable access TV show called "The Climate Show." We'll also be making a short film called "Explaining the Climate Crisis in Our Own Words", to start digging into the science in people's everyday language. We need to start putting our voices into the media about the Climate Crisis, so come get some skills and say your part! And, we'll begin a collaborative art project called the "Global 350 2-minute Teach-ins" where we invite people to give a two-minute talk on a Climate-related subject before a big Beck-style blackboard. Hopefully we'll create twenty segments and then we'll offer it to the worldwide web to complete the other 330 episodes. People are encouraged to choose topics they want to teach! All that and we'll eat really good food, too.
The Climate Crisis Art & Music Summit: This weekend will focus on creating music and art about the climate crisis. We'll have a public event at the farm's backyard amphitheater (ok, sloping lawn) on Sunday Nov 7 at 1pm to present some of the work. Expect songs about CO2 and an insta-artist colony of earth advocates.
"What will the Climate Work Weekends look like?" you ask.
"Work Weekends" are gatherings to get stuff done. They are a party with a purpose, designed to be productive yet fun. They will produce useful action and art that serves to build the climate movemes.
To support the farm's financial sustainability, guests are invited to donate 40$, or equal value in food or work running the retreat. People are welcome on a sliding scale from generous to free, according to their ability. (No poor folks turned away, no generous donations refused!)
See info online at www.healthyfuturefarm.blogspot.com, call 802 362 5219, or email theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu.
for the Earth,
Theo Talcott
Please join us for a gathering of people to work on the Climate Crisis. We want to bring together people for weekends of creativity and collaboration.
Here is a description of the events:
The Climate Activist Skills Teach-in: We hold a teach-in around climate issues. We'll have some video cameras and we'll make some video to support the movement. A recent letter from Bill McKibben and 1Sky encouraged us to talk more about the Climate Crisis and Climate Science. So we will! We'll study the Council Method. Based on Native culture, Council helps people talk in a deliberate, heart-centered about emotional topics like planet death by oily stupidity. Also, we'll have a workshop on using media, running cameras, editing, etc. We'll film an episode of a cable access TV show called "The Climate Show." We'll also be making a short film called "Explaining the Climate Crisis in Our Own Words", to start digging into the science in people's everyday language. We need to start putting our voices into the media about the Climate Crisis, so come get some skills and say your part! And, we'll begin a collaborative art project called the "Global 350 2-minute Teach-ins" where we invite people to give a two-minute talk on a Climate-related subject before a big Beck-style blackboard. Hopefully we'll create twenty segments and then we'll offer it to the worldwide web to complete the other 330 episodes. People are encouraged to choose topics they want to teach! All that and we'll eat really good food, too.
The Climate Crisis Art & Music Summit: This weekend will focus on creating music and art about the climate crisis. We'll have a public event at the farm's backyard amphitheater (ok, sloping lawn) on Sunday Nov 7 at 1pm to present some of the work. Expect songs about CO2 and an insta-artist colony of earth advocates.
"What will the Climate Work Weekends look like?" you ask.
"Work Weekends" are gatherings to get stuff done. They are a party with a purpose, designed to be productive yet fun. They will produce useful action and art that serves to build the climate movemes.
To support the farm's financial sustainability, guests are invited to donate 40$, or equal value in food or work running the retreat. People are welcome on a sliding scale from generous to free, according to their ability. (No poor folks turned away, no generous donations refused!)
See info online at www.healthyfuturefarm.blogspot.com, call 802 362 5219, or email theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu.
for the Earth,
Theo Talcott
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Event Space at Healthy Future Farm
Let our farm host your retreat. Our colorful house can host your friends and family. Our farm can provide lots of healthy organic food. A ten acre field at the foot of Equinox Mountain can host tents and bonfires under the stars.
The farm has an acre and 1/4 of organic fields in production. In previous seasons, we have been certified organic by NOFA-Vermont.
For yoga retreats, we have a big room suitable for up to 25 yogis.
We are dedicated to providing environmentally righteous events, good for you and friends and family and good for the Earth.
We are four and half hours from NYC, 3 from Boston, in Manchester, Vermont.
For more information or to arrange a visit, call us at 802-362-4428 or contact theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu. Check out our blog at
The farm has an acre and 1/4 of organic fields in production. In previous seasons, we have been certified organic by NOFA-Vermont.
For yoga retreats, we have a big room suitable for up to 25 yogis.
We are dedicated to providing environmentally righteous events, good for you and friends and family and good for the Earth.
We are four and half hours from NYC, 3 from Boston, in Manchester, Vermont.
For more information or to arrange a visit, call us at 802-362-4428 or contact theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu. Check out our blog at
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)