Attend our April 30 Meetup at Rickey Farm, Vernon, NJ!

Posted on Friday, April 14, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

We’re organizing carpools for this and future Meetups. Sign up through our Ridesharing / Carpool form.

Rickey Farm, 442 NJ 94, Vernon, NJ

Rickey Farm, 442 NJ 94, Vernon, NJ

We’ll be touring Rickey Farm and envisioning the property as an EcoVillage at our April 30 Meetup.

The place has gorgeous views of Vernon Valley and phenomenal potential for sustainable homes and structures, agriculture, businesses, festivals — whatever we can imagine! (For more information on the farm, click here.)

Seriously, this MAY BE our 1st EcoVillage!

Rickey Farm visit April 9, 2017

Rickey Farm visit April 9, 2017

Meetup Schedule:

  • 10 a.m.: Optional Pre-Session (see below)
  • 12 Noon: Potluck (and intro for new guests)
  • 1 p.m.: Main Program (including farm tour, weather permitting)
  • 4-5 p.m.: Optional Post-Session Networking

 

NEW !!  We’re testing out a new element to our Meetup format: an optional pre-session where we learn by doing a useful regenerative project. If you come at 10 am on April 30, you can help create a Back to Eden Garden — a “no-dig” type of farming that restores the soil over time. Dress appropriately, of course!

Paul Gautschi, Back to Eden Garden

Paul Gautschi, Back to Eden Garden

At noon we’ll have our traditional PotLuck.

Bring a dish and/or something to drink. If this is your first Meetup with us, please come at noon; we want to know what you’re passionate about, and we’ll share the EcoVillage NJ story. We’ll also connect you with other members.

Continue reading →

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Now is The Right Time to Join Ecovillage New Jersey

Posted on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

EcovillageNJ Members & Guests at Lise Thompson’s barn in Hillsborough, March 25, 2017

Save the Date — Sunday, April 30 EVNJ Meetup at Rickey Farm in Vernon. Sign up and RSVP at our Meetup site. 


Want to become more involved? Please update your information here.
 

What We’ve Accomplished So Far… and What You Can Do

We have more than 600 subscribers on our mailing list, including folks interested in rural, urban, and town/suburban ecovillage locations. We’ve worked through a lot of issues, partnered with the Ecovillagers Alliance, put in an offer on a property, and organized educational monthly events for more than two years — with a several dozen people attending each event. Now, we’re asking you to join us in making this dream a reality.

We’re organizing into Functional and Location Action Circles. Continue reading →

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Save the Date — Our Next Meetup will be Sunday, April 30, 2017 (Noon-4 p.m.) at the Rickey Farm in Vernon

Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

Details to follow.

If you’d like to visit the farm before the meeting, please email vzelin@crcsolutions.org. We’re planning a visit on Sunday, April 9, at 2 p.m. The address is 442 NJ-94, Vernon Township, NJ 07462.

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Tobias Fox Special Guest at March 25 Meeting

Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

We have a special guest joining us at the March 25 Ecovillage New Jersey Meeting in Hillsborough.

Tobias A. Fox is the Managing Director of  Science and Sustainability Newark, a grass roots organization implements various initiatives to increase awareness of environmental issues through educational programs and hands-on training. We strive to assist with the creation of self-sustaining communities by developing pathways for green jobs that contribute to self-sufficiency and community empowerment. We are achieving this by partnering with residents, community-based organizations and stakeholders, including local businesses

He will be talking about how to grow an urban Ecovillage that involves the neighborhood residents.   www.sasglocal.com

Please RSVP here. Thanks.

Posted in Community, Ecovillage, Ecovillagers, Empowerment | 1 Comment

Ecovillage Meetup Saturday, March 25, 2017 — Creating a Functional Organization

Posted on Sunday, March 19, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

Plug In to our New Organization Structure!

We promised you that 2017 would be a year of action, and we’re delivering — through your commitment and involvement!

This month we’ll flesh out our organization structure.

We use “circles” as the basis for decision-making. We already have three location circles – urban, town/suburban, and rural. Each has begun to research potential sites for an Ecovillage. Where do you dream of living? Join that circle!

This month we’re creating three functional circles: People, Place and Prosperity. These three high-level circles will be further divided into circles (teams) to study and make recommendations that will lead to multiple NJ Ecovillages (e.g., Site Selection, Membership/Fundraising, Marketing/Outreach, Education, Budgeting/Finance, etc.).

Continue reading →

Posted in Agendas, Community, Dynamic Governance, Ecovillage, Education, Event Listings, Organization | 2 Comments

Local Action Circles to Meet Next Week (March 6-7-8)

Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

Do you want to live in an Ecovillage? Then you must help us build one. Where do you want to live? In a city, town, suburb. or in a rural setting?

Join us next week as we plan for our new homes together in cooperation and harmony with nature. We will be researching suitable locations, local real estate and zoning laws, and laws restricting the arrangements, technologies, and activities we expect to have in our village. We will also do outreach to the community, and align with existing organizations and cooperatives. Help us make Ecovillages a reality in the Garden State!

Urban Action Circle
Monday March 6, at 7 PM
The Home of Larry White
100 Huguenot Ave. Apt. 6 B
Englewood NJ (Exit 71 on the Turnpike, Grand Ave. on Rt. 4)
917 968-8462

RSVP by phone please!

Town/Suburb Action Circle
Tuesday, March 7, at 7 p.m.
The Home of Fran Schultz
280 Main Street Little Falls, NJ

If you are new to the group or just checking us out come anyway. For any newcomers to this group, be sure to park in a visitor parking space, when you come in my building there is a buzzer panel to the left of the door.  If that doesn’t work for some reason call my cell (973-803-2896) Please RSVP to let me know if you plan on coming.

Rural Action Circle
Wednesday, March 8, at 7 PM
The Home of Victoria Zelin and Jonathan Cloud
8 Revere Dr., Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
[Note: Use “Bedminster” in Google Maps, because we’re right on the town line]
908-581-8418 or 908-507-3150

We’ll be talking about everything related to building an ecovillage, growing food, creating a co-op, and supporting other enterprises, specifically focused on the sites we’ve recently been discussing. If you would like to attend, but can’t be here in person, you can call in via Skype (just let us know if that’s your preference). Please RSVP to jcloud@crcsolutions.org. Thanks 

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Action Packed Meetup this Sunday In Princeton

Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

Have we got a Meetup for you!

Sunday, February 19 — Noon to 4:00pm
794 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ 08540

After our traditional noon to 1 pm pot luck lunch, we will have Jack Carman, President of Design for Generations LLC, a landscape architect with over 20 years of experience in the analysis, planning, design and management of outdoor spaces. The goal of Jack’s designs for permaculture gardens and natural areas is to meet the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of elders. His experience could be readily applicable within the ecovillage context. Jack recently visited the Ecovillage at Ithaca and is very supportive of the concept.

Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Ecovillage, Event Listings, Properties | 2 Comments

Our Next Meetup – Sunday, February 19, 2017

Posted on Monday, February 13, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

There’s been some interest in the idea of locating one of our New Jersey ecovillage communities in the Princeton area. So we’ve scheduled our next Meetup there — right down the block from where Albert Einstein used to live!

Sunday, February 19 — Noon to 4:00pm
794 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ 08540

More details to come, but RSVP today at Meetup.com/Ecovillage-New-Jersey-Meetup.

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Join an Action Circle to Grow an Ecovillage Near You

Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

Ecovillage NJ is forming Action Circles to actively plan and grow 1 to 4 cooperative communities in the Garden State in the next 2 years.

We have 4 circles to choose from: urban, town, suburban, and rural. Our first meetings are next week, and listed below. We will be discussing structure, decision making within the circle, assigning tasks to be completed between meetings, and conference calls for task groups. We anticipate monthly meetings of the action circles in addition to the monthly Meetups, and will have shorter meetings at the Meetups to absorb new members and follow up on business and tasks.We have hundreds of people on our mailing list. This year, we are asking for one hundred of you to step forward and make a commitment of time and money to make this dream a reality. Whether you are ready to move into an Ecovillage, or just want to be a part of their birth, we invite you to step up your involvement. We will not succeed without your vision, passion, and energy! If you are unable to attend, contact the host for the meeting of your choice, and join us on Feb. 19th in Princeton for our monthly Meetup and fold into the circle there. (For locations and contact information, continue reading...)

Continue reading →

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January 22nd Meetup – Imagining Our New Homes!

Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2017 by Jonathan Cloud

Sunday, Jan 22, 2017 12:00-4:00 PM
Zelin / Cloud Home
8 Revere Drive, Bedminster, NJ

This month we’ll be envisioning the location(s) of the first ecovillages in NJ. The process begins with each individual, as we imagine what our new home could be like within community.

Here’s an exercise that will help to articulate your vision of what that home would look like, how it would function, and who would be your neighbors:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14b-Sm4XbjrolxZSo6PYZViFQrHX6ZmHuunY2gGtCiak/edit?ts=5873e642

What considerations are paramount for you, and what are you more flexible about? Dream big!

Continue reading →

Posted in Cohousing, Ecovillage, Ecovillagers | Leave a comment