Schumacher College :

Schumacher Experience - Autumn 2013

Monday, 28 October 2013 12:51pm

28 October – 2 November | This week-long programme allows you to take time from your normal routine and immerse yourself in the rich daily life of community at Schumacher College. It includes a walking field trip, lectures on holism and sustainability and facilitated group work. Satish Kumar will join you for a morning of conversation and a fireside chat in the evening. Read more…

Outdoor Development Days for Professionals - WildWise in association with Schumacher College

Monday, 23 September 2013 12:05pm

Schumacher College has partnered with WildWise’s to deliver their 2013 professional training programme. This exciting programme of courses is designed to develop skills and resources and to inspire professionals working in the field of outdoor and environmental education. Find out more…

Agroecology - The Future of Farming?

Monday, 23 September 2013 11:49am

September 23-27 2013 | Colin Tudge, John Letts, Tim Crabtree, Jane Pickard and John Crisp Agroecology is an alternative approach to agriculture that treats each farm as an ecosystem, with many different kinds of crops and livestock interacting synergistically. Learn why this form of farming is so vital for people and planet, how to start your own project and how to make a living from it. Read more…

Ecological Design and Earth Restoration

Monday, 16 September 2013 2:04pm

16 – 20 September 2013 | John and Nancy Todd | Ecological design has come to mean many things to many people. This week-long course is a unique opportunity to go back to first principles with two of the early pioneers and explore what ecological design means now and how we can best use it to re-design and restore our surroundings. Read more…

Exploring the Wild Mind: A Soulcraft Immersion

Monday, 05 August 2013 2:44pm

5 – 9 August | Bill Plotkin and Geneen Marie Haugen | Join nature-based soul guides Bill Plotkin and Geneen Marie Haugen in an experiential exploration of our human psyches as unique expressions of the universal forces and patterns of nature. Read more…

Ecosocialism - visioning a new world

Saturday, 03 August 2013 3:12pm

August 3 – 7 | Joel Kovel This fascinating course offers a unique opportunity opportunity to gain a full understanding of Joel Kovel’s influential body of scholarship. The course explores many themes, from ecological principles, to an in-depth understanding of socialist theory and critique as it applies to the current ecological and socio-economic crisis, and the philosophy of value and spirit. Read more…

Radical Ecopsychology - a new psychology for our times

Monday, 22 July 2013 3:00pm

July 22-August 2, 2013 | Andy Fisher and Joel Kovel | How do we imagine an ecological society? What would remain of “psychology” in such a society? How might we integrate Ecopsychology into the social and material life of our existing society? This is a once in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with Andy Fisher and Joel Kovel as they break new ground in defining the practice of Radical Ecopsychology. Read more…

The Economics of Happiness - Localisation

Monday, 22 July 2013 10:52am

22-26 July 2013 | Helena Norberg-Hodge | Join one of the true pioneers of the ‘new economy’ to examine the personal, social, ecological, and economic benefits of shifting direction – away from the globalising economic path toward localisation. Read more…

Complexity and Collaboration: Applying Complexity Theory to Organisational Transformation

Monday, 15 July 2013 9:55am

July 15-19 2013 | Eve Mitleton-Kelly | Successful organisations no longer operate in a “top-down” fashion, and benefit from empowering their employees to work collaboratively. This course will introduce you to some key principles of complexity theory and learn how they can be applied collaboratively with the aim of transforming an organisation by co-creating a new culture, structure and way of working. Read more…

A Wild Land Dreaming: Living Language and the Erotics of Place

Monday, 01 July 2013 4:36pm

1-7 July 2013 | With David Abram and Martin Shaw | Join renowned author and geophilosopher David Abram, and master storyteller Martin Shaw, for a venture into the heart of the ecological imagination. Awaken your creaturely senses to experience, through the power of story and word magic, our wild land dreaming. Read more…

Living Soil: An holistic perspective

Monday, 01 July 2013 9:29am

1 – 5 July 2013 | Bethan Stagg, Stephan Harding, Patrick Whitefield, Charles Dowding and Satish Kumar | This course is for anyone wishing to understand the alchemy of soil and the pivotal role the soil ecosystem plays in the balance of nature. There will be practical and experiential soil sampling and composting, as well as discussion about soil and spirituality, soil ecology and managing soils for a ‘low carbon’ future. Read more…

Walking Dartmoor: History and Heart

Monday, 24 June 2013 3:13pm

24 – 28 June | Inga Page Tom Gloyns and Chris Salisbury | Join Inga Page, Dartmoor guide and founder of Dartmoor Walks This Way along with composer Tom Gloyns and storyteller Chris Salisbury on a course where you will explore the many dimensions to this wild and beautiful landscape and the history embedded within its hills and valleys. Read more…

Leading from the Future: Using Theory U to facilitate change and innovation

Monday, 24 June 2013 11:08am

24-28 June 2013 | With Martin Kalungu-Banda, Jane Corbett and Otto Scharmer (video-link) | How can we shape change to move to a society that lives within planetary limits and brings the social, economic, ecological and spiritual dimensions of our lives into a better alignment? In this experiential workshop we will work with Theory U, a method of learning from the future as it emerges and growing the capacity for deep innovation and collaborative action. Read more…

Earth Pilgrim

Monday, 17 June 2013 12:31pm

June 17 -22, 2013 | Satish Kumar, Stephan Harding, Martin Shaw and Raoul Martinez | Our popular Earth Pilgrim course returns to our Summer 2013 programme. Join Satish to share his thoughts on the importance of bringing soul into the heart of everything we do, and how this can enhance your creativity and work for sustainability and peace. Read more…

Rise! Bread baking for beginners

Thursday, 13 June 2013 2:31pm

Have you ever wanted to bake your own bread? This is an opportunity for beginners to work with our experienced team of cooks at Schumacher college and learn the basics of bread making. Read more…

The Earth Talks: Just Wild About Swimming

Thursday, 13 June 2013 11:53am

Thursday 13 June | 8pm | We are delighted to be joined by Daniel Start, author of Wild Swimming book plus three local wild swimmers who will share their passion, techniques and secret spots for wild swimming. Read more…

Body and Earth Training

Monday, 10 June 2013 12:06pm

10-14 June 2013 | With Andrea Olsen and Caryn McHose | Four bursary places available for this course | This course has been designed for participants with an interest in the relationship between the human body and the environment. By weaving the science of body with the science of place, this course will heighten your sensitivity to natural processes and forms and to help your movement, writing, and speaking become more articulate and embodied. Read more…

Writing from the Core of the Earth

Monday, 03 June 2013 2:50pm

3-7 June 2013 | Stephanie Mills | A literary expedition for diarists, poets, journalists, word-gardeners, novelists – and those who are about to put pen to paper.

The Earth Talks: Traditional Japanese cookery and tasting evening with Toshio Tanahashi

Friday, 24 May 2013 8:40pm

Friday 24 May 2013 | 8pm Join Toshio Tanahashi for this exclusive evening as he explores Shojin ryori, the practice of how to wed Buddhist spiritual practice and environmentally sensitive vegetarian cookery in the ancient Japanese tradition. Read more…

The Earth Talks: Ha Vinh Tho - The Bhutan experiment: Gross National Happiness (GNH)

Monday, 20 May 2013 8:36pm

Monday 20 May 2013 | 8pm | The principles of GNH matter not only to Bhutan but to a world focused on unbridled economic growth, fighting climate change, pollution, resource degradation, species and cultural extinctions, stress-related diseases, and entrenched poverty and insecurity. Read more…

Modern Zen Cookery with Toshio Tanahashi

Monday, 20 May 2013 2:51pm

20 – 24 May 2013 | Toshio Tanahashi, Ha Vinh Tho and Satish Kumar Join Toshio Tanahashi as he explores with students Shojin ryori, the practice of how to wed Buddhist spiritual practice and environmentally sensitive vegetarian cookery in the ancient Japanese tradition. Dr Ha Vinh Tho and Satish Kumar will join discussion sessions with Toshio on food, Spirituality and happiness, bringing their experience from Japan, Burma, India and the UK.Read more…

Holism and Leadership: Transforming Organisational Practice in an Age of Uncertainty

Monday, 20 May 2013 1:34pm

Transformation Strategies’ Claudius van Wyk recently facilitated the short course Holism and Leadership; Transforming Organisational Practice in an Age of Uncertainty. In this blog he reflects on his experiences during the course. Read more…

An interview with Stephanie Mills

Monday, 20 May 2013 11:30am

Author and activist, Stephanie Mills, shocked the US in 1969 with a valedictory speech, which predicted a bleak future for humanity due to overpopulation and overuse of natural resources. Stephanie joins us for the forthcoming course Writing from the Core of the Earth, we spoke to her briefly to get a flavour of her hopes for the course. Read more…

Inspired by Schumacher College - 'A Totally Different Way to Think About Economics'

Monday, 20 May 2013 10:27am

Adam Parsons editor at Share The World’s Resources, visited the College last year to attend a short course with Charles Eisenstein ‘Ecology, Scarcity and the Gift Economy. “What would the world look like if money embodied our values, if the best business decision was the best decision for society, and if wealth was defined by how much we give, not how much we have?” Read more…

May Retreat

Monday, 13 May 2013 3:47pm

May 13-17 2013 | Just the smallest things can change your life …At this beautiful time of year we invite you to come along for a relaxed week where you select what you would like to do. Centre yourself in community, exchange ideas and connections with others at the College, gain a deeper sense of connection with nature, the land and each other and just relax in beautiful surroundings with good company and good food. Read more…

The Earth Talks:The Fifth Sacred Thing - Starhawk

Wednesday, 08 May 2013 5:37pm

Wednesday May 8 2013 | 8pm | Join best-selling author, spiritual activist and permaculture specialist Starhawk as she explores the insights and lessons from her futuristic novel The Fifth Sacred Thing. Read more…

The Earth Talks: What is Community to you? - Jacques Boulet

Tuesday, 07 May 2013 3:23pm

Tuesday 7 May 2013 | 8pm | Are you interested in community action, autonomy and empowerment from the ground up? Jacques Boulet is the editor of New Community Development and Head of Oases College, Melbourne, Australia.. Read more…

Crossing Stony Ground: Renewing & Sustaining the Journey

Tuesday, 07 May 2013 11:57am

May 7- 10, 2013 | Starhawk | The work of personal, communal, and global transformation has been likened to a journey that we embark on with joy and enthusiasm. But after the first rush of energy wears off, how do we continue as the way begins to seem long and hard? In this four-day workshop, Starhawk will guide you across the stony ground to find renewal and and self-sustaining in your individual path. Read more…

Dart Pilgrimage by Inga Page

Monday, 29 April 2013 1:45pm

Inga Page, local Dartmoor guide and friend to the College, writes about a recent guided walk with students from our postgraduate programmes who completed their stay at the College by walking from the source to the mouth of the River Dart. Read more…

Holism and Leadership: Transforming Organisations in an Age of Uncertainty

Sunday, 28 April 2013 1:34pm

Sunday 28 April – Friday 3 May 2013 | Eve Mitleton-Kelly, Mark Drewell, James Bernard Quilligan, Jonathan Dawson, Stephan Harding, Philip Franses and Claudius van Wyk with online input from Lawrence Bloom| Changing from a reductionist to an holistic worldview will enable the empowering of our organizations to shift from surviving to thriving in a way that is sustainable and life enhancing. Read more…

What might Schumacher have thought about the current economic situation and how to get out of it

Tuesday, 23 April 2013 12:25pm

Hazel Henderson, president of Ethical Markets Media, writes about what she believes EF Schumacher’s reaction to today’s economic mess. “As one who was honored to help arrange Fritz Schumacher’s first lecture tour in the USA and to join him in making many presentations, I feel that he would be as appalled as I am by the stupidities…” Read more…

'Beauty of soul, according to nature’: A short course at Schumacher College

Monday, 22 April 2013 2:39pm

Andrew Taggart teaches on the forthcoming course ‘Beauty of soul, according to nature’. In this blog he explores what the course will be about. Read more…

Learning from indigenous traditions in Latin America by Jonathan Dawson

Monday, 22 April 2013 1:28pm

Jonathan Dawson describes a recent visit to Colombia where he taught as part of economics week of the Gaia Education sustainability programme. In this blog he discusses his personal views of how Latin America’s indigenous traditions are contributing to a quite distinctively powerful educational ethic. Read more…

Testing

Friday, 19 April 2013 10:00am

This is a test entry – please ignore

The Earth Talks: Conversations Without Words

Wednesday, 17 April 2013 5:38pm

Wednesday 17 April 2013 | 8pm | This evening will focus Conversation Without Words, an idea to use Argentine tango to demonstrate various principles about thinking without words, and communicating ideas using movement. Read more…

Practising Ecology: Julie Richardson on the Transition to a New Economy

Tuesday, 16 April 2013 7:13pm

Chris Tittle was part of the first group of students to graduate from the College’s pioneering MA Economics for Transition. In this interview, he talks to Julie Richardson who helped design the MA and discusses the rationale, design, and hope-for impact of the programme. Read more…

Schumacher Experience - Spring 2013

Monday, 08 April 2013 3:47pm

April 8-14 | This week-long programme allows you to take time from your normal routine and immerse yourself in the rich daily life of community at Schumacher College. It includes a walking field trip, lectures on holism and sustainability and facilitated group work. Satish Kumar will join you for a morning of conversation and a fireside chat in the evening. Read more…

Call of the Wild: A Foundation in Environmental Education - Outdoors!

Friday, 05 April 2013 1:30pm

April – November 2013 in association with WildWise and special guests.
Do you aspire to be an outdoor educator but lack the confidence, experience or skills to connect people with the natural world? Read more…

The Earth Talks: Horsepower - Ed Hamer

Thursday, 21 March 2013 11:46am

Thursday 21 March | 8pm | For hundreds of years people and horses were dependent on each other for survival.. not surprising that energy was measured by ‘horse-power’ It was the horse that provided us with transport and heavy power, while we provided the horse with food, shelter and loving care. Read more…

The Earth Talks: The Resilience Imperative - Pat Conaty

Wednesday, 20 March 2013 10:26am

Wednesday 20 March, 2013 | 8pm | Pat Conaty will explore the potential for transition in the areas of food, housing, energy and finance, showing how a range of innovative mechanisms have been developed to create jobs, reduce household debt and make communities more resilient. Read more…

Holistic Science Now - a Schumacher College Inquiry

Monday, 18 March 2013 12:25pm

18 – 22 March, 2013 | Stephan Harding, Philip Franses, David Seamon, and Roland Playle | Twenty years ago, Schumacher College started a ground-breaking new masters programme in holistic science. This week, a group of holistic scientists, practitioners and thinkers will come together to explore what this approach might mean and where all of this may be heading. Read more…

The Earth Talks: The Nature of Business – Giles Hutchins

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 1:31pm

Wednesday 13 March 2013 | 8pm Giles Hutchins explores the challenges to the prevailing ‘business as usual’ model, explains the pressing need for transformational change, and reveals the concepts and mind-sets necessary to inspire the businesses of tomorrow. Read more…

Enterprising Futures: Exploring Enterprise Models for the 21st Century - 3 linked courses

Monday, 11 March 2013 4:03pm

11-28 March 2013 | Giles Hutchins, Alan Moore, Ed Mayo, Pat Conaty, Tim Crabtree, Jonathan Dawson and Dirk Rohwedder | This course explores the new trends emerging in the rapidly changing world of enterprise and provides the tools to would-be social entrepreneurs seeking to create their own initiatives. Read more…

The Earth Talks - Clay to Wheel: A live throwing clay lecture

Thursday, 28 February 2013 4:55pm

Thursday 28 February 2013 | Using clay from various sources around the South Hams, Richenda will demonstrate making a bowl, a jug and a cup on the wheel. During the talk she will also discuss …. Read more…

Planting Lightly at Schumacher College, by Lynne McDonagh

Thursday, 28 February 2013 11:06am

Lynne McDonagh writes about her time on the Certificate in Sustainable Horticulture “2011 had been a bad year for me – I had been made redundant for the second time in two years….” Read more…

The Earth Talks: Cormac Russel - Beyond Development: creating diverse paths to wealth and wellbeing

Wednesday, 20 February 2013 10:19am

20 February 2013 | 7:45 pm ‘Development’ as we know it, has been a one-size-fits-all process imposed upon the majority of the world’s citizens that has paid scant regards to the cultural, ecological and economic specificity of the great diversity of places affected. Read more…

Terrapsychology: Re-engaging the Soul of Place

Monday, 11 February 2013 4:56pm

11-15 February 2013 | Craig Chalquist and Stephan Harding | This course seeks to explore ways of reengaging with the deep, and sometimes uncanny, sense of place. Together we will explore the relationship we have with the places we inhabit and how, through a deep understanding of our ecology, geography, myth and folklore we can start to reconnect. Read more…

Beyond Development: creating diverse paths to wealth and wellbeing - 3 linked courses

Sunday, 10 February 2013 1:26pm

10 February-1 March, 2013 | Vandana Shiva, Satish Kumar, Robert Chambers, Cormac Russel, Eve Annecke and Mark Swilling | There is growing resistance to the one-size-fits-all model of ‘Development’ imposed upon the majority of the world’s citizens which is largely focused on industrialisation. This course explores the emerging mosaic of development paths which challenge our understanding of health and wellbeing and transform the way we think about ‘development’. Read more…

Voices for the Earth: Ecocide - a Peoples’ Process

Monday, 28 January 2013 2:39pm

28 Jan to 1 Feb 2013 | Polly Higgins, Isabel Carlisle and Carlos Glover| We are delighted to welcome activist and international lawyer Polly Higgins to the College where she will be working with course participants to design a new community-led process for invoking the Law of Ecocide – crimes against the Earth. Read more…

Mind in Nature - 3 linked courses

Monday, 21 January 2013 12:29pm

21 January – 8 February | Rupert Sheldrake, Nora Bateson, David Rothenberg, Stephen Harding and Philip Franses | Today’s emerging science is turning the mechanistic view of science on its head, revealing life as inherently intelligent, purposive and meaningfully communicative. This fascinating series of courses will examine this notion through the work of scholars who are expanding the frontiers of scientific understanding.