From: "Sustainable Fairfield" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hi All,
Please pass this on to any individuals or any of your lists who you
think may be interested in our new Sustainable Fairfield Association
resource group. You might also encourage them to email us directly
so that they can get on the direct email list for future mailings of
any sustainable activities relevant to our community. Our email list
will not be shared with anyone else, will just be used in the
dissemination of information pertinent to sustainability issues and
at any time you can email us to unsubscribe from the list.
Tomorrow, Sunday July 1st
Because of the requests I have received we will go ahead and have the
inaugural organizational meeting of the Sustainable Fairfield
Association this Sunday at the Fairfield Public Library. Come on in
at 3:15 to mingle and we will start the proceedings by 3:30. We will
finish up by no later than 4:15 and if you need to leave sooner that
will be fine. For those taking the "Building Your Sustainable Home -
Affordably" course we will be having our class as usual with the
doors opening at 1:15. The library itself will be open tomorrow
starting at 1 PM.
The defining thought in the creation of the Sustainable Fairfield
Association is to help make it much easier and more affordable for
all of us here to be able to build (including reconstruction and
retrofitting) and live sustainably by having a collective and
coordinated community focus on gathering all we need and then sharing
the information. This will be a community resourcing group that will
identify, access and make easily available people, knowledge,
material and financial resources that can help all of us in our
desires to live affordably and sustainably. As a group we can also
think of how we can integrate our efforts into existing associations,
institutions, businesses, governmental organizations and media to
make our efforts more fruitful. A community resource group like this
is the most important part of being able to have affordable and
sustainable living. The amount of resources that we will unearth
will be incredible. As an example, one person from our group
recently reminded me of a source of government assistance that I
hadn't thought of in more than 10 years (FMHA) which can help many of
us who qualify possibly obtain an outright grant for a portion of our
home cost and a very low interest loan (right now approx 4.5%) for
the balance. Also at our recent class where we were discussing the
use of natural wood and stone in our buildings, two sources of free
stone were mentioned. Much more will come out as we focus as a group
on finding the many tangible and intangible treasures that are out
there.
The purpose of this first meeting will be to officially adopt a name
(I'm not attached to the current one) and an initial mission
statement, to form a steering committee and select interim officers,
create various resource committees from which everyone can choose to
participate in as they like as members or as chairperson ( you can
choose more than one). From there everyone can start the research
processes and we can become more organized with time.
If you can not be at this first meeting there will be meetings on a
regular basis and you can email to this email address what area(s)
you would like to participate in and we will then put you in touch
with the appropriate person or group. The structure will be informal
and fun and for those who want you can research away at home, keep in
touch by email and just come to the occasional meeting as the feeling
moves you (though for me, when we had a similar group 15 years ago
our Wednesday evening meeting was what I most looked forward to every
week). We can work toward having all of our information on a web
site (perhaps an existing one) and referenced in both libraries and
perhaps the chamber of commerce and the local media so that even
newcomers to town will easily find this information.
Anyone who would like to be on the steering committee or serve in
some other capacity please feel free to email me in advance of (or
after) the meeting.
Here are just some of the suggested areas of research and resourcing.
More can be suggested tomorrow
Grants and other financial assistance
Roofing systems (living, clay tile, slate and other natural options)
Foundations (rubble trench, stone, etc.)
Cob ovens (and AGA-like cob stove/ovens)
Solar hot water and other solar heat collection
Sustainable Transportation (pedal, electric, hydrogen, biodiesel, etc.)
Wall systems ( straw bale, cob, etc.)
Sourcing and using stone, wood and other natural products
earth tubes and the Earth as a thermal battery
Sourcing national experts (for teleconferencing, live presentations
and project consulting)
Rainwater collection, wetlands, biological pools, greywater treatment
and other water issues
Composting toilets
Road structures (living road options, etc.)
Permaculture, edible landscapes, indoor and outdoor plants, trees, etc.
---------------------------------
One other item we may wish to discuss will be the upcoming "Live
Earth" event on July 7th and if this might be a good way to bring
awareness to the global greenhouse gas crisis locally. According to
organizers, two billion people have now signed up to view at least
parts of the event. Perhaps some of our students can quickly
organize something for this?
I believe, once the association is set up and we have a steering
committee and officers, we can expect more advance notice of our
events. ;-)
Best regards,
Tim
