A Word from Brandy:

This year has continued old and spawned new work that has created fundamental change at O.U.R. ECOVILLAGE.
Beyond anyone’s wildest dreams so much has been nurtured - incredible accounts of how much folks appreciate OUR
work, feel transformed by their experience here, and/or are interested in creating community more deeply because of
OUR connection.

Last year over 7700 people participated on site with OUR ECOVILLAGE in some way. We are the premiere
Permaculture/Sustainable Village Demonstration Site and Education Centre of its kind in Canada. We supported 7
different Directed Studies projects and had contracts for 14 courses with Vancouver Island University, the University of
Victoria, and Royal Roads University all teaching with OUR being done both onsite at OUR ECOVILLAGE and at their
campus. We also have a partner agreement with Gaia College and we are now teaching ‘The Organic Master Gardener”
here onsite with them.

We completed one JCP (Job Creation Project) in the spring of 2009 which had a wonderful impact here by creating all the
site and event planning, and media/marketing tools that we have been able to put into play throughout the year. We have
site rental contracts, booking calendars, new systems, a whole new website, we won a life long membership with a an
email marketing company, Emma, and now have all OUR updates, newsletters, and course details going out this way.
We also started another JCP for 2009/10 which has had a huge “ eco-landscaping” impact onsite (more on page 4).

We raised over $325,000 in grants/training monies/foundation support. Much of this has come from Skills Training where
we are able to hire people who have been on Employment Insurance previously. This meant that last fall we actually had
every person onsite working here under a program (other than CM who traveled to his school and Bill who had just
retired). This is an incredible shift to see this many people onsite and not have them commuting all over to get to work.

This past summer there were 36 full time residents on site and the winter heralded in 21 people! With the advent of so
nd
many of us as winter residents OUR team moved forward to build a beautiful temporary kitchen in TAJII (OUR 2 shop)

All of this would never have been dreamt into manifestation without the incredible loving connection of all of you and the
100’s and 100’s of volunteers who came through here again last year. OUR work is a living testimonial to what is possible
in a world of challenge with a somewhat uncertain future. All the efforts become so very worthwhile when it is shared in
the healing connection of community and relationship. May the beginning of this new season bring a spark of new
possibility, a new found energy to work magic, and a peace that is healing for all. And may OUR ECOVILLAGE manifest
itself on a whole new level…..bringing each of us all of the joy we so richly deserve.

- Brandy Gallagher is co-founder and the Executive Director of O.U.R. Ecovillage

1
 -

Hearthkeeper Reflection by Elke Cole: Into The Village

We are all villagers. Most of us have forgotten what that means and all that’s left is a yearning for something. What is
my tribe? Where do I belong? What is my purpose?
This search brings many people to O.U.R. Ecovillage. Here we have at least expressed the intention to be a ‘village’.
We practice by working together, sharing meals, sitting in circle. There are seasonal rituals and celebrations, and
people bring their way of being to the table.
This year we can feel that there is a clan of those who have been here and live here with long-term intention. We hold
space for all the new faces that join for our programs and events. Living here is not just a choice- I believe we are
called to be here together.

What about you? Are you listening to your call? Is it time to take action?
All our internships have a “core curriculum” of skills in personal leadership: communication, setting goals, resolving
challenges, visioning. These skills enable us to build the safe environment for you to learn the specific working skills
you’ve come for. They build the village connection among us for a short period of time and you may find yourself
connected to that “tribe” for a long time after you leave.

Last years intern group created their motto as: I surrender to my learning. Let’s acknowledge here that we are all
learning. And we are all teaching. Hands-on learning has the wonderful power of landing information in the body. Our
hands are touching the earth while our minds expand.
What are you waiting for?

2
Evolving Landscapes and the Job Creation Program:

OUR 2009 Natural Building Skillbuilder Internship had a full team and worked on the O.U.R. Artist’s residence and studio
and the long awaited first home in OUR Eco-Housing cluster….Freya’s House. The Artist studio is finished except for final
trim. The craftsmanship will live on for 100’s of years.

OUR 2009 Sustainable Food Production Skillbuilder Internship terraced off a whole new area for Food Production as well
as managing and cultivating OUR extensive gardens and greenhouses:

A new Job Creation Project started on October 19th with10 participants/staff. Many of these folks have moved onsite and
so we are full on in relationship together with many of us learning and growing through the deeper connection of living and
working together in community life. Javan began his O.U.R. community experience as one of the Natural Building
Skillbuilder Interns last June and was joined on site by his partner Tangle Caron in October.

3
The JCP created rock works including stone steps in several areas onsite, a beautiful retaining wall beside the Healing
Sanctuary and created new terraces around the Art Studio for gardens and Tent camping:

An additional 4 acres or so has been cleared for more gardens and grey water systems, irrigation works and a new pond
are all nearing completion on the land. On February 18, a sacred dedication ceremony was held for the Labyrinth, now
nearly complete beside the Healing Sanctuary. At its conclusion, Brandy and Lara placed the first scoop of earth into the
centre and construction began immediately.
4
Let there be Light!
The Jackson family lives in a yurt back in the woods at OUR Ecovillage while they plan the construction of their home. For
most of last year, they have been using candles and rechargeable flashlights for lighting. In December 2009, Elemental
Energy Inc - the small company owned by the Hirsche family, provided two small solar panels, a battery and an inverter.
This provided electricity, but lighting was still a problem - especially in January.

Thanks to Alejandro Rivas and Alumbra Lighting Services, there is now a high-tech solution to the long Winter nights.
Alejandro provided 3 new LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs for use in the yurt. These solid-state LED bulbs, from GBL
LED Lighting Inc. in Vancouver offer long bulb life (+40000 hrs) and low power draw (14 watts). These new bulbs will
qualify for the BC Hydro rebate program and they come with a 2 year warranty.

This is another example of the natural partnership opportunities that occur at OUR Ecovillage. Alejandro is pleased to
know about the OUR community model and he sees it as part of a great movement in the shift of energy-planet
awareness - of which he is also part. For the Jackson family, the LED lighting provides not only light in the January
darkness, but a higher quality of light - “The quality and color of the light is much better than the LED string we had before.
This light is warm, but not yellow, and bright enough for anything we need. One bulb lights the whole 300 sq ft space very
well if reflected off the ceiling. We are also getting more light than before as the battery is lasting longer.”

Hopefully, the feedback and experience with this bulb will help Alejandro and his team in their project. We wish them the
best with this important technology and look forward to its arrival on the market.

For more information, please contact Alejandro Rivas (aljrvs@mac.com )

5
New Programs:

We are piloting a new Internship in “Sustainable Community Building” for 2010. This Internship is focused on
seeing and creating possibility in order to better for care for the whole. It is a process that welcomes the offerings and
strengths of individuals and combines them into a living fabric of life affirming relationships, a strong sense of personal
accountability, and vibrant well-being in order to increase personal, social and environmental resiliency in
communities. Effort for sustainable community building begins by asking the important transformational question “How
can I/we better serve this whole community?”

With the ongoing request to have more accessibility for folks who wish an integrated short term experience in an
ecovillage … we have created O.U.R. Ecovillage Explorer. Details and booking information is available on the
Website.

OUR Sustainable Energy Workshop This two-day course provides an introduction to the generation, application,
management and conservation of energy in the home. Watch for dates on OUR site!

Bits ‘n’ Bites:

CM Justice & Elke Cole, two wise and wonderful people with a wealth of life to share, have moved forward with their full
commitment to Hearth Keeper status. They plan to start building their house as soon as can be managed .

Executive Director Brandy Gallagher received an ‘Eco-Hero’ award from British Columbia Sustainable Energy Association
Read about this honour at:
http://www.bcsea.org/blog/tom-arnold/2009/11/19/celebrating-local-climate-heroes-

6
 Intern Reflection by Kailee Hirsche:

Delicate sprouts leaving the safety of seed coats to reach for the sun, cared for by gardeners singing sweet songs of
spring; cozy cottages clustered amid trees connected by well-worn pathways; smiling faces and open arms; stories and
more songs shared around an inviting campfire. To some, “community” may conjure images of another world - an
idealized vision of a way of life that can only exist in very particular circumstances with just the right type of people. Last
year I spent most of my last eight months before following my charted path to begin my education in Natural Resources
Conservation at UBC living in community at O.U.R. Eco-Village.

Looking back to the end of my Internship at OUR, it’s hard to recall what I anticipated regarding university. It was
impossible for me to fully comprehend the change I was about to experience. I arrived at the University of British
Columbia in late August, as planned. The inviting and unique curvilinear structures I had grown accustomed to were
replaced by uniformly austere dormitories characterized by right angles. Instead of salads I was used to watering and
often picking myself I got greens I had no relationship with. I observed a strange homogony of those between the ages of
about eighteen and twenty-five, and felt the lack of children playing in the sun. People didn’t automatically hug each
other. A philosophy of abundance was overtaken by one of scarcity. The education I had been receiving in the garden
that flowed naturally from experience and conversation with interesting and knowledgeable people, and the holistic
approach that was taken in the Permaculture Design Certification Course was replaced. Instead I received an education
imparted by highly specialized individuals who would clearly benefit from chatting with each other over coffee once in a
while; one that seemed to focus on addressing the symptoms, rather than understanding their cause.

As a natural response to the change I began seeking out little pieces of the Eco-Village in and around UBC. The resource
centre, one of my more recent findings, is home to a few clubs (including the Social Justice Centre) and attracts a wealth
of inspiring people. “Sprouts”, a small restaurant that serves food grown at the UBC Farm for reasonable prices, hosts
Community Eats every second Friday, an event where lunch is by donation if one brings their own dish. Sometimes
hippies stand on Commercial Drive, making smudge sticks and handing them out for donations. I’ve even found that
Wreck Beach draws a refreshingly diverse group of people – one evening I wound up chilling with a local men’s circle.

More importantly, I’m starting to learn how to find the similarities in less obvious places. Plant Operations have
inconspicuously planted nasturtiums (edible flowers popular in salads at OUR) in planters around campus, which I have
introduced to friends - “I dare you to eat that flower” (under cover of darkness, of course). I’m realizing that my dorm is a
community. Aside from the anonymity that leads to frequent food theft from a shared fridge, I’ve found creative and
intentional ways of sharing: borrowing other people’s printers in exchange for lending out my laundry card, or giving
friends copies of my bike key so they can use my bike while I’m away. I’ve developed essential self-care skills born out of
practices I was exposed to at the Eco-Village and I have maintained connections to the people at OUR as well. Simple as
they may be, I find these to be some of the more rewarding experiences I’ve had so far this school year.

I’m interested in delving deeper into how people act in different environments and why, Maybe living in community isn’t
necessarily so much about living in a certain kind of place, with certain kinds of people. Maybe it’s more of a state of
mind, a way of being in the world that can be achieved many ways; one greatly enhanced by living in a place like O.U.R.
Eco-Village. Other environments can make it more challenging…but as Permaculture teaches: the edge is where the
action is.

th
Coming up this Saturday 27 March, 12.30-5pm – We welcome the surrounding community to celebrate the coming
spring with the opening of O.U.R. new labyrinth and a tour of other transformations that have taken place on the land this
winter! RSVP to info@ourecovillage.org