Author of Finding Community and Creating a Life Together
Diana's 2010 Workshops and Appearances
Diana being interviewed in Montréal’s Parc du Fontaine, November, 2009, for a documentary on ecovillages.
To be notified when Diana is appearing in your area, send your name, city, and state or province to
February 15 – March 12, 2010 • Ecovillages: Greening — and Challenging! — the Wider Culture
Fairfield, Iowa. Four-week course for students in Sustainable Living Program at Maharishi University of Management. 800-369-6480; www.mum.edu/sustainable_living.
February 17, 2010 • Ecovillage Slide Show
Fairfield, Iowa. Sponsored by Maharishi University of Management.7:30 pm – 9:30 pm. "Ecovillages: Where They Are, What They're Doing, Why They're Important." Ecological, economic, and social/cultural/spiritual aspects of sustainability in ecovillage projects on six continents, with over 400 photos. Permaculture design, natural building, off-grid power, alternative technology, sustainable agriculture, Earth-restoration projects, international peace activism, serving people in need, local currencies, cottage industries, participatory decision-making, conflict resolution, and more. 800-369-6480; www.mum.edu/sustainable_living.
March 27-28, 2010 • Nubanusit Cohousing
Peterborough, New Hampshire. Consultation/workshop for Nubanusit members.
April 14, 15, 16, 2010 • 3-Day Workshop: Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities
Dexter (Eugene), Oregon. Lost Valley Educational Center. Lively exercises, humorous musical skits, slide show presentations, and vivid anecdotes about real problems starting new ecovillages and their successful solutions. What works well, pitfalls to avoid, and now not to reinvent the wheel in creating new ecovillages and sustainable communities. Antidotes for common kinds of structural conflict, “Board Game” to demonstrate the relationship between mission, membership process, and decision-making method. Ways to build trust & connection, increase social capital, and deal with “the challenging group member.” “Political incorrect” methods for making needed changes in the community. Case histories demonstrating how real ecovillages purchased, financed, and developed their properties. Community economics: internal community finances, creating a village-scale economy. This workshop is part of Lost Valley Educational Center’s Permaculture Design Certificate and Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) courses, and is open to the public too. $175 for commuters (includes non-refundable $50 registration fee and 3-day course, including lunch each day). $225 for course participants staying at Lost Valley (includes non-refundable $50 registration fee and 3-day course, including room and board). For more information or to register: Website; Phone: 541-937-3351 x112; Email:
May 1-2, 2010 • Eco-Fair, Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield, Iowa. Saturday, May 1: Keynote presentation at Eco-Fair, “Spiritually Oriented Ecovillages: Consciousness, Ecological Sustainability, and Service to Others.” Sunday, May 2: Breakout workshops: “Growing Successful New Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities” and “Creating Community Where You Live Now — Successful Neighborhood Communities.” For more information and to register: Diana Yepez,
Conference website.
May 8, 2010 • Prairie Sky Cohousing
Calgary, Ontario. Consultation/workshop for Prairie Sky members.
May 23, 2010 • East Village Cohousing
Burlington, Vermont. Consultation/workshop for East Village members.
May 25-26, 2010 • Consensus Workshop
Sutton, Quebec. Introduction to Consensus & Facilitation workshop for Transition Town activists in Sutton, Quebec. (In English). Email:
June 12-18, 2010 • Introduction to Earthaven Visitor Week
Black Mountain, North Carolina. Earthaven Ecovillage.
Six days of ecovillage living: observing an Earthaven Council Meeting; participating in Earthaven’s (ZEGG) Forum process, community potlucks, and work parties; Diana’s Ecovillage Slide Show. In-depth tours of neighborhoods, building projects, businesses, and agricultural projects (Trading Post, Tribal Condo, Leela House, Yellowroot Farm CSA, Useful Plants Nursery, Gateway Farm, ArtiSun Construction, Village Terraces, Imani Agricultural Co-op, Red Moon Herbs). Presentations on Earthaven’s governance and decision-making, physical infrastructure, sustainable forestry, finances, and membership process.
More information and Registration.
June 26, 2010 • Pittsburgh Cohousing Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Consultation/workshop for Pittsburgh Cohousing members.
August 11, 12, 13 • 3-Day Workshop: Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities
Dexter (Eugene), Oregon.Lost Valley Educational Center. 9:00 to 5:30 each day.
With dynamic presentations (Diana does drawings on the whiteboard of whatever she’s presenting), lively small-group exercises, frequent short photo-rich slide shows, and many stories and anecdotes about how real-life communities addressed their challenges, the workshop covers the major steps needed to start and maintain a healthy, thriving ecovillage, cohousing neighborhood, or other kind of intentional community.
Diana and some of her students in the “Ecovillages and Intentional Communities” course, MUM, Fairfield, Iowa, Feb. 15-March 12, 2010.
Topics include:
Antidotes for common kinds of “structural conflict” and interpersonal conflict.
The “Board Game” — demonstrating the relationship between mission, membership process, and decision-making method.
Methods for building trust and connection, increasing social capital, and dealing with “the challenging group member.”
Case histories of how real ecovillages purchased, financed, and developed their properties.
Permaculture-based site plan design principles and examples from real ecovillages.
Community economics and internal community finances.
The workshop is “information-dense,” with 60- to 90-minute sections and many breaks. Handout Booklet is included.
Cost: $175 for commuters (includes non-refundable $50 registration fee and 3-day course, including lunch each day). $225 for course participants staying at Lost Valley (includes non-refundable $50 registration fee and 3-day course, including room and board.) For more information or to register: Website; Phone: 541-937-3351 x112; Email:
August 19, 2010 • Ecovillage Slide Show
San Francisco Bay Area (Emeryville, East Bay). 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Time for Q&A, refreshments. No charge. "Ecovillages: Where They Are, What They're Doing, Why They're Important." Ecological, economic, and social/cultural/spiritual aspects of sustainability in ecovillage projects on six continents, with over 400 photos. Permaculture design, natural building, off-grid power, alternative technology, sustainable agriculture, Earth-restoration projects, international peace activism, serving people in need, local currencies, cottage industries, participatory decision-making, conflict resolution, and more. Location: AgeSong at Bayside Park, 1440 40th St. Emeryville, CA 94608. RSVP is required as space is limited: cohousing coach Raines Cohen:
510-842-6224. Sponsored by East Bay Cohousing Association.
August 20, 21, 22 • 3-Day Workshop: Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities
San Francisco Bay Area.For workshop description and topics, see August 11-13, above.Sponsored by Cohousing California and East Bay Cohousing. 9:00-5:30 each day. Cost: $260; $285 after August 2. Discounts for bringing additional workshop participants, and for members of California Cohousing and East Bay Cohousing. Location: The Long Haul office/bookstore, 3124 Shattuck Avenue, across from La Peña, one block from Ashby BART. More information and registration: CalCoho.org. Cohousing Coach Raines Cohen:
510-842-6224.
August – September 25, 2010 • Philippine EDE Course
Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The four-week EDE (Ecovillage Design Education) course is sponsored by Happy Earth NPO, Philippines, in partnership with Gaia Education, a program of Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and GENOA (GEN-Oceania/Asia). Diana’s workshop sections focus on the practical aspects of starting successful new ecovillages. www.happyearth.info;
