Retreats and Ongoing Courses (click the titles to read details)
Planned at our Centre throughout the year, sometimes overlapping day workshops or seminars. The quiet rural situation with fine views over Devon countryside is conducive to Peace. The Retreats fill in times between residential courses, as our accommodation and catering capacity is limited.
These Retreats will offer our meditation room, walks through woodland riversides and seashores, healthy for mind and body alike. There will also be intuitive watercolour and drawing sessions for those inclined, and good, fresh, organic vegetarian food. Variety is seen as the key to an enjoyable Retreat.
Integrated with localised renewable energy systems. Organised and run by our SHHECom Building Team. These Courses concentrate on learning basic skills by helping to construct our timber frame with straw bale in-fills for staff homes. Useful theory for different building methods and energy / waste systems will be offered in slide- and film-illustrated talks.
One-day workshops are offered to locals with full courses of 8 weekends over a 2-month period. Fees will be subsidised by Grants for those on benefits or very low incomes. We ran a very similar Course in 2004, Grant-subsidised by Devon County Community Council.
SHHECom has run full graduate Design Courses in 2005 and 2006, at a Permacultural Community elsewhere. However, we plan to run full Design courses annually at our own Sustainable Living Centre near Totnes, stretching over 5 months with one weekend's practical tuition every month running from April till August.
The tutors are fully-qualified Permaculture Design Course Teachers. Camping and limited and limited dormitory accommodation will be available. Bursaries and concessions fees for very low income or on-benefits participants will be available.
Ways and means to simplify your lifestyle. This one-day workshop will offer a wide range of methods, ideas and general ways one can simplify one's habits and living odes towards localising food and energy sources, and moving from consumerism towards more co-operative self-help, sharing ones skills and knowledge for the benefit of the community.
How your local Transition Town initiative can help in pressing Councils to release or identify suitable sites for self-build projects, open cycle paths, subsidised local minibus services (preferably biogas-powered), encourage formation of car share, not-for-profit companies, self-build low-cost housing co-ops and LETS, all help to localise the economy. Local economy means local empowerment!
This will be a very hands-on, practical, two-week course in actually helping to build a small-scale plant using mostly locally-available materials. Jeffrey Gale's designs for this can be seen on the biogas policies page.
A series of one-day courses, using our own woodworking workshop, will cover both design and construction of timber-framed buildings and simple furniture.
These sessions, tutored by skilled craftsmen of our Team, will also be offered to disabled people wishing to expand their skills and job opportunities; subsidised fees will be available to them and to unemployed people or students.
This projected course will probably consist of 4 weekends spread over two months. The tutors are 3 members of our Craftsmen Building Team. The main tutor has lengthy experience in training disabled children and adults.
Many people conceive of starting their own business, to do exactly the kind of work they really enjoy best. It is very often the only fessible way to do this, especially in a small rural town or village.
Our Team of three comprise:
Painting intuitively with watercolour is a fantastic and relaxing way to realise your deeper creativity and wisdom. The tutor, Jeffrey Gale, an internationally-exhibited artist, has been teaching Intuitive Painting for many years from the youngest to the oldest. One can release ones inhibitions about Art: small children can do it and so can you.
Walking in Nature for inspiration and wisdom will be part of this weekend (or 2-day for locals) Course. According to demand, this Course can also be taken as a series of around 9; this way, one can get much more satisfaction, whilst developing a large amount of creative skill.
Good, large, watercolour brushes can be initially lent, and suitable watercolour paper can be purchased by the sheet. Small tubes of quality watercolour paint may also be purchased. Course fees are reasonable and hopefully subsidised for the unemployed or students.
A weekend course led by Richard Pearl, who has many years experience in helping to set up Legal Housing Co-ops.
There are various kinds of legally-recognised structures depending on your specific aims. For example, the South Hams Holistic Education Community Ltd. that is running these Courses, is Constituted to do quite a range of activities. Being essentially a Not-For-Profit Benefit of the Community Loanstock Company, with equal shares for all the Members who can buy or rent a small house or flat, if they are able and willing to run one or more of our proposed Courses. (The whole site will always remain in ownership of SHHECom Ltd..)
This Course will also have subsidised fees available for very low- or no-income adults.
Course Fees and Dates can only be devised nearer the time of setting up the Centre.
Retreats
Planned at our Centre throughout the year, sometimes overlapping day workshops or seminars. The quiet rural situation with fine views over Devon countryside is conducive to Peace. The Retreats fill in times between residential courses, as our accommodation and catering capacity is limited.
These Retreats will offer our meditation room, walks through woodland riversides and seashores, healthy for mind and body alike. There will also be intuitive watercolour and drawing sessions for those inclined, and good, fresh, organic vegetarian food. Variety is seen as the key to an enjoyable Retreat.
Self-build Eco-home Building
Integrated with localised renewable energy systems. Organised and run by our SHHECom Building Team. These Courses concentrate on learning basic skills by helping to construct our timber frame with straw bale in-fills for staff homes. Useful theory for different building methods and energy / waste systems will be offered in slide- and film-illustrated talks.
One-day workshops are offered to locals with full courses of 8 weekends over a 2-month period. Fees will be subsidised by Grants for those on benefits or very low incomes. We ran a very similar Course in 2004, Grant-subsidised by Devon County Community Council.
Permaculture Design Courses
SHHECom has run full graduate Design Courses in 2005 and 2006, at a Permacultural Community elsewhere. However, we plan to run full Design courses annually at our own Sustainable Living Centre near Totnes, stretching over 5 months with one weekend's practical tuition every month running from April till August.
The tutors are fully-qualified Permaculture Design Course Teachers. Camping and limited and limited dormitory accommodation will be available. Bursaries and concessions fees for very low income or on-benefits participants will be available.
Practical Sustainable Living
Ways and means to simplify your lifestyle. This one-day workshop will offer a wide range of methods, ideas and general ways one can simplify one's habits and living odes towards localising food and energy sources, and moving from consumerism towards more co-operative self-help, sharing ones skills and knowledge for the benefit of the community.
How your local Transition Town initiative can help in pressing Councils to release or identify suitable sites for self-build projects, open cycle paths, subsidised local minibus services (preferably biogas-powered), encourage formation of car share, not-for-profit companies, self-build low-cost housing co-ops and LETS, all help to localise the economy. Local economy means local empowerment!
How to Build a Small-scale Biogas Plant
This will be a very hands-on, practical, two-week course in actually helping to build a small-scale plant using mostly locally-available materials. Jeffrey Gale's designs for this can be seen on the biogas policies page.
Green Woods Building and Furniture Craft Course
A series of one-day courses, using our own woodworking workshop, will cover both design and construction of timber-framed buildings and simple furniture.
These sessions, tutored by skilled craftsmen of our Team, will also be offered to disabled people wishing to expand their skills and job opportunities; subsidised fees will be available to them and to unemployed people or students.
This projected course will probably consist of 4 weekends spread over two months. The tutors are 3 members of our Craftsmen Building Team. The main tutor has lengthy experience in training disabled children and adults.
Starting Your Own Sustainable Business Locally
Many people conceive of starting their own business, to do exactly the kind of work they really enjoy best. It is very often the only fessible way to do this, especially in a small rural town or village.
Our Team of three comprise:
- Martin Boles, formerly Manager of Barclays Bank and an expert in raising finance for start-up businesses;
- Sophie Christopher, experienced in establishing small, eco-friendly, sustainability-themed businesses and the setting-up of websites, marketing systems and networking;
- Jeffrey Gale, consultant in philosophies for ongoing creativity in business. Imaginative and creative work are essential these days to sustain your own and others' enthusiasm, and to maintain a profitable business. Trained in Eco-architecture, Permaculture Design, and Fine Art, Jeffrey has much experience in using creative imagination to transform original ideas into realities.
Realising Your Creative Wisdom – Intuitive Painting
Painting intuitively with watercolour is a fantastic and relaxing way to realise your deeper creativity and wisdom. The tutor, Jeffrey Gale, an internationally-exhibited artist, has been teaching Intuitive Painting for many years from the youngest to the oldest. One can release ones inhibitions about Art: small children can do it and so can you.
Walking in Nature for inspiration and wisdom will be part of this weekend (or 2-day for locals) Course. According to demand, this Course can also be taken as a series of around 9; this way, one can get much more satisfaction, whilst developing a large amount of creative skill.
Good, large, watercolour brushes can be initially lent, and suitable watercolour paper can be purchased by the sheet. Small tubes of quality watercolour paint may also be purchased. Course fees are reasonable and hopefully subsidised for the unemployed or students.
How to Start and Run a Self-build Housing Co-op
A weekend course led by Richard Pearl, who has many years experience in helping to set up Legal Housing Co-ops.
There are various kinds of legally-recognised structures depending on your specific aims. For example, the South Hams Holistic Education Community Ltd. that is running these Courses, is Constituted to do quite a range of activities. Being essentially a Not-For-Profit Benefit of the Community Loanstock Company, with equal shares for all the Members who can buy or rent a small house or flat, if they are able and willing to run one or more of our proposed Courses. (The whole site will always remain in ownership of SHHECom Ltd..)
This Course will also have subsidised fees available for very low- or no-income adults.
Course Fees and Dates
Course Fees and Dates can only be devised nearer the time of setting up the Centre.
this page is also available as a print version from the downloads page