Ashevillage Building Convergence-ABC
Inspired by City Repair and the Village Building Convergence in Portland, OR, the Ashevillage Building Convergence will be a living laboratory of community empowerment, education, and conviviality through the building of a more sustainable Asheville….
June 20-29, 2008
Throughout Asheville, NC

The first annual Ashevillage Building Convergence (ABC) will be a locally generated 10-day citywide event to take place June 20-29, 2008. Through an action-oriented participatory process, the simultaneous installation of beautiful community projects will be created. Permanent project installations, along with community celebrations, workshops and presentations, will model whole-systems sustainability, while raising awareness and serving as practical examples for what people can do in their own lives. Project sites will be clustered in downtown Asheville, West Asheville and nearby neighborhoods.

Community projects may include:
*neighborhood-based gathering spaces, aka: village nodes
*public permaculture installation(s) & local food production
*municipal, commercial &/or private green roofs
*natural (earth & straw) bus shelters/kiosks
*residential water catchment systems
*beautification mosaic murals
*And more!

Project criteria include:
*Exemplary permaculture design principles
*Public access & community use of each project
*Demonstration of complementary whole-systems design
*Community involvement in the design & construction processes
*Incorporation of natural (earth & straw), as well as recycled & salvaged materials

Along with hands-on building opportunities for citizens, there will be community celebrations, workshops, and presentations, focusing on the generation of a more localized and naturalized Ashevillage; a modern village if you will. The evenings will include celebrations and presentations with local, as well as nationally known presenters. Lunches will be shared during the day at each site, with dinners at a centralized downtown venue in the evenings.

Local, regional, national, and global media outreach will allow the ABC to inspire other cities. Collaboration with related visionary projects, and with local community, government, and business leaders will be an essential part of the ABC’s success.

The overall design of the ABC is currently being created by a core committee of volunteers. Next steps include developing a website and fundraising plan, as well as hosting community stakeholder meetings. By Spring 2007, projects and site liaisons will be confirmed, and the first fundraising events will be held. Designs for projects will be completed by Fall 2007.

The ABC will be administered as a project of Kleiwerks International, a non-profit organization with a strong track record of community empowerment, social transformation, and ecological regeneration through natural building and whole-systems projects and programs.

Donations are welcome and are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Please send to Kleiwerks International c/o 82 Buchanan Ave. Asheville, NC 28801, USA.

For more information: Email Mountaine at mountaine@gmail.com -or- Janell Kapoor at janell@kleiwerks.org

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Stay tuned for updates and new workshop information.