Women and Water -- From watersheds to grey-water systems

Explore the beauty and lessons of watersheds as metaphor and model in this seminar and training in the water basin of Marin County. From walking along the edge, mapping and learning the story of Bon Tempe Lake (one of the beautiful lakes that is part of the water ecology of the region) to learning how to be good water stewards with practical skills in learning how to build gray-water systems and harvest rainwater, we will delve into watersheds as a focal point for community building and community resilience. The urgent problem of global water shortage will be examined; including how respecting the very nature of water itself can be a part of the integrated solution. Participants not local to the Marin County area are welcome and can gain valuable watershed knowledge and skills to provide protection for their own water resources by applying the seminar/training to their own local bioregion.

In addition to practical skills, participants will learn about the longtime connections between women and water worldwide from cultural to ecological perspectives. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) points out: ‘There is a very clear gender division of roles and resources in all areas of water resources management’. In rural developing areas in many countries, women are traditionally the main managers of domestic water resources at the local level. Women alone decide where and how to collect domestic water, what amount and how to use it. Their knowledge about the reliability, location and seasonal variation of local water sources is a precious resource gained through personal experience, and through interpersonal and intergenerational contacts with other women.

This course will include:

Journey to Bon Tempe Lake for a time of deep connection with the local watershed of Marin County. What does it mean to connect with our bioregion?

On site visit to the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas

How to build a grey water system in your home for landscaping and garden use

Demonstration of an inexpensive and easy rainwater harvesting system

Learn about women around the world and their long-standing cultural, traditional and practical relationship with water

What is happening with the world’s water locally and globally and action plans

Register here

Suggested reading:
Create an Oasis With Greywater, Art Ludwig
Blue Gold, Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke
Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature, Osprey Orielle Lake

Instructors:

Penny Livingston-Stark is internationally recognized as a prominent permaculture teacher, designer and speaker. She has been teaching internationally and working professionally in the land management, regenerative design and permaculture development field for 25 years and has extensive experience in all phases of ecologically sound design and construction as well as the use of natural non-toxic building materials. She specializes in site planning and the design of resource-rich landscapes integrating, rainwater collection, edible and medicinal planting, spring development, pond and water systems, habitat development and watershed restoration for homes, co-housing communities, businesses and diverse yield perennial farms.

Osprey Orielle Lake is the Founder/Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Caucus where she is working nationally and internationally with grassroots leaders, policy-makers, business people, and scientists to reduce carbon emissions and foster a post-carbon energy future, while also addressing societal transformation. She is on the Board of Praxis Peace Institute, an advisor to International Eco-Cities Framework and Standards Initiative and has traveled to five continents studying ancient and modern cultures while making presentations at international conferences and universities. Her book, Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature, White Cloud Press), won a 2011 Nautilus Book Award.