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Hello all,<br />
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After collaborating with what sounds like a very successful Ontario Natural Building Conference, the Natural Builders Northeast group is excited to announce our own Annual Gathering next month near Ithaca, NY, USA. All are welcome, and if you happen to know any natural builders not on this list in the US Northeast or Mid-Atlantic states, please forward! Thanks all!<br />
<br />
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/t63vpup4bd46gt9/2014%20nbne%20formal.doc">https://www.dropbox.com/s/t63vpup4bd46gt9/2014%20nbne%20formal.doc</a><br />
<br />
ej<br />
<br />
ej George, CSBA<br />
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<font size="6"><strong>NBNE 2014 Annual Gathering</strong></font>
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<font size="6"><strong>Fri-Sun, April 4th-6th</strong></font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Mirthwood Earthship</strong></font>
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<font size="3">212 Caroline Depot Road</font>
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<font size="3">Brooktondale, NY 14817</font>
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<font size="3"><a name="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1394233915487_4087" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1394233915487_4087"></a> <font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx" xml:lang="zxx"><u><a target="_blank" href="http://mapq.st/1ldnj2L"><strong>http://mapq.st/1ldnj2L</strong></a></u></span></font> </font>
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<font size="3"><strong><br /></strong></font>
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<font size="3"><strong>TENTATIVE SCHEDULE (presentation descriptions are below, additional breakout sessions are likely to emerge once we gather!):</strong></font>
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<font size="3"><u><strong>Friday, April 4</strong></u><sup><u><strong>th</strong></u></sup></font>
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<font size="3">Arrival: anytime afternoon, optional tours (more info coming soon) & possible lazure demo</font>
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<font size="3">Dinner: pizza party & ice cream sundae bar (~5-7pm)</font>
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<font size="3">Evening Fun: 7:00-9:00</font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Earthship tour</strong></font>
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</li>
<li>
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<font size="3"><strong>Advanced SketchUp Techniques Skillshare,</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aaron Dennis</span></em></font>
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</li>
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<u><strong>Saturday, April 5</strong></u><sup><u><strong>th</strong></u></sup></font>
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<font size="3">Breakfast, Intros & Icebreakers (8:30-10:00)</font>
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<font size="3">Morning Sessions: 10:00-12:30</font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Heating Systems for Natural Buildings,</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">Steve Paisley</span></em></font>
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<li>
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<font size="3"><strong>Natural Kitchens</strong><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">, Diana Katzmann</span></em></font>
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<font size="3">Lunch break (12:30-2), Breakout discussions including <strong>Creative Inspiration</strong>, <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">Diana Katzmann</span></em></font>
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<font size="3">Afternoon Sessions: 2:00-5:00</font>
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<ul>
<li>
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<font size="3"><strong>Straw/Cell Systems: Design & Construction,</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aaron Dennis with Deva Rascusin, Ace McArelton, & Ben Graham</span></em></font>
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</li>
<li>
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<font size="3"><strong>Assigning Market Values to Natural Homes</strong> <em>Brent Katzmann</em></font>
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<font size="3">Dinner break (5-7)</font>
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<font size="3">Evening Fun: 7:00-10:00</font>
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<ul>
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<font size="3"><strong>Natural Building Pecha Kucha</strong> 20x20 slideshows (more info below)</font>
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<font size="3"><u><strong>Sunday April 6</strong></u><sup><u><strong>th</strong></u></sup></font>
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<font size="3">Breakfast & NBNE business 8:30-10:00</font>
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<font size="3">Morning sessions: 10:00-1:30</font>
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<ul>
<li>
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<font size="3"><strong>Small Business Forum</strong> <em>Brent Katzmann</em></font>
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</li>
<li>
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<font size="3"><strong>Building for the 99%</strong> <em>Maria Klemperer-Johnson</em> - Lunch discussion</font>
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<font size="3">Afternoon</font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Outgoing Tours</strong> <span style="font-weight: normal;">(Optional self-guided tours of several local natural/green buildings including a tiny house, some green homes with natural & salvaged features, and of course a couple timberframed strawbale houses.</span></font>
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<font size="3"><em>Please RSVP ASAP to ejgeorge @ riseup.net so we can be sure to have sleeping spaces and food for everyone! Your local hosts are also able to accomadate travelers who need to stay Thursday &/or Sunday nights as well.</em></font>
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<font size="3"><u><strong>What to bring:</strong></u></font>
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<font size="3">Our annual meetings are casual, low-cost affairs. We provide meals, programming, and places to sleep. To help keep costs low, we ask participants to please bring:</font>
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<font size="3">BYOUrself</font>
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<font size="3">BYOBeverages</font>
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<font size="3">BYOBedding* (most folks bring sleeping bags, there are some beds available - see below)*</font>
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<font size="3">BYOPlace Setting (plate, cup, bowl & silverware; probably a water bottle too)</font>
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<font size="3">also</font>
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<font size="3">BYOFP&STs (favorite pizza topping & favorite sundae topping for Friday night festivities!)</font>
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<font size="3">and</font>
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<font size="3">BYOEtc - bring any cool new materials samples or product info you feel is worth sharing</font>
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<font size="3">Also bring some cold hard cashor a check to pay for expenses (probably $55-70/person).</font>
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<font size="3">And musical instruments are always encouraged!!!</font>
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<font size="3"><u><strong>*Lodging:</strong></u></font>
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<font size="3">The Earthship has several beds and a good amount of floorspace for anyone willing to BYOBedding. Your four local host families have additional beds & futons available as well.</font>
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<font size="3">If you would like more privacy, you are welcome to arrange your own accomodations. Some suggestions:</font>
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<font size="3">Air B&Bs: https://www.airbnb.com/s/14817 or https://www.airbnb.com/s/ithaca--NY</font>
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<font size="3">La Tourelle: http://www.latourelle.com/</font>
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<font size="3">EcoVillage: http://ecovillageithaca.org/visit/</font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
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<font size="3"><u><strong>Local attractions:</strong></u></font>
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<font size="3">Ithaca and the Finger Lakes of NY are home to numerous parks & gorges, museums, not too mention wineries, cideries, & more. So feel free to come early, stay late, or sneak off for a bit!</font>
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<font size="3">http://www.visitithaca.com/</font>
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<font size="3">http://www.fingerlakes.org/</font>
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<font size="3">http://www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com/Things-to-do_Wine-tasting.aspx</font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
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<font size="3"><u><strong>PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS</strong></u></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font size="3"><strong>Advanced SketchUp Techniques Skillshare</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">facilitated by Aaron Dennis</span></em></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<font size="3">Share your most advanced sketchup models, techniques and resources. After the earthship tour we will have a virtual tour with questions and answers of the behind the scenes 3-D designs that we have been working on with a focus on how all that magic actually gets done. Bring prints of plans that you have made with sketchups layout software.</font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Heating Systems for Natural Buildings</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">facilitated by Steve Paisley</span></em></font>
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<font size="3">How well do various heating systems integrate into natural buildings with different heating loads? Is a wood stove just as good as (or better than) a masonry heater for low-load, high-mass buildings? Should we all be just adding PV and heating (and cooling) with ductless mini-splits (or ground-source heat pumps)? Are boiler-heated radiant floors dead (as one article in GBA suggested)? What about indoor wood boilers?<br />
Please feel free to share specific experiences of systems in terms of how they fit into the design of a natural building, costs, comfort, sustainability, and user happiness. If a picture or slide or two will help us all visualize your system - please send to Steve at <span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">everydayispoetry @ gmail.com<br /></span></span></span></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><strong>Natural Kitchens,</strong></span></span> <span style="text-decoration: none;"><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">presented by Diana Katzmann</span></em></span></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">
<font size="3">Green kitchen designer Diana Katzmann will offer tantalizing images of non-traditional kitchens, layout recipes of what you need to make them work for your clients, and lead us into a discussion of more natural kitchen materials options - from countertops to finishes. Feel free to bring samples of materials or products you've used and enjoyed.</font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><strong>Creative Inspiration,</strong></span></span> <span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">breakout lunch discussion,</span></span></span> <span style="text-decoration: none;"><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">facilitated by Diana Katzmann</span></em></span></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Where do you look for creative inspiration? Nature? Travels? Blogs? Let's share inspirations!</span></span></span></font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<font size="3"><strong>Straw/Cell Systems: Design & Construction,</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">presented by Aaron Dennis with Deva Rascusin, Ace McArelton, & Ben Graham</span></em></font>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
<font size="3">Aaron, Deva, Ace and Ben will share their designs of strawcell wall systems - the new kid on the block. The basic idea of adding a framed wall filled with cellulose insulation to the outside of the bale wall in place of exterior plaster opens up new possibilities for creating walls that meet rigorous building standards, allows for extended season construction, provides easy attachments for siding and more. A discussion of design will be followed by examples of recent, real-live strawcell buildings that have been built and what we have learned from it.</font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><strong>Assigning Market Values to Natural Homes</strong></span></span> <span style="text-decoration: none;"><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">presented by Brent Katzmann</span></em></span> </font>
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<font size="3">How do you determine the value of a natural home? Green builder and local realtor Brent Katzmann will briefly present some examples of natural homes that have gone up for sale in recent years - what was the original building cost? how was it appraised and what was used for comps? how long was it on the market? what did it sell for? etc. If you have similar info on buildings in your area, please bring it to add to the discussion.</font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Pecha Kucha</strong></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Up to 20 slides of your most recent work x 20 seconds/slide = 6 minutes & 40 seconds of natural building fame & glory! If you'd like to participate, please send copies of slides by March 25</span></span></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to aaron @ tugleywood.com (Please label slides as: yourname1, yourname2, etc...) Max 20 slides/person.</span></span></span></font>
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<font size="3"><br /></font>
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<font size="3"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><strong>Small Business Forum</strong></span></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,</span></span></span> <span style="text-decoration: none;"><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">facilitated by Brent Katzmann</span></em></span></font>
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<font size="3">Facilitated group discussion on running a small construction company - from business structure and organization options to managing a small business (time management, scheduling, site management, risk management, personnel issues, dealing with subs, etc ), along with shared advice on the 'how-to-stay-sane/-enjoy-a-family-life/-find-time-&-money-to-afford-an-occasional-vacation-/-etc-while-running-your-own-natural-construction-business-with-constantly-either-too-much-or-not-enough-work-and-meanwhile-your-new-carpenter-hire-who-took-a-week-off-to-visit-friends-in-chicago-just-called-to-say-he-won't-be-back-to-finish-out-your-current-over-deadline-project-cause-he-just-joined-a-rock-band' sort of thing.</font>
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<font size="3"><strong>Building for the 99%,</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: normal;">facilitated by Maria Klemperer-Johnson</span></em></font>
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<font size="3">All of us want to be paid a fair wage for our time and expertise, as well as pay our labor a living wage for their work. When building a home of quality, even a modestly sized one, labor costs can easily push the price of that house to a level only the 1% can afford. Discussions about building affordable housing usually center around modular design, lowering quality, and paying labor less. Is there another way? Can we change the system so the 99% can afford a well built, carefully thought out, custom home. Is it possible to simplify design and reduce size enough to build an affordable home that still has character, craftsmanship, and fairly paid labor? Is the only way to offer the 99% something of quality to teach them how to do it themselves? This will be an open ended discussion.</font>
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