Interested in presenting on our behalf at the Food Waste Solutions Summit?

We received the following email and wanted to share.  If you are interested in submitting a proposal to present about our work, let us know.  The deadline is October 20th to submit a proposal. Hi John, I have been following your zero waste group from afar and would like to connect. I am on the board of the NC composting council and we are hosting a happy hour social at Sierra Nevada Oct 25th with the goal of bringing together the composting and zero waste community of WNC. We would love for you to spread word within your group and to have a presence. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainable-spirits-west-oct-25-2019-tickets-66246656533 Also I am sure you may already be aware but there is an upcoming Food Waste Solutions Summit in Asheville in November. http://www.abfoodpolicy.org/food-waste-solutions-summit-2/ I would also encourage you submit a presentation on your work for one of the ignite sessions.... https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSGuU5B6raXUQN4r6APyf2aLQyG8CUF-bIgl0KDK01OSIzOA/viewform Hopefully all this good energy will build towards building a better model of sustainability for our region. Thank you for all the [...]

Not everything should be convenient

A friend recently mentioned a book she read, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I have made a goal to read more so I went to the library and checked it out. Robin is a scientist, a Distinguished Teaching Professional of Environmental Biology and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The book compares the scientific communities views on biology to those of her nation. It talks about the community between plants and humans and how they have evolved. It talks about the honor and gratitude they have for each other. She talks about going out in the Spring to harvest leeks. She uses a hand trowel instead of a shovel. While a shovel would make quick work of the harvest it would also shorten her time in the woods. She says, “Not everything should be convenient.” Indeed. In our convenience economy that is a soothing message to hear, more as a form of reinforcement than a new message for me. My husband John and I have changed [...]

Transylvania Shares planning notes from October 2, 2019

Hello All, We had our most recent Coop Committee meeting last Wednesday, October 2, at Oskar Blues. We covered marketing topics. In attendance: James, Kim, Gail, John, Kathleen and Ed. We covered marketing and related topics. Here is a summary of the meeting: Firstly, Kim wanted to add a new Principle to our List of Principles: 'We will prioritize purchasing used equipment over new' This was discussed and agreed upon by the group. The first question that we discussed was 'Who can Join the Coop'. The answer is any resident of Transylvania County, upon making application. The second question was 'How Can They Join'. We discussed having both an on-line application and a paper application. There was some discussion about what criteria (such as part-time residency) might affect membership. There was discussion that the Transylvania County Library faces the same kind of issues. Kim took an Action Item to check with the Library on how they qualify people. What will be the fees for membership? We will charge an annual [...]

By |2019-10-07T14:07:46-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Help a Neighbor, Moving to Zero-waste, Sharing Club|

Rise and Shine hiking club

Connecting children to nature has been proven to improve their health and quality of life. The first time I heard universities were doing studies to see if children benefited from being in nature I was floored. I was in a meeting once with a group of MD’s who were reviewing the study. I told them I had been doing that study for years by taking children into the woods and such. The impact was obvious immediately to me. John and I spend a lot of time outside and we absolutely love sharing those experiences with youth. We have helped organize a hiking club at Rise and Shine for the school year and welcome those who would like to help us hike with the scholars. We hike most Fridays from 3:30 – 6 pm. If you would like to be on the notification list of hiking opportunities, please email us at [email protected] and let us know.

By |2019-10-07T16:26:48-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Connecting with nature, Gatherings, Help a Neighbor|

Sharing sharing sharing…

My gosh have we been busy sharing dishes and such with members of our community who are working to reduce waste. It is fantastic how many people have spread the word about our wares and services. Julia Kennerly and Su Slover have been amazing advocates. They have shared the word and stepped up to personally make events they are involved in zero-waste. Julia shared that her first event only created ½ a grocery plastic bag of trash and most of that was brought in from attendees (disposable coffee cups and such.) Wendy shared word about our composting work in the See Off news in the Transylvania Times and Susan Sunflower shared the word about waste reduction at a county commission meeting and also through a letter to the Transylvania Times. Thanks to these zero-waste champions working to make our community a cleaner place.

By |2019-10-07T14:01:23-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Moving to Zero-waste, Sharing Club|

Happy 2nd Anniversary Moving to Conservers!

Can you believe we are 2 years old this month? Two years ago, 8 of us got together for a zero-waste potluck dinner and to study a video course on resilience from the Post Carbon Institute. Those 8 people shared the word and now we are a group of hundreds. Wow. To celebrate we are gathering at the Peace House (one of our original meeting spots) this Thursday at 6 pm for a zero-waste potluck and party. Su and Rob have graciously opened their space to us for this wonderful gathering. Su has put together a wonderful evening and we are looking forward to celebrating together. Here are the directions to the Peace House: Rob and Su Slover 88 Bent River Farm Rd Pisgah Forest 28768 From Everett Road as you turn on to Bent River Farm Rd we are the FIRST driveway on the RIGHT ( gps will send you past) .We are meeting at the cabin which is part way up the drive on the left. [...]

By |2019-10-07T13:49:22-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Gatherings, Moving to Zero-waste|

Living Wage Coalition educates us during a zero-waste potluck at WolfBrew Bottle Shop

Elaine Long of the Living Wage Coalition joined us for our October 3rd zero-waste potluck gathering at WolfBrew Bottle shop. We invited her to educate us and help us identify what we need to pay the staff of Transylvania Shares, the sharing cooperative we are creating. A living wage in Transylvania county is $12.60 an hour. According to the Living Wage Certification process, a process that allows members of our community to know who is compensating their employees at a living wage rate, the only requirement to become certified is to pay employees $12.60 an hour and contractors $14 an hour. I learned that those pay rates are calculated not to include the cost of paying child care. Citizens can receive assistance from the government for child care if they fall within a certain income bracket. She did share there was another group in the state who advocates for $15 per hour as a living wage. Members asked how they could find out who was paying a living [...]

By |2019-10-07T16:25:18-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Gatherings, Help a Neighbor, Sharing Club|
Go to Top