October 2024 Programs
10/15 - "Closer to Home" Film and Discussion of 'localizing.'
10/17 - "Becoming One with the World" author and educator
Coming - new "Hoodwinked in the Greenwashed Mountains" programs
Localization, Sufficiency, Resilience
​
BALE (Building A Local Economy) sees its work, along with many other inspiring collaborators, as building new resilient models grounded in a new story of how we live on the Earth. We know we have so much to learn, and seeing that so much creativity is awakening in this time, we focus on such things as gratitude, conscious living and valuing what is important to the human spirit (which we know is not money… and not scarcity). Deep change awareness, grieving a broken world, facing our traumas, and being engaged in community with hands-on solutions.
'Closer to Home'
Bringing 'Local' to Life
Living, as we all do, in challenging times, BALE offers a refreshing reminder, via the 35-minute film, “Closer to Home,” that inspires important conversations about how critical it is, now, to bring our economic and social power home. Join those who seek to strengthen the ‘local’ in our lives by attending the free film showing on Tuesday, October 15 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at BALE Commons, 35 South Windsor Street in South Royalton. An information discussion will follow.
The film brings together an extraordinary array of thinkers, writers and activists from every continent to make a simple but revolutionary argument: by reducing the scale of the economy, we can not only stop the rush towards social and ecological breakdown, but restore damaged ecosystems and increase our own personal well-being. We live in a time of multiple crises, from climate chaos, poverty and war to skyrocketing costs of living. It can seem overwhelming –- until we realize that we have the power to change things. It’s a message of hope that the world cannot afford to ignore. And, in these times, it is so important to be together to share (in person) with others in our community.
As with all BALE programs, this event is free.
'Becoming One with the World'
A New Path for Education
Meet Kathleen Kesson, professor Emeritus of Teaching, Learning and Leadership in the School of Education at Long Island Univeraity (LIU), at a talk and book launch at BALE Commons, 35 South Windsor Street in South Royalton on Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Kesson describes her latest book, Becoming One With the World: A Guide to Neohumanist Education as a response to an urgent need to reconceptualize the fundamentals of education in light of the many social, ecological, and political challenges facing humanity today. She says it answers the call for a new educational paradigm, one based on a far richer, more insightful understanding of human possibility, one that decenters human “exceptionalism” in favor of a new ecological consciousness, one that promotes harmony and cooperation between humans and non-human others, and one that cultivates wisdom. Neohumanist education strives for a harmonious balance between spiritual development and critical engagement with the world, in the belief that an awakened conscience translates into transcending differences and creating a sense of unity with all beings.
​
Come join the conversation about how to reimagine education in these times.
​