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Greetings Friends!  This will be the last newsletter coming to you from Koviashuvik. We are excited to share and celebrate our ongoing evolution- we are now Maine Local Living School: A Center for Place-based Learning. In the upcoming year we will become a nonprofit and launch a high school semester program. In addition to the new name, we have a new WEBSITE!  Since 2008 we have been offering community programs in craft, immersive programs for families and schools, and an apprenticeship program.   All of this will continue in some capacity. IN ADDITION we are ready to offer a powerful immersive experience for high school learners, the "Living-in-Maine Semester."

The Living-In-Maine Semester! A 100 day immersive learning experience for high school students highlighting: sustainable living, climate change education, community engagement, handwork, the power of living connected to place.  Launching in the fall of 2021, stay-tuned for information on employment opportunities and ways to get involved!

Why we need programs like the Living-in-Maine Semester right now.

Also on the Schedule: 

-Five apprenticeship spaces are available in our Spring Apprenticeship Program and enrolment is open now!  "It has been such a privilege to learn from the Maine Local Living School how, through my lifestyle and caretaking practices, I can be as much a gift to the land as it is to me.”  Liza, 2020 Fall Apprentice.

-And for those interested in crafting: Pack Basket Weaving Weekend, May 15 and 16


New Partners:

Maine Local Living School partners with the Ecology Learning Center,
 an exciting new charter school initiative in Unity, to do a monthly program highlighting trees in the Maine ecosystem.  So far we have made coat-hooks of cedar, bread from oak, fire and tea from pine, and shelter from balsam fir. In each class we investigate how the work translates into action toward wise inhabitation and decolonization.

Kingfield Elementary School, already known for their outdoor programing and school garden, seeks further curriculum connection to indigenous practice and place-based learning.  We are in conversation about forming a lasting monthly program with Kingfield!
 
Thank You's:
Big thanks to Erica Kamerzel for her work with us on the new website! 
Big thanks to Jeff Coren, long time friend of the family for his technical support in our transition to 501c3 status.
Big thanks to Antioch University New England and the Environmental Studies Dept. for a hugely powerful program. Education is transformational!

Read on for a look back at the fall Apprenticeship and some news from the Knapp Family

Fall Apprenticeship News: 
"If you listen well enough, you will realize that everything you need to live is in the land. The more I learned this, the more I wanted to learn and listen, and the more I listened the more I wanted to be able to reciprocate for the gifts I was being presented."  Ilan, Fall Apprentice 2020 

A big heartfelt thanks to Meagan, Liza and Ilan who traveled across the country from southern California to invest their time and sprit into living and learning in The Apprenticeship Program.  The apprenticeship was a perfect vehicle for learning during the pandemic: after an initial two weeks of working together while maintaining separate bubbles we were able to burst bubbles! and immerse in each other’s company for the reaming months.  
A few moments that stand out:
  • The four of us sharing acorn bread and acorn processing knowhow with students from the Ecology Learning Center.  Ilan proudly telling that his name means oak in Hebrew!
  • An overnight "primitive" skills camping trip.  In the dark we fox-walked down to the edge of a large bog where we felt the wisdom of earth-time rising up through our bare feet.
  • Following inner vision into the woods in search of two large cedar trees that needed to have identical matching curves to create an outdoor staircase for a neighbor.  We all felt the magic of asking for a gift from the land, then receiving it.  Thanks, Ilan, Meagan and Liza, for the help carrying out those 30 foot long trees on our shoulders!

In Gratitude, The Knapp Family.
Apprentice crew making pack baskets, working with fall harvests, running the sawmill, getting ready to pluck a chicken, and canning tomatoes in the outdoor kitchen.
Knapp Family News
Though the year has been deeply trying because of Covid, there is also much we are deeply grateful for: we have plenty of outdoor space, lots of food, a warm dry home, and family, friends and neighbors to share life with. The kids are homeschooling this year due to health concerns and it's wonderful to spend more time with them. Ashirah has been able to work mostly from home for the addiction medicine practice she works for, though she's taken a cut in hours. Chris was oddly grateful for a spring and summer without Koviashuvik programs because it allowed a time to clean up unfinished projects and the lingering messes of 16 years homesteading!  We are excited about a mini-foray into small grains: a 3ft wide, 100ft long row of winter rye produced over 50lbs of winnowed grain!  It has been fun to bake a lot of sourdough with acorn and rye and watch our kids get bigger!  This is the type of place-based connection and gratitude that we wish for the world at large.  As our mentor of many years Grandfather Ray, likes to say, "Paradise is right here, slow down and you might see it."  Lastly, we are happy to say that Ashirah's dream of many years to have a dog has finally come true.  We have a big strong furry friend as part of the family and Ashirah is doing a hero's duty training him not to eat the goats!
 
tying a bundle of rye before threshing, dawn on the Bigalow's, gifts of the homestead, rye bread and goat cheese, Clutch, snuggled in next to the rocket mass heater. 
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Maine Local Living School · 71 Lake Drive · Temple, ME 04984 · USA

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