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Big Stone.

Seminars on Slavic Traditional Culture devoted to Sun Celebration
in the Big Stone ecovillage.

We invite you to participate in one of 4 annual seminars dedicated to ancient traditional Russian (Slavic) Celebration. The seminars are being organized in the Big Stone ecovillage, located in a very beautiful place at the River Kubena curve surrounded by a pinery (Shilikovo village, Sokol region, Vologda oblast, Russia).

These seminars has been conducted since 1998.

In 2007 the seminars are scheduled for:
Vernal Equinox 14-19.03.2007
Summer Solstice. 15-24.06.2007
Autumnal Equinox 20-26.09.2007
Winter Solstice 21-27.12.2007

The program includes preparing for the Sun Celebration, that means:
" Discussions on traditional culture and meaning of Sun Celebration
" Talks on traditional costumes
" On the Summer seminar: Preparing traditional costumes by participants: tailoring Russian dress and weaving belts
" Daily studying Russian traditional songs, dances, games
" Preparing the place for conducting Celebration: in summer haying herbs, weaving wreaths, in winter making snow fortress, making dolls of straw
" Cooking traditional ritual food: bread, pies, porridge, salads, drinks, eggs
" Conducting Solstice Celebration: Greeting Sun; conducting rituals dedicated fertility of the land, making holiday fire; singing, dancing, playing in traditional manner.

Besides, everyday activities will include:
" Discussions: on history and concept of ecovillages, including Big Stone one, on ecovillages and ecogroups movement, on wild eatable herbs, environment friendly technologies in ethnic traditions
" Socially useful works: on the choice of participants - ecovillage land cleaning, chopping firewood, rebuilding fences, haying, cooking
" Creative works: making things, toys and decorations with clay
" Teaching on healthy life in villages: participants will learn how to collect, store and use wild herbs and roots, make soap with ash, make bread and kvass on hop ferment, they will collect black flint for making
fire and cleaning water, and will also enjoy Russian bath with besom and kvass.

To participate in the seminars you have to contact one of the contact persons.

If you do not speak Russian, please contact in English:
Mirzagitova Laysan - laysanm@yandex.ru, (the best way for communication), home (812) 351 65 62, cell 8-921-319 61 55 (Russian, English, French)
Kulyasova Antonina - ku@indepsocres.spb.ru (Russian, English)
Organizational fee for participants (65 euro) includes vegetarian meal and accommodation.
The meal during the program is vegetarian.

You have also take with you: sleeping bag, tourist mat, pen and writing-book, mug, bowl and spoon, scissors and needles, 2 reels of thread, color wool thread, gauntlets for work.

About the Big Stone ecovillage:
The initiative project has been existing for more than 14 years. It started in 1992 when Kulyasov's family ( Tonya is economist and Ivan is medical doctor) decided to live in their family (grandmother's) house in Shilikovo village. Since 2005 the project in Shilikovo has been called " The Big Stone Ecovillage ". The Big Stone ecovillage represents a trial of a new conception of ecovillage, a kind of a transitional step from the city life to the country life. There are one family of permanent residents there, and about 20 people of 'seasonal residents who love country life, share environmental ideas, and regularly take part in the Big Stone's programs/seminars. The Big Stone ecovillage has recently become part of the Russian ecovillage network and the member of GEN (Global Ecovillage Network). It gets informational support from www.eco-rus.com and develops its activities in three main directions:

1. Environmental: we research relationship between environmental friendly lifestyle and Russian traditional culture, rebirth traditional technologies, which our ancestors used in there everyday life. We test these technologies and promote them for using in ecovillages, villages and sometimes in the cities. We teach to use these technologies on our seminars.

2. Ethnographical: We reasearch the connection of environment and traditional holidays, celebrate solstice and equinox in traditional manner. These celebrations include traditional rituals, songs, dances, games special for season. They suppose minimum one-week preparation: making traditional celebration dresses, food, other things for holiday rituals. On our seminars we teach people how to conduct traditional celebration, give lessons of traditional singing and dancing.

3. Educational: We share our experience with those who come to our programs. Since 2005 the initiative group takes part in seminars in the Grishino ecivillage as co-organizers, sharing their experience and their understanding of ecovillage life concept (www.grishino.ecology.net.ru).

Write: oko@eco-rus.com