First meeting: Sunday, March 6 at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, 3 p.m. in the community room. Open to everyone! Meeting monthly (somewhere) to jabber, and whenever possible for hands-on activities. Lots of potential topics: strawbale, cob, straw-clay, cordwood, timber frame, stone, roundwood, adobe, earthbags, rammed earth, underground, salvaging & scrounging, recycling & repurposing, retrofitting & remodeling, environmentally-preferable products, passive & active solar, rainwater, graywater, composting toilets, blacksmithing...

The first get-together will be an informal meet-and-greet so we can all find out a little about each other and brainstorm about how to have a fun, educational, fulfilling, ongoing group. Successful models we can draw inspiration from exist in places like Ithaca NY, Madison WI, and Boone NC. This group is intended to be for everybody, whether or not they've ever built anything. It's about learning, empowerment, and—whenever possible—doing. The best part of a group like this is the opportunity to help work on projects—pitching in at a timber-frame raising, helping build a cob oven or a stone wall, plastering a strawbale wall.

We have no idea how many people to expect, and the co-op's community room is kind of small. If possible, please RSVP to <bang [at] potkettleblack [dot] com> with your name and contact info so we can let you know if we end up having to scramble for a larger space.

Feel free to bring a snack to share, if you're so inclined.

For more info, see http://www.potkettleblack.com/bang