Global Village Excursion: March 15

 Need a hands-on adventure? Need inspiration?  On Saturday, March 15, let's get away to the Global Village at Camp Grier, Old Fort, NC for fellowship, learning, dreaming.  Presbytery's Guatemala Partnership committee invites young and old to spend the day (10 am - 3 pm) at the village, whose purpose to is to train groups for mission in developing countries with a focus on appropriate technologies for better health.

Activities:  flip tires for tire gardens, make bio-char (a soil-enhancer that turns agricultural waste into a material that can hold carbon, boost food security, increase soil biodiversity),  explore how to incorporate Global Village themes and activities into our churches, share ideas for health and educational ministries to develop with our Guatemala church partners.  A traditional rice-and-beans lunch and drinks will be provided; consider bringing a side dish to share. Costs/camp fees will be covered by the Partnership Committee (donations accepted); carpools can be arranged.  Sign up for the trip in the narthex February 28 - March 9.  Contact Lynne Meacham (larkm99@gmail.com) if you have questions.

Global Village Update

Click the image for the latest Global Village update!

World Poverty Symposium at Camp Grier

World Poverty Symposium

—Connecting the Dots—

April 13 and 14, 2013

Camp Grier—Global Village, Old Fort, NC

http://www.campgrier.org/ From I-40: take Exit 73 at Old Fort to US 70.  Turn Left on Main Street, Right at the Camp Sign, and one more Right at the Camp Sign onto camp property.

Panels

·         Haiti—Mars Hills College

·         Pine Ridge Indian Reservation—Warren Wilson College

·         Peace Corp Experience

·         Vietnam—Mercer on Missions, Mercer University

·         Lost Boys of Sudan—Abraham Deng/Dav

·         Women in Poverty—Warren Wilson College

·         World Cafe

·         Response

Saturday April 13—                                                          

·         9-10:30 AM Registration

·         11-1 PM Global Village orientation and lunch

·         1-5 Panel Discussions

·         6-7 supper

·         8-9 Lost Boys of the Sudan

·         9-10 World Café

Sunday April 14—

·         8-9 AM Breakfast

·         10-11 Café Comments

·         11—11:30 Response—What’s next

·         12 lunch and departure

Lodging options, food and conference cost

1.       Camp Grier lodges with restrooms and showers!....................$35

2.       Global Village and the Outback, primitive basic facilities……….$30

3.       Tenting, basic facilities…………………………………………………………..$20 

               

Hosts

·         Mars Hill College--LifeWorks

·         Mercer University—Mercer on Missions

·         Warren Wilson College—Program Service

·         Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church

·         Camp Grier Global Village

Global Village Update

Famed French mountaineer Maurice Herzog, who was the first to climb any of the 8,000 meter Himalayan mountains—Annapurna in 1950—reportedly the most difficult of the world’s high  mountains, died this week at the age of 93. Herzog wrote in his book about this epic accomplishment. “In overstepping our limitations, in touching the extreme boundaries of man’s world we come to know something of its true splendor.” Is that not also true when we overstep our limitations to help someone in dire need?  As we step beyond our limitations we come to know something of the true nature of God.  Being part of the Global Village experience offers us ways to discover our true selves and to be in meaningful relationship with others.

On Sunday December 9 and Saturday December 14^th students from Warren Wilson College and other volunteers continued to build the necessary infrastructure in the village. 26 bags of cement were mixed by hand and placed to make the foundation and floor for the composting latrine—that is over 2,000 pounds of cement mixed with hoes in wheel barrows. Thank you Warren Wilson students.

Not shying away from more hard work the WWC crew started digging the post holes for the kitchen structure and finished the digging on the 14^th.  But that is not all. The students also complete a bench for the Haitian Yard Garden and built the outside frame for the village granary—a granary is called a “colombier” in Haiti. In rural areas the granary is built off the ground and is used to store crops away from rodents.  In the Global Village the granary will serve the kitchen as a storage place for food and cooking/serving supplies.

January 12^th; February 3^rd and 24^th; March 30^th; and April 20^th have been scheduled as village work days. If you are interested in joining one of these work days or scheduling a separate work day with your group at the Village contact Dave Cohn at Camp Grier dave@campgrier.org.

Along with working on the infrastructure work continues on developing the curriculum that will engage our minds and hearts in understanding the lives and living conditions in developing countries while at the village.

Useful Technology Workshops - a series of workshops are being planned for this spring at the Global Village. Critical areas to be addressed will be:  clean water—bio-sand filter construction, cooking—improved charcoal and wood burning stoves; and pumping water with water ram pumps. These workshops will be hands-on and be held on weekends. Stay tuned.

If you have a mission trip planned for 2013 consider scheduling dates for your team to experience the learning, the building of relationships and the teamwork that the Global Village offers.  Lives will be changed as the Global Village experience makes a palpable difference for those who take part.

An Opportunity to Donate to the Global Village Start-up:  The following items are needed:

·   Used hand tools—hammers, saws, shovels, hoes and wheel barrows

·   Large durable pots (1-3 gallon) and metal pie tins for tableware (Needed for the village kitchen)

·   Money (always in short supply)—donations for village construction and curriculum development will be greatly appreciated.

Pease consider giving a gift to Camp Grier Global Village in honor of friends this Christmas.

Progress at the Global Village

On Saturday, November 10^th the Global Village hosted 90+ middle school youth and their counselors—a test if you will! The youth came in 3 waves of 30—to learn with their minds, hearts and hands about some of the conditions in which folks live in developing countries.

The Global Village was staffed by volunteers— Barley Krieger,  Emma Van Scoy, Doug Michel, Pat Durham, Judy Nebrig and Buzz Durham, assisted by Presbyterian Youth Council leaders and Josh from Camp Grier. 

The youth were introduced to the Village and some of challenges faced by folks living in developing countries. They were divided into 5 teams and took part in a variety of tasks to help build the Village: Addition boards were nailed to the refugee shelter, charcoal briquettes were made from charred corn cobs and husks, rubber tires were flipped for the Haitian Yard Garden and holes were dug and the foundation built for the bench for the raised bed garden.  In addition, a composting bin was erected close to the future gardens and a fire pit was created. The fire pit, a luxury in developing countries because of limited fuel, will serve in the Global Village as a site for evening reflection and as a gathering place where community decisions can be made. 

 

As the youth worked on their tasks they, along with their team leaders, talked about challenging  conditions brought about by poverty – conditions, such as poor health, limited food and nutrition, unsafe water and poor sanitation. Following each work session the youth gathered and shared their experience with each other.

As the youth were introduced to the Global Village, an opportunity was provided for the GV team to test one of the possible teaching models that will be used to facilitate a Village experience. Thanks to the middle school youth, their counselors, and the Presbytery Youth Council for making this important experience happen.  The experience provided us a rich opportunity to learn and prepare as we move toward the June 2013 opening of the Global Village. The experience will be shared with the Global Village team who is hard at work creating the curriculum for future village experiences.

Much work will be done in the Village this winter as the village infrastructure continues to be built and completed in anticipation of the June 2013 Opening.  We are beginning to see daylight and move forward with great enthusiasm. If you would like to schedule a volunteer group work day at the Village contact Dave Cohn at Camp Grier dave@campgrier.org.

  

An Opportunity To Donate to the Global Village Effort!   

The following items are needed:

•  Used hand tools—hammers, saws, shovels, hoes and wheel barrows
• Large durable pots (1-3 gallon) and metal pie tins for tableware (Needed for the village kitchen)
• Money (always in short supply)—donations for village construction and curriculum development will be greatly appreciated.

Please consider giving a gift to Camp Grier Global Village in honor of friends this Christmas.

Camp Grier Global Village Update

Global Village update—September  14 and 15^th Volunteer Day at the village was great—thanks to Grace Covenant volunteers. The team spent much of weekend clearing understory vegetation and small trees to open the interior of village. Once the down material is sorted and removed from the village, the perimeter can be thinned from below.  The team located a better site for the composting latrine, staked the site for excavation and assembled the concrete form for the latrine foundation and composting chamber floor.

The next scheduled work date for the village is October 12 and 13^th. To volunteer for the weekend or to schedule a separate weekend for your church contact Dave at dave@campgrier.org If you would enjoy organizing a volunteer group to work at the village please notify Dave and he can work out a date and help define the group work.  A work check list should be available this coming week.

Camp Grier: Volunteer This Fall!

The summer camp season has ended at Camp Grier.  Camp staff are now ready to recruit and host volunteers who will work at the Global Village to prepare and build the necessary facilities there so that the village can open officially in 2013.  Volunteers are critical to the success of the village and to ensuring that the village will open on schedule.

 

Camp Greer’s Global Village will:   

·         help mission teams be well prepared for future work and service as they build relationships and work alongside their mission hosts.

·         provide ways for campers to learn about the living conditions and challenges encountered in developing countries – campers will also learn about those who work in far off places to help solve problems related to food insecurity and limited fuel for cooking, the lack of clean water and safe shelter, as well as the health challenges related to limited or absent sanitation facilities.

·         offer casual Camp Grier visitors the opportunity to be exposed to the purpose and promises of the Global Village as they walk through the Village.

 

The Global Village will create knowledge through education, problem solving and hands-on experiences.  The village is A WORK IN PROGRESS and NEEDS YOUR HELP AS A VOLUNTEER—.

Volunteer Opportunity dates in 2012:

·         Friday and Saturday September 14th and 15th.  Friday afternoon and evening will be a time of check-in, orientation and a potluck supper. Work will begin Saturday morning, 9 AM and end at 3 PM. Cut-off date for volunteer registration is September 6^th.

·         Friday and Saturday October 12th  and 13th.  Friday afternoon and evening will be a time of check-in, orientation and a potluck supper. Work will begin Saturday morning , 9 AM and end at 3 PM. Cut-off date for volunteer registration is October 4^th.

·         To register for a volunteer weekend and for more details go to the Camp Grier Website:  http://www.campgrier.org/

 

Work will include:  preparing building sites, constructing a cook shed and composting toilet,  putting down the gravel floor for the Brick and Charcoal Shed, beginning the Global Village gardens, sifting sand and constructing a slow sand water filter and water system,  dismantling and savaging materials for the village.   All skill levels are needed—all tasks are important—everyone will be challenged and everyone will share lots of fun and friendship along the way.  Everyone will have the opportunity to learn more about the purposes of the Global Village, as well as, how Global Village experiences can impact the lives of those who take part in village experiences and those who will benefit from skills learned in the village.

All volunteers will leave knowing that they have played a HUGE role in helping the village become a unique and important place of learning and improving the lives of others.

 

Some Old and New Global Village News

Nathan McMahan—Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church member and Mars Hill College Staff has volunteered to work on the curriculum for the Global Village. His goal is to create the framework for the material and to give it form, along with beginning details. Needless to say.. This is no small task – a task that will require the input and support of us all as the curriculum is refined and as details are added.  Thank you, Nathan

The Brick and Charcoal Shed has been completed. Thanks to all who worked through heat and rain!

We have a donor for the brick making machine. Thank you. Other donations have been received—Our thanks to all.

·         Geo-tech fabric for the gravel floors in the Brick and Cook Shed and the foundation for the composting toilet

·         Drywall plastic buckets

·         300 gallon water storage tank

·         Plastic PVC piping and fittings

Two of the “real” necessaries at the Global Village and the key to the health of our friends and neighbors in developing countries—is proper sanitation and clean water—those two go hand in hand.   When people have access to these facilities over 50% of health issues are solved.  —something we don’t really think about in our homes--when we flush the toilet and turn on the tap.

 

At the Global Village we will build a composting toilet.

The double vaults are built above ground, are watertight and require the separation of urine from solids. Only one compartment of the double vault is used at a time. When one vault is full, the riser or seat is moved to the empty side and the full side is closed so it can complete the composting process before the humanure is removed for use.

Composting toilets offer a tremendous health and environmental advantage over pit toilets. Ground water and wells are not polluted; flies cannot breed in the toilets; mosquitoes and animals cannot spread diseases; they are relatively odor free when properly used and the humanure can be used in gardens. Complete, accurate information and education ensure the success of the system.

Yes, we do have our hat out for donations.

 

Camp Grier  received a $1,000 grant from the WNC Presbytery and a $500 donation toward creation of the Global Village logo and graphics. Those funds did not create a deep pocket for the GV start-up cost. A few more dollars are needed---please make this need known—first to ourselves, then friends and others folks that might be interested in the work.  Suggesting that a financial donation would be appreciated—we do not need a lot of dollars and do want to stay on the lean side so that we do not bend to temptation of overbuilding the GV—but a goal of $5,000 seems reasonable. Give it some thought—if you know someone that might be interested —please have them send a check to:  Attn:   Dave Cohn—made out to Camp Grier with Global Village marked on the memo line—the address is Camp Grier, PO Box 490, Old Fort, NC 28762    Donations can also be made on line at http://www.campgrier.org/index.html.

Some of the larger dollar needs are:

Cook shed--$400-500.

Gravel --$450-600.

Composting latrine--$300-500.

Please consider volunteering for one of the weekends listed above—you will make a difference.