BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//EcoGather - ECPv6.15.14//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://ecogather.ing X-WR-CALDESC:Events for EcoGather REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250403T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250403T130000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250205T205310Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250402T192241Z UID:103094-1743679800-1743685200@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Alienation and Exploitation of Labor DESCRIPTION:Register!\n \n \n \n \n \n   \nOur exploration of work questions the differences between jobs\, care\, creation\, production\, and more. There is no question that in order to stay alive work needs to get done. It takes energy to grow photosynthetic leaves\, forage for food\, to hunt for prey\, to sow seeds to harvest\, to shop at the grocery store\, or to make enough money to eat out at a restaurant. There are plenty of arrangements for doing the work of sustenance and subsistence. Most critters alive are responsible for procuring the energy to do work to stay alive themselves\, or in collaboration with a group. But\, in our modern human societies\, many people are able to meet their needs by using someone else’s energy without reciprocation. This is (or runs a very high risk of) exploitation. \nWe have already explored the processes of Primitive Accumulation and Enclosure that established capitalism and coerced people into meeting their material needs through wages rather than subsistence. This rift separated (or introduced a middle-step to) the work done for meeting materials needs. Indeed\, the work done for wages is sometimes referred to as alienated labor. And under Capitalism\, the alienated labor of workers is a key component to making profits\, which mean that labor must be compensated at less than its true value. Because laborers receive less than the full value of their work\, members of the working class who must work for another person or entity to earn wages so they can pay for the necessities are typically working in an inherently exploitative arrangement. (Degrees of exploitation vary tremendously\, of course.) Additionally\, capitalism relies upon – and is continually subsidized by – unpaid work in the so-called “informal economy” (or non-monetary economy). Think here of the work associated with maintaining a car for commuting\, shopping for “work appropriate clothing\,” making and packing meals\, and even the maternal labor of gestating the next generation of exploitable laborers. In this EcoGathering\, we will explore the often invisibilized micro and macro examples of exploitation that result when the work we do to meet our material needs is exploited\, and separated\, or alienated\, from the work we spend most of our lives doing. \nRecommended resources for this gathering: \nMuch To Do \nA big long blog post on relating to and reuniting with out working lives. For this session\, we recommend reading the Exploitation and Devaluation of Necessary Work sections. \n\nThe Myth of Freedom Under Capitalism by Upstream \nHome is Where the Unpaid Labor Is \nMarx\, the ‘Metabolic Rift’ and Capitalism’s Assault on Nature \nThe work of care is vital. Why don’t we pay like it is? \n\n  URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/alienation-and-exploitation-of-labor/ CATEGORIES:EcoGathering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/iii2oblewzc.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250409T193000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250205T210459Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250409T174504Z UID:103098-1744221600-1744227000@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Make Work DESCRIPTION:Register!\n \n \n \n \n \n \nIn a time of crisis\, there is so much work to do. Most of us exist in a state of alienation that amounts to having two full time jobs – the work for wages and the work for ourselves\, leaving little left for (the work of) pursuing passions and participating in community. To add insult to injury\, as many wage-labor jobs have been automated or accelerated by technology\, there has been an increase in the amount of work we are doing that is decidedly not necessary. There is so much important work that isn’t being done or isn’t properly compensated because it is not profitable to capital. Folks are too overworked to have the time and energy to do it. Rather than redistributing the work that is essential to more people and reducing our working hours\, or mobilizing around the many existential crises we face\, we have all continued to work faster and longer to meet our needs and eke out some semblance of individual security in an uncertain world. \nWhy do are we doing so much unnecessary work? In part because it generates profit for someone\, somewhere. In part\, because few places have pro-social systems of wealth distribution or even adequate social safety nets. And in part because an un- or under-employed populous lacks the money to generate more economic activity as consumers. (So even as essential work is made more efficient\, workers aren’t given their time back\, they are compelled to work increasingly less necessary jobs that grow the economy.) \nIn the words of David Fleming “[we] are conditioned by the market economy; [we] have to be competitive\, and cannot forgo an immediate advantage from which [we] would individually benefit in favor of a future (and larger) advantage from which everyone would benefit.” In this EcoGathering\, we will explore the many ways we continue to be exploited and alienated from our labor\, as well as how we might recreate a culture that would allow us to slow down\, and actually get the important work done. \n \nRecommended resources for this gathering: \nMuch To Do \nA big long blog post on relating to and reuniting with out working lives. For this session\, we recommend reading the Creation of Unnecessary Work section. \n \nOn The Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs A Work Rant by David Graeber \nI Didn’t Want a Job by Aimee McNee \n \nOn Meaningless Jobs A conversation with David Graeber URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/make-work/ CATEGORIES:EcoGathering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/qbpzgqemskg.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250417T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250417T140000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250205T211118Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250411T210131Z UID:103103-1744893000-1744898400@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Reclamation of Labor DESCRIPTION:Register!\n \n \n \n \n \n \nThere are plenty of examples of labor movements throughout history (spanning rights recognition\, practical advocacy to improve wages and working conditions\, and radical re-envisioning)\, from worker unions and cooperatives\, fully automated luxury communism and neodecadence\, social security and even insurance\, to universal basic income\, wages for housework\, and expanding who is allowed to work for wages. In this unprecedented time\, we might begin to consider how prefiguration and divestment from the myths of progress and efficiency might play a role in re-establishing forms of subsistence and work-life integration that heals the rift of alienation\, meets our needs without exploitation\, and values finding joy in the work that we all love and rely on. What diverse arrangements for getting the work done in a weird world can we imagine anew and return to? \nRecommended resources for this EcoGathering: \nMuch To Do \nA big long blog post on relating to and reuniting with out working lives. For this session\, we recommend reading the last section\, subtitled Reclamation of Labor. \n\nHow to Drop Out by Ran Prieur \nRetreats: Marble Hill Short film documenting the life of Mark Boyle\, The Moneyless Man \nJem Bendell: Keeping Your Job at the End of the World (As We Know It) URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/reclamation-of-labor/ CATEGORIES:EcoGathering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/zjaso1yz6hq.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250419T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250419T160000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250124T192350Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250325T014454Z UID:102905-1745071200-1745078400@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Good Grief DESCRIPTION:Register!\n \n \n \n \n \n Good Grief is a group exploration of our collective grief through the frameworks of Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief (The Wild Edge of Sorrow). Inspired by our EcoGathering on Grieving during the autumnal Composting series in 2024 and an increasing urgency to process the compounding loss we experience as the continuation of modernity relies on genocide\, ecocide\, omnicide and fascism’s impingement on our basic rights and liberties\, we will hold space to tend to the complex and often unaddressed grief that accompanies these losses and expand our emotional capacity for collective grieving as a skill for navigating uncertain futures. \n\nThe fourth session will focus on The Fourth Gate of Grief\, What we expected and did not receive. This gate provides us the space and grace to acknowledge and grieve the expectations we have held for ourselves and the world around us that cannot be met. In this Sharing Session all participants are welcome to release the grief that arises at this gate to be witnessed and held in the collective well of sorrow. It’s highly recommended that you attend the companion Integration Session offered the following week\, for the sake of group continuity and comfortability\, as well as the opportunity to fully sit with the experience of witnessing and processing the grief at this gate. \n\n  \nRecommended Resources \nThe Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller\, Chapter 3For the fourth session of this series\, it’s highly recommended that you read the section of this chapter subtitled “The Fourth Gate: What we expected and did not receive” (pages 54-63) \nThe Five Gates of GriefA brief summary of each of the five gates of grief \n  URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/good-grief-4-sharing/ CATEGORIES:Sharing Session ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/photo-1574254706427-213d446e2f2b.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250419T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250419T170000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250203T213522Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250325T014628Z UID:103062-1745074800-1745082000@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Work DESCRIPTION:We spend so much of our time and energy working\, that we never really get the chance to explore the question of what really is work\, anyways? Where did it come from\, and who does it serve? There is no question that in order to stay alive work needs to get done. Living in a time of upheaval\, we sense that there’s very important work to do — and for many of us\, that’s not the work we’re actually doing. \nFurther\, today it is common to meet needs through someone else’s labor\, without reciprocation. Such arrangements are prone to exploitation and are entwined with the greatest challenges of our time. Simultaneously\, under capitalism\, almost all laborers receive less than the full value of their work. Thus\, members of the working class (all who must work for another person or entity to earn wages so they can pay for necessities) are typically working in inherently exploitative arrangements. Additionally\, capitalism relies upon – and is continually subsidized by – unpaid work in the so-called “informal economy” (or non-monetary economy). \nMost of us exist in a state of alienation that amounts to having (at least) two “full-time” jobs – the work for wages and the work for ourselves. This leaves little time for (the work of) pursuing passions\, participating in community\, and pursuing transformative change. To add insult to injury\, as many wage-labor jobs have been automated or accelerated by technology\, there has been an increase in the amount of work we are doing that is decidedly not necessary. Rather than redistributing the work that is essential to more people and reducing our wage-working hours\, or mobilizing around the existential crises we face\, most of us now work faster and longer just to meet our needs and eke out some semblance of individual security in an uncertain world. \nIn this unprecedented time\, it is imperative that we examine our relationship to and reclaim some control over our labor\, individually and collectively. If we divest from the myths of progress and efficiency\, we might find ourselves inclined to re-establish forms of shared subsistence. We might reorganize power and practice prefiguration in our workplaces. And we might even toss out dated and impossible-to-achieve notions of work-life balance in favor of work-life integration. \nIf you’d like to meets more of your needs (and those of your neighbors) with less exploitation\, actually respond to accelerating crises\, and find joy in good work\, start by joining us for this EcoGathering. What diverse arrangements for getting the work done in a weird world can we imagine anew and return to? URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/work/ LOCATION:Hard-Pressed Community Print Shop\, 12 VT Rt. 15\, West Danville\, Vermont CATEGORIES:EcoGathering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/hp-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250423T170000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250418T183123Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250418T193823Z UID:104687-1745422200-1745427600@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Examining End Times Fascism DESCRIPTION:A focused\, ad hoc EcoGathering to discuss the analysis put forward in Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s recent article in The Guardian\, The rise of end times fascism. \nPlease read the featured essay in advance\, it will take approximately 30-40 minutes\, as per The Guardian. We’ll gather to discuss. \n \n Register! URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/examining-end-times-fascism/ CATEGORIES:EcoGathering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-18-at-2.29.26-PM.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250426T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250426T160000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250213T180805Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250423T151917Z UID:103331-1745676000-1745683200@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Good Grief DESCRIPTION:Register!\n \n \n \n \n \n \nGood Grief is a group exploration of our collective grief through the frameworks of Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief (The Wild Edge of Sorrow). Inspired by our EcoGathering on Grieving during the autumnal Composting series in 2024 and an increasing urgency to process the compounding loss we experience as the continuation of modernity relies on genocide\, ecocide\, omnicide and fascism’s impingement on our basic rights and liberties\, we will hold space to tend to the complex and often unaddressed grief that accompanies these losses and expand our emotional capacity for collective grieving as a skill for navigating uncertain futures. \nIn this Integration Session\, we will focus on working with the grief that was revealed in the last week’s Sharing Session focused on The Fourth Gate\, What we expected and did not receive. Through guided discussion and ritual\, we will allow this newly unearthed grief to move into practice as we venture into a collective Apprenticeship with Sorrow. It’s highly recommended that you attend the companion Sharing Session offered the week prior\, for the sake of group continuity and comfortability\, as well as the opportunity to fully sit with the experience of witnessing and processing the grief at this gate. \n  \nRecommended Resources: \nRough InitiationsAn article by Francis Weller which details the teachings of Malidoma Somé on trauma vs. initiation cultures.  \nThe Four Mountains StoryAn excerpt retelling of the Cree knowledge keeper\, Cash Ahenakew’s story of The Four Mountains from Vanessa Machado de Oliviera’s Hospicing Modernity. \nThe Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller\, Chapter 3 \nFor the fourth session of this series\, it’s highly recommended that you read the section of this chapter subtitled “The Fourth Gate: What we expected and did not receive” (pages 54-63) \nThe Five Gates of Grief \nA brief summary of each of the five gates of grief URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/good-grief-4-integration/ CATEGORIES:Integration Session ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/photo-1574254706427-213d446e2f2b.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250430T200000 DTSTAMP:20260409T081346 CREATED:20250324T195908Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T033600Z UID:104221-1746037800-1746043200@ecogather.ing SUMMARY:Progress DESCRIPTION:Register!\n \n \n \n \n \n ‘s For this lunar cycle\, we’ll dissect the narratives told to us by modernity\, and how they falsely shape our expectations for navigating the modern world. First up: progress\, and its vital role in the mythmaking of empire. \nOne of the most popular\, powerful\, and pernicious myths of the dominant culture is that of perpetual progress. Watch any car or electronics advertisement\, and you’ll be pelted with appeals to ever-improving technology. Listen to any politician\, and amongst appeals to nationalism and exceptionalism\, you’ll get flooded with appeals to past progress and promises that this particular politician is best if we want to keep advancing. Read any report on the stock market\, and you’ll be invited to celebrate or assured we’ll soon resume the perpetual upward growth of the economy. Progress is used to justify cultural and technological colonization\, economic expansion\, and political power grabs. The myth of perpetual progress (shortened to MPP by some authors like Chris Ryan) permeates the dominant culture and most nations’ self-understanding: we’re all advancing\, moving forwards\, away from a dismal past that’s best discarded and forgotten. \nBut is the narrative of progress at all true? We’re promised that progress will bring us somewhere… better… but better by what standards\, and according to whom? This week\, we’ll explore that omnipresent narrative of progress\, to what extent it drives and justifies modernity\, and all that it misses. \nRecommended Resources: \nDaniel Schmachtenberger’s most recent interview on Nate Hagens’s podcast \nDeath in the Garden podcast: Who Were the Luddites? (start this one 8 minutes in) \nThe World is a Mess\, and It’s Still the Best Time to Be Alive \n Steven Pinker’s Ideas About Progress Are Fatally Flawed \n  URL:https://ecogather.ing/event/progress/ CATEGORIES:EcoGathering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ecogather.ing/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-24-at-16.05.18.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR