The Pfeiffer Center at Threefold Community Farm
Midwinter Agriculture Intensive
THE AGRICULTURAL INDIVIDUALITY
With Mac Mead, Megan Durney, Kim Vaughan, Harald Hoven, Sea-Anna Vasilas, Jennifer Kleinbach, and others
SCROLL DOWN TO REGISTER!
In this centennial year of the lectures “Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture,” given by Rudolf Steiner in June, 1924, we are focusing on what for many is the guiding star for the biodynamic work – the image of caring for the earth and her kingdoms as for a living being that can unfold and develop into an independent self-sustaining individuality.
We will explore the inner and outer practices helpful in nurturing this special being in lectures, open conversations, and artistic activities.
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Please note: This is not an introductory course. Participants are expected to be familiar with Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture lectures and to have some working knowledge of biodynamics.
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REGISTRATION: Click on the ticket link below to register.
SCHEDULE: The course begins with a presentation on Friday evening at 7:30 pm and concludes with lunch at 12:30 pm on Monday. The detailed schedule will be posted soon.
CONFERENCE RATE: $395
An Early Bird Special through December 31, 2023: A $15 dollar adjusted rate for those who have participated in previous years. Please email [email protected] letting us know when you participated in the past.
DISCOUNT RATE: We are offering a discounted rate of $295 for Fellowship members and employees at institutions in the Threefold community. To obtain the discount registration link, please email [email protected] letting us know your affiliation.
APPRENTICE RATE: A rate of $195 is available for farm apprentices who were active during the 2023 season or will be apprenticing in 2024. Please send an email to [email protected] with a short description of your apprenticeship and why you feel this course would benefit your continued learning. Once reviewed and approved, you will receive a link to register at the apprentice rate.
CANCELLATION POLICY: You may cancel your registration any time before December 31, 2023, for a full refund, less a $25 administrative fee. No refunds will be offered after December 31, 2023.
MEALS: Catered lunch Saturday-Monday and dinners on Saturday and Sunday, all provided by Threefold Café, are included in your registration fee. The Café will also be open for dinner on Friday evening and will be offering simple breakfast options each morning on a pay-as-you-go basis.
ACCOMODATIONS are available on campus at the Holder House, through our local homestay list, or at several hotels a short drive away. Click here to visit the Holder House web page for more information about these accommodation options. Once registered, you will receive a booking code to reserve a room at Holder House.
PRESENTERS
MAC MEAD, a biodynamic farmer since 1975, mentors the Pfeiffer Center and Duryea Farm Leadership Team and is lead faculty of the Pfeiffer Center’s adult education programs. Mac regularly speaks at conferences of the Biodynamic Association (BDA), the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). In 2016, he was an invited speaker at “The Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture,” a conference of the Harvard Divinity School.
HARALD HOVEN founded and ran Raphael Garden at Rudolf Steiner College (Fair Oaks, CA) from 1987 to 2007. There he trained close to 100 apprentices, created a seed-saving and breeding program, established biodynamic adult education at RSC, and operated a year-round 70-member CSA. Since his retirement from RSC in 2017, he has consulted, trained, and mentored biodynamic farmers in the U.S. and abroad, focusing on preparation making and biodynamic practices.
MEGAN DURNEY is the Farm Manager and coordinates the daily work on our Threefold Community Farm, and is an instructor for Pfeiffer Center’s one-year part-time biodynamic training. She takes a leading role in planning and carrying out our annual Plant Sale and each season’s vegetable production. She directs our seed saving, herb growing, and herbal product production, and manages our CSA, Farm Stand, and sales to other outlets. Megan is a board member of the Nature Institute. Megan joined the Pfeiffer Center as an intern in 2006 and became a staff member in 2010. In 2014-2015, she studied seed saving under Harald Hoven at Raphael Garden in Fair Oaks, CA.
KIM VAUGHAN, Herdsperson and Dairy Manager, heads up the only dairy herd in Rockland County. In addition to supporting all aspects of Threefold Community Farm operations and administration, she is an active member of the Fellowship Community’s Administrative Circle and Community Council. Kim first met biodynamics at a year-long course with Harald Hoven at Raphael Garden in Fair Oaks, CA. She soon joined their CSA and became a star volunteer, serving on the steering committee, organizing fundraisers, and milking the cows on weekends. In 2016, Kim stepped away from Waldorf kindergarten teaching to become a full-time apprentice at Raphael Garden, followed by a summer at Fulcrum Farm in Grass Valley, CA, where she helped tend a small herd of Scottish Highland cows.
SEA-ANNA VASILAS has been teaching eurythmy internationally since 2011, after graduating from the four-year eurythmy training at Eurythmy Spring Valley in Chestnut Ridge, NY. She first encountered eurythmy through her work with biodynamic agriculture and has continually been inspired by the living relationship between biodynamics and eurythmy. Sea-Anna earned her MA in Performance Eurythmy from Alanus Hochschule (Germany), and is currently a member of the Eurythmy Spring Valley faculty and ensemble.
JENNIFER KLEINBACH, Speech Artist, teaches speech for the School of Eurythmy, Sunbridge Institute, and the Fiber Craft Studio. She also coordinates community speech ensembles for local festival performances. Jennifer received her Speech Formation diploma from the Speech School of North America and her eurythmy diploma from Eurythmy Spring Valley. She has toured with Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble as a eurythmist and speaker, and performed in Threefold community productions of Rudolf Steiner’s mystery dramas (2007, 2012-2014). Jennifer holds a BA in classical languages from Haverford College and an MA in medieval studies from the University of Notre Dame.
AND OTHERS!