Pun Pun Organic Farm, Seed Center and Sustainable Living Learning Center
Near Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand in Mae Taeng Province
Pun Pun is an organic farm, seed-saving operation, and sustainable living and learning center. Pun Pun has been a leader in propelling the earthen building movement in Thailand and hosts workshops, internships, and trainings at the farm every year. We feel that only by living in a sustainable way ourselves, is it possible for us to create a model from which others can learn and live. Since it's inception in 2003, Pun Pun has been a Kleiwerks International Affiliate. For more information click here.

Whispering Seed is both a village-based sustainable learning center and a home for orphaned and abused children. They focus on finding the joy in serving others through cross-cultural exchanges and sustainable living practices. Whispering Seed is home to Thai and Burmese children from orphaned and abused backgrounds. The Whispering Seed Community Learning Center is a place through wich workshops, trainings, classes and seminars are held in the areas of alternative and democratic education, sustainable living, Permaculture, Natural Building, natural child-rearing, traditional crafts (weaving, spinning, and natural dyes), dance, music, and youth empowerment. Whispering Seed has been a Kleiwerks International Affiliate since 2003. For more information visit www.whisperingseed.org

Baan Din 'Earth House' Team A group of people who have since 2002 have been working to spread earthen building all over the nation. There are now two groups. One which only does volunteer work, going to teach workshops on earthen building all over the country receiving usually only their transportation costs. The other group does volunteer work as well as has started a 'fair business' taking jobs building earthen buildings for pay, employing villagers who are knowledgable in earthen building to construct them and using the profit to support other activist organizations in Thailand. Since it's inception the Baandin Team has built over 200 earthen buildings across the nation for various villager groups, farmer groups, NGOs, etc and has taught many more. For more information visit their website at www.baandin.org/Eng/index.htm

Sequatchie Valley Institute is host to annual 10-Day Natural Building Gatherings. As a non-profit ecological educational organization, they play an integral part in a 30 year-old, 350 acre family homestead in the hills of Tennessee. Projects at Sequatchie Valley Institute run the gamet, including workshops and internships in permaculture, food preservation, seed-saving, organic gardening, alternative energy and deep ecology, crafts such as glasswork, ceramics, jewelry, herbal medicine-making, and Media Rights- documenting eco-activism. Kleiwerks International has been involved with the Natural Building events at Sequatchie Valley Institute since 2003.

City Repair is an all-volunteer grassroots organization helping people reclaim their urban spaces to create community-oriented places. City Repair is co-host to The Village Building Convergence, a Cyclical Event for the Restoration of Communication and Sharing, Working Together to Rebuild our Common Culture, and to Transform the City into a Network of Ecological Village Places. Thousands of neighbors, volunteers and visitors come together to continue building the physical and social village infrastructure. City Repair, based in Portland, Oregon (and quickly multiplying in a city near you) is a successful statement of our common visions for a lively urban community. Kleiwerks International core instructors have been project facilitators and presenters at the Village Building Convergences in 2003, 2004 and 2006, leading the construction of a number of urban-based earthen structures, including the ones in ‘Share-It Square,’ Portland’s first Intersection Repair Project.

Earthaven Ecovillage is based on 325 forested mountain acres near Asheville, NC. The Earthaven community is dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning about, living in and demonstrating holistic, sustainable culture. Since 1995, Earthaven has grown to 75 full members –from young children to a great-grandmother- and they expect to grow to 150 total. They are building homes in eight neighborhoods and developing on-site businesses as part of their own village-scale economy. Earthaven has numerous examples of various Natural Building styles, including earthship, adobe, cob, straw bale and timber-frame. For more information about Earthaven Ecovillage, visit www.earthaven.org.

Buddha Smiles is a humble grassroots initiative that aims to build a peaceful, nonviolent and just world. We are a project of the Spirit in Life Movement, a registered Public Charitable and Educational Trust. Buddha Smiles is inspired by the Gandhian philosophy of Sarvodaya (welfare of all) which recognizes that the spiritual, moral, cultural, social, economic and political dimensions are all necessary components of holistic development. Our primary objective is to address the challenges of primary education for disadvantaged children at the grassroots level by creating community-based schools. We do this in cooperation with students, social activists and enthusiastic community members. The education of women has a much greater influence and impact on child care and development than any form of social action, therefore we incorportate basic health care for woman into our educational programs. Contact information: Ramu Manivannan, 4A, First West Main Road, Anna Nagar, Vellore-632 001, Tamil Nadu, India --- Mobile: 0944 33 489 42 --- Arul Vinayagam: 09345 303479 --- Buddha Smiles office: +91 +416 + 2216 844. For more information about Buddha Smiles visit www.geocities.com/smilesbuddha.

Yanantin Permaculture & Natural Building Education Center
Yanantin (meaning "finding the balance in opposites or differences" in the Kechuan language) is an emerging sustainable education and demonstration center including organic farm; a seed-saving operation; a composting toilet; solar and earthen cooking ovens; and the beginnings of passive solar earth and straw buildings. Yanantin have been collaborating since meeting at Kleiwerks Patagonia Practicum in 2004-05, which was followed by an invitation to establish the Yanantin Education Center. For more information visit www.yanantin.com.ar. For details about Kleiwerks 6-Week Training with Yanantin click here.