We know that it has been a while since we have updated our website, and we have a very good explanation for such a lack of internet-space maintenance. Currently, Being And Doing, Inc. is back at home in Cleveland, Ohio. We will be stationed in our north shore barracks throughout the rest of 2009, and hopefully not too long in 2010. Our four-month service trip was very successful all around – financially, developmentally, for networking, and for our goal of promoting good, charitable work. Due to this success, the three of us want to do our best to expand and solidify our organization; and, since there are only three of us, we need to hunker down at home base and focus on development and fundraising.
Now on to the meat-and-potatoes work that Being And Doing, Inc. performed in Fairfield, IA with the Mullenneaux Family. Briggs Shore, the SLC’s Program Coordinator, introduced us to the Mullenneauxs because they were working on their own building projects and she thought the our services might be put to better use in their employ. Little did we know that this introduction would lead to a month and a half of service and fellowship.
The Mullenneaux Family consists of Hap (short for Happy) and Lin; their daughter, Anna; and Hap’s mother Mazee (there are more members of the family, but these are the four who live on the land next to the SLC). A few years ago, Hap and Lin made the conscious decision to live in conjunction with the Earth by building and living in natural structures, relying on their garden for food and energy, and by living off the grid. When we arrived, they were busy building a large timber-frame straw bale house for Mazee and a small straw bale/cob house for Anna. Continue reading Fairfield Part 2: The Mullenneaux Family
Being And Doing, Inc. spent the past month and a half in Fairfield, IA (August 22 – October 3). Prior to arriving in Fairfield, we had been trying to maintain a precedent of staying in any given location for about a week, but this small town in southeastern Iowa managed to capture our hearts and minds in such a way that necessitated a longer sojourn.
We decided to stop in Fairfield because Chris McNulty’s long-time friend (and godbrother), Mike Tapley, offered a place to stay and some interesting connections for our organization. He had originally lined up an introduction to the Sustainable Living Coalition, hoping that we might be able to find some volunteer opportunities with them. After a brief introduction to the SLC and sincere regrets for being unable to provide us with any long-term labor, we were redirected to the SLC’s friends and neighbors, the Mullenneaux Family.
After our stay in Manistee National Forest, we spent the week of August 16th in Mount Pleasant, Michigan helping Chris Venegas and some of his fellow students on their Campus Grow Endeavor, which is part of a larger mission known as the Mount Pleasant Food Project.
“The grassroots Mount Pleasant Food Project was born in January of 2009. It is a community-based nonprofit (in development) that is focusing on the many ways reuniting with our food can improve a community’s quality of life. Their mission is to educate students and neighbors about local food systems and enact educational community gardens in schools and neighborhoods. The MPFP’s first endeavor is Campus Grow: a series of three garden sites on Central Michigan University’s campus, totaling about 30,000 sq. ft. The MPFP is collaborating with local businesses and schools to establish the many facets of a healthy, sustainable local food system in hopes of providing more nourishing diets for students, the poor, the rich, the young and old while minimizing the negative environmental impacts.” Continue reading Mount Pleasant Food Project/ Campus Grow
A thousand apologies for “being” so tardy with our updates because we are so busy “doing”. Being And Doing has been in the amazing city of Fairfield, Iowa for the past three weeks being extremely constructive in the most literal sense. We have been volunteering on the land of a family that is dedicated to creating green sustainable structures through the art of natural building. B.A.D. has been helping the Mullenneaux Family construct a house for their daughter Anna, in addition to plastering the walls of her grandmother’s house. Natural building is a new concept to Being And Doing and we have been learning how to create functional and beautiful works of earth. We helped build a cob/straw bale house from the foundation up, almost to completion, in the weeks that we have been here. We are excited to be involved in the construction of a home for someone to live in. The walls of this house are structured with the bales of straw and insulated in and out with cob, a regionally-unique mixture of sand, clay, and straw. Almost all the materials for cob can be found on the land on which we are building. The Mullenneauxs are pioneering the return to a way of life that revolves around “homestead,” while being both enviornmentally and fiscally responsible.
We have had a continued stay in Fairfield due to a blown water pump in our hand-painted 1985 VW Vanagon. Luckily, we were pointed in the direction of Jerry, the namesake of Jerry’s Country Bug Works. Thankfully, Jerry was our gift from heaven! Jerry has worked on many vehicles like ours and said that he would be more than willing to give our “BADmobile” a looksie . The day after it was towed to Jerry’s, he sent Being And Doing an email with detailed images of our van’s engine and the the work that he felt confident to complete. Our van is our home: office, kitchen, creative contemplation room, music box and transportation; it’s health is the health of our organization, so we confidently palced it in the hands of Dr. Jerry. In the time that it has taken for our van to recuperate, the roof has been constructed on top of Anna’s strong naturally-built bale-cob walls.
Our van’s fatigue could not have been a bigger blessing in any other town (as far as we are concerned). We would not have had the chance to work so intimately with such incredibly dedicated groups and individuals. Serendipity has abounded. We will provide more detailed description and narrative as soon as we leave Fairfield, so as to encompass as much of our experience and development (both individually and as an organization) as possible. We have focused on working and networking these past couple of weeks, and we will let you know where we stand soon enough.
Thank you for your patience and continued support,
B.A.D., Inc. provided its services to Manistee National Forest in Northeastern Michigan during the week of August 10 (Monday 8/10 – Friday 8/14). Under the guidance of Ramona Degeorgio-Venegas, Manistee’s Outdoor Recreation Planner, we were put to task wood-staining an observation deck and newly-built bridge and installing a disc golf course in one of the Forest’s recreation areas.
Once again, Being And Doing, Inc. hooked up with our nation’s largest nonprofit organization, the U.S. Government. While we are sure that there is some debate as to whether our country’s leadership deserves that designation and/or our volunteer labor, B.A.D., Inc. believes that the less high-profile aspects of the government can and should be aided without any hesitation (such as the National Forest Service).
“The Huron-Manistee National Forests comprise almost a million acres of public lands extending across the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. The Huron-Manistee National Forests provide recreation opportunities for visitors, habitat for fish and wildlife, and resources for local industry.” Manistee National Forest is an expansive haven for trees, shrubs, wildlife, and the enjoyment of nature-buffs. It is professionally and lovingly maintained by the members of the Forest Service who have made it their responsibility to ensure its continuity as a place of growth and personal respite. Continue reading Manistee National Forest
Being And Doing, Inc. arrived in Chicago on Sunday, August 2, 2009 to spend the following week working at St. Jude House (SJH) in Crown Point, IN. Due to an engagement with Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly on Wednesday and our van’s temperamentality on Thursday, we were available to volunteer on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday (Aug. 3, 4, and 7).
“St. Jude House is a family violence shelter and prevention center that has provided comprehensive services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault since 1995.” It operates out of a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility that was built to serve both as a shelter and as a communal living space for those in need of safety and empowerment. Continue reading St. Jude House
Being And Doing, Inc. was invited to spend an afternoon luncheon on Wednesday, August 5 with the Little Brothers—Friends of the Elderly, Chicago Chapter. We arrived around 11:30am (after a momentary lapse of van power), and spent the next three hours dining with an optimistically energetic group of volunteers and local elderly.
Little Brothers—Friends of the Elderly (LBFE) is a “national network of non-profit, volunteer-based organizations committed to relieving isolation and loneliness among the elderly. [They] offer to people of good will the opportunity to join the elderly in friendship and celebration of life.” In other words, their mission is to help senior citizens who do not have necessary interpersonal connections (i.e. friends and family) feel their intrinsic value through friendship and sincere kindness. Their services are free, and last year they “served 1,000 elders, with the indispensable help of 1,625 volunteers giving more than 52,300 hours of their time.” Continue reading Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly, Chicago Chapter
Invasive plant-life and volunteerism are seemingly two completely separate concepts, however, an ecologist from Acadia National Park explains why and how they are fully integrated with each other. In addition, she presents her expert analysis on the growing threat of invasive plant-life and its impact on native ecosystems.
Being And Doing has just arrived back at BAD Headquarters in Lakewood, Ohio after a month and a half on the road. We decided it was prime time to reconnect with our families and friends, while also getting some logistical work done for our organization, before we head out any farther.
We got in a few minutes ago, on Saturday, July 11th, and we’re planning on sticking around for no more than several nights, so as not to lose momentum.
We’ll keep you posted about our plans for our next stops once we figure that out for ourselves!
As always, we do need your input and suggestions to get us to our next stop, so now’s the time to throw out any ideas you may have!
On Manistee National ForestOne small thing. The Department of the Interior (encapsulating the USFS) is responsible for selling off our public resources (TREES) to logging companies and then selling them back to us. The worst part is that they don't even...
On ChristopherHey. I'm at school and my teacher isnt here so we are allowed to be on the computer. i wanted ot check your website. and see how things are doing. so far the day is good. the new building is...
On AboutTruly this life has proven unpredictable and exhilarating.
On Back at Home Base! Hey friends,
B.A.D., Inc. will be departing from Cleveland in a couple days and we are looking for suggestions of places to volunteer on our way out west. If anyone has some ideas we would like to entertain them. ...
On AboutThank you for your encouragement!! And it's always exciting to know that people respond to our big mobile billboard (our van) and check out our site.
