VIDEO/DISCUSSION Groups was Re: Search for results of Elaine'stesting of bd preps

[Allan Balliett]

What we are doing here is holding an annual series of weekly videos (most from Bullfrog) about the leading minds in sustainable agriculture. Among these videos, we include LIFE IN THE SOIL and the Podolinsky film. Having this series allows us to get weekly publicity in the local newspapers. We do not get large crowd, maybe a dozen a night, but always new people each week, so over the course of the videos, we are touching a couple of dozen of individuals through the series (and the entire community through the newspapers and, yes, radio, which resulted in me doing a couple of radio interviews). We have attracted the local ag professor and have made a permanent friend for sustainable organic farming with the county hort agent. We, so far, have not reached consumers, but the potential is there, if we targeted mothers with young children with a different series of videos, I'm sure that we could attract that group.

Anyone can do this. The discussions are not led, everyone sits in a circle and we just talk to each other about the ideas that come up. It is great to have a PhD with an albrecht-focus attending each week, but I'm sure we could have done fine without him, also! ;-)

If you want to do this same series, I have the tapes and can loan them to you. I also have the press releases that you can modify. We can propagate this program across the country. (If, as Chris has suggested earlier, you are a person who has historically had huge distances between your Wants and your Will, don't waste my time, ok?)

This year our series will start with a 7 week discussion of AGRIGULTURE, followed by the 7 week video/discussion series. It is being hosted by the sustainable ag program at Shepherd College and will have an initial enrollment of around 30 sustainable ag/enviro students. I'm excited!!

It would be great if others have similar programs and we could get some synergy going with our materials.

Also, as I'm sure most already know, there is a "market" for web-based education in this country and around the world. If we had a short web-based educational program, I think we could get it into the school system and, perhaps, even get paid to do so. The point here is that by going web-based we could bypass much of the greatest exepenses of video production and still hit a very important segment of the population (and be available on-demand to the rest)

Just some thoughts.

-Allan

I think the Korrows' idea about doing a video is good. I have an excellent video on the patenting of life called "Not for Sale" from Moving Images Video Project, 2408 E. Valley Street, Seattle, WA 98112 206 323-9461, <www.movingimages.org>. Their distributor is Bulldog Films, I think. You could do worse than getting in with them. You want professional video people to make the film. There is a filmmaker here who made a video about Sandpoint which I am going to see for the first time on Sunday. You first need to decide what information you want to get across to people about Bio-Dynamics, then you need to find a filmmaker to work with to make it really good. "Not for Sale" has shots from all over the world, really exciting music and is very well put together and edited.

I bet this group could collaborate over the net and come up with something that would set the record straight.