IDEAL VENUE

The more of the workshop which can be held outside, the better. Basically, the ideal venue includes comfortable outdoor areas for sitting and dancing in circles. When the workshop is large (more than 40 people), and some of the exercises are split into two groups, then more than one comfortable outdoor area is preferable. A large indoor area is also necessary for working at night and when the weather does not permit outdoor work. (Note that old farm-sheds, large tents and tarpaulins have all been used for this purpose.)

A venue which can accommodate all the participants to sleep both nights is also good. (If people have to leave the venue and fellow participants, the feelings and experiences of the workshop tend to dissipate, and it is more difficult to enliven to workshop the following day.) Providing space to camp outdoors is particularly appropriate, allowing greater connection with nature.

Direct access to a nearby wilderness or relatively natural place is another good quality for a venue, but not necessary (Council of All Beings workshops have been held inside shopping malls and university-buildings with great success!). It is great, within a longer workshop format, to allow free time for people to explore a natural area.

Privacy is important because of the expression of deep emotions and other seemingly 'strange' behaviour to outside observers. It is important that participants do not feel self-conscious in this way.

PUBLICITY

Depending on how big you wish your workshop to be (and we recommend between 10 and 60 participants), you might wish to print posters and/or fliers to paste up in appropriate places. The "new age" and "environmental activist" interface is where to aim publicity - so environment groups/centres and new age shops/workshop-centres are good places to put posters. Mailing lists from previous workshops are also a good place to start (contact John Seed or your local CAB contact for access to these). Try putting advertisements in the local papers, or doing an interview on a local radio station. We have found, however, that word-of-mouth is most effective. When one person has participated in a Council of All Beings and is enthusiastic about it, and tells someone else who is ready for the experience, this has a powerful effect. (If you put out fliers, ask the recipients to tell their friends about the workshop, even if they can't make it themselves.)

Outreach.

Try reaching groups of people other than the 'hippies, witches and pagans' who have traditionally attended the Councils. Experiment with different ways of describing the workshop to different types of people, beginning with those who are closest to you (your friends, your family, your work-mates).

The 'traditional' Council of All Beings gathers people with a shared intention (to heal their relationship with the Earth) from a range of geographical and sub-cultural locations. Although this is great precisely because of its community-building ability, by bringing new people together, it also means that the 'community' naturally disbands following the workshop. Energy is required to bring the group back together. An alternative to this 'temporary community' approach is to work with on-going groups of people (e.g., an environment group working on a specific issue; a women's group). Volunteer to provide a Council of All Beings day for a class of kids in a local school. Introduce some of the processes into your university class. Be creative! A shared experience of such depth as the Council of All Beings will strengthen and empower the group, and the ongoing nature of the group will permit the continuation of the reality of those experiences and provide opportunities for further sharing, exploration and reminders of the original workshop experiences.


FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

One of the benefits of holding Council of All Beings workshops is that substantial amounts of money can be raised for environmental projects and campaigns. This is made possible by the facilitators either donating their time or receiving only a small payment for their time, and by the venue charging a cheap rent (or just charging for expenses). Be very transparent about how much money was raised at the workshop, what and how much expenses were, and where the profit is going (i.e., which environmental projects). It is great for this to be figured out before the workshop ends, so that this news can be given to people before they leave. This is very uplifting and empowering in itself.

In most Councils it is assumed that participants will pay the full price (i.e., covering costs of workshop plus environmental project) unless arranged prior to the workshop (e.g., if they do not have a full-time paid job). The workshop price is not "by donation", and we usually charge about U.S.$80 -100. When participants cannot pay the full price, we arrange some sort of work-exchange (e.g., letter-writing, helping organize the workshop, gathering mask-making materials, cooking). We never turn people away because they don't have enough money.

Maybe there could be a more formal registration process before the workshop, and the financial arrangements made clear before participants arrive. Ask people to make a deposit to assure their place prior to the workshop (this helps in the planning as you can be more certain about minimum numbers). Allocate one person to be responsible for taking the money and making the calculations of expenses etc, so that a report can be given by a facilitator to the group by the end of the workshop.

Costs can be reduced by the workshop preparing its own food. We frequently either: (i) get people to bring a box of food which is then cooked collectively (often by work-exchangers); or (ii) work-exchangers buy all the food from markets and then cook it during the workshop (and have a meal ready for people when they arrive on the Friday night). Setting up a simple kitchen outside is often the easiest way to feed large numbers (e.g., cooking over an open fire or on gas-rings in big pots).

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