About Ampersand

Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center in Cerrillos, New Mexico, is a place to explore sustainable living. Our off-grid site demonstrates sustainable systems including permaculture, land restoration, organic gardening, passive solar design, and wise water techniques. We build with natural and salvaged materials, cook with solar ovens, and rely on rain catchment. Our whole approach to sustainability is about your relationship with your resources. We start with the basics: water, food, shelter, and energy. We are simply gathering, experimenting with, and demonstrating sustainable solutions for living in harmony with our bioregion. Ampersand hosts workshops and volunteer opportunities for everyday folks wanting to respond intelligently to the state of the Earth . People often come to learn a specific skill, and discover they also build confidence and find inspiration for their next sustainable project at home. We offer a place where people connect, share resources and meet like-minded folks in order to encourage wise practices to grow roots everywhere. It's clear we need to re-think our relationships with our resources at this point in history, and our vision for moving in to this new era includes joyful community interaction and mutual support for transitioning our lives. Ampersand is a place that inspires other sustainable projects and acts as a support for their evolution.

Spring 2009 Class Schedule Contact us to receive our newsletters! To register for a class, call Ampersand at 505 780-0535 or just send a check with your phone and email to: Ampersand PO Box 773 Cerrillos, NM 87010 We will send you a confirmation email with directions and other details. Our next Volunteer Open House will be May 23,2009

Pathways to Sustainability April 25 1:00 to 6:00 Instructor:Amanda Bramble $45 to $35 sliding scale Do you want your life to be more sustainable? Empower yourself with this afternoon workshop for anyone who values sustainability and wants more of it. No matter whether you rent an apartment or own acres of land, this day will be focused around your journey towards sustainability. This interactive workshop contains an overview of sustainable systems and practices appropriate for the Southwest, including solar energy and heating, greywater and rainwater systems, natural building methods, high desert gardening, and land restoration. Amanda will assist you in crafting a specific and personalized vision of sustainability and developing practical and fun strategies for realizing that vision. Participants will explore ways to create environments which support their goals and reflect their values. This is an opportunity to survey which sustainability skills will serve your needs, and ask questions pertaining to your experience and goals. This workshop will include group exercises and individual coaching to work towards a more sustainable you. Amanda Bramble is a permaculturist, natural builder, and director of Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center.  See Who We are page of this website for full biography.

Passive Solar Water Heating May 2, 2009 Instructors: Steve Baer and Helene Beauchamp Class Fee:$75 to $55 sliding scale 10:00am to 5:00pm Learn how to create your own solar water heater in this one day class. Steve Baer will explain the energy dynamics of different ways of heating water and introduce solar heater designs suitable for home construction. He will give examples of how they can be integrated with existing structures and systems. In the afternoon, we will put together a passive thermosyphoning water heater with Zomeworks' 'skymat' which will be plumbed into Ampersand's sustainable home. Helene will guide us through this process, detailing the proper tools and materials to use as well as explaining the necessary order of installation. Skymats will be available for purchase. Steve Baer has been an inventor of passive solar techniques and products for nearly 40 years in the Albuquerque area.  He holds patents in the fields of sun control systems, passive cooling, passive heat transfer, heat engines and structures.  He is the author of several publications and has lectured internationally.  Steve has won several awards including Solar Hall of Fame, and Inventor of the Year.  He is interested in connecting with local grassroots sustainability circles in order to help revive the do-it-yourself movement. Helene Beauchamp studied Biology and Environmental Science at the University of Michigan and at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.  She is passionate about the environment and has worked with native plants, ecological restoration, and farmers markets.  Helene discovered a passion for solar energy and plumbing in the past few years.  She is now a Research Assistant for Zomeworks where she has been working on demonstration water heating systems. Helene is dedicated to educating about and promoting the use of solar water heaters.

Reading the Land: a Dialogue

May 9 10:00 to 6:00 Instructor: Joel Glanzberg $80 to $65 sliding scale Treat yourself to a day of being, playing, and learning on the land. Joel will integrate lecture, movement exercises and site observation to bring a deeper awareness of the land we stand on, and the life it harbors. During this class, we will explore Ampersand's diverse landscape of sandstone bluffs, volcanic geology, petrified wood and ancient petroglyphs. Joel will draw on his diverse knowledge of geology, native plants, natural history, ecology and tracking techniques as he guides an experience to deepen our understanding of the land and how to care for it. Joel Glanzberg has taught and practiced permaculture for over 20 years. His work with Regenesis and The Tracking Project has been integrating pattern understanding with developmental processes and primitive skills/nature awareness. He has spoken in diverse venues from Bioneers to the University of Trujillo in Peru. His writings have been published in various publications including the book A People's Ecology edited by Greg Cajete.

Creating Sustainable Community May 30, 2009 Instructor: Zoe Nelsen Class fee: $35 to $25 sliding scale 1:00 to 4:30pm Clarify your role as a facilitator of sustainable community! In this workshop you will learn a model for team-building and problem solving, then apply this directly to your own experiences in order to jump-start and sustain your own community. The intent of this course is to help identify crucial roles and offer important skills that will enable greater effectiveness within organizations. By balancing discussion with experiential activities, we will gather tools to support our roles in our communities. This course is designed to meet the needs of people from diverse backgrounds. Through participation you will understand a universal framework for working as a cohesive team, as well the importance of reflection in self-sustaining systems. You will also establish practical roles that have meaning to you and the community you function in, and in so doing will step upon the path of Creating Sustainable Community. Zoë Nelsen was raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Fort Lewis College in Colorado, a Master's in Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies from The University of New Mexico, a secondary teacher's license with an endorsement in Social Studies and is certified as a Wilderness First Responder. Zoë has worked as an educator and program director in diverse settings, including non-profits, public and private schools, wilderness programs, and for profit businesses. Her efforts in these organizations include team building, strategic planning and sustainable development.

Solar Oven Cooking and Construction SOLAR OVEN COOKING AND CONSTRUCTION June 13, 2009 10am-4:30pm Instructors: Alex Valenzuela and Amanda Bramble $70 to $50 sliding scale Learn how to make a solar oven from Ampersand's favorite design and how to cook in it whenever the sun shines. Amanda will share about cooking techniques, cookware, and how to integrate this essential tool for sustainable living easily into your current lifestyle. Using wood, glass, cardboard and tinfoil, we will construct an oven together, and Alex will guide us through the steps and suggest products and techniques for weatherizing and other construction details. After this class you will be prepared to start your transition to sustainable cooking. Pre-cut solar oven kits for home assembly will be available for purchase. Amanda Bramble is a permaculturist, natural builder, and director of Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center.  See Who We are page of this website for full biography. Alex Valenzuela is a licensed contractor and owns Valenzuela Construction, which specializes in sustainable rural development and affordable housing.