Happening in Hohenwald

Hohenwald, TN is a small Southern town nestled in the hills of the Cumberland Highland rim in middle Tennessee.  As the County Seat of Lewis County, Hohenwald is the center of governance and commerce for a famous intentional community and ecovillage known as The Farm and scattered communities of New Order Amish, and Native Americans.  This interesting mixture of culture and skill creates the perfect All-American town to explore the possibilities of creating a local, resilient economy based on sustainable business and ecological design.

First Financial Permaculture Summit Ignites Local Economy

After the first Financial Permaculture Summit, which occurred in the midst of the first wave of economic crisis in October of 2008, the community of Hohenwald has been moving swiftly towards creating a new Green Economy based firmly in the principles of Permaculture. Through community meetings, engagement with the local Chamber of Commerce, city government, and county officials, the town of Hohenwald and Lewis County are working to create a participatory design for transition away from an economically and environmentally unsustainable way of doing business, and moving towards a localized economy where the towns folks hold decision making power and the responsibility that comes with it is in their own hands. For more information on last year’s Financial Permaculture Summit click here.

Lewis County Resources

An important part of the Financial Permaculture model is optimizing local talent and renewable resources to create opportunities for local investment and local economy. Lewis county has a diverse group of individuals, communities, and businesses to draw on for this initiative.  These businesses and organizations are just a part of what makes Lewis Country Such a rich place to host the Financial Permaculture and Sonnenschein Green Business Summit.

BSc, MSc or Post Masters Graduate Diploma in

Green Business Development

The Center for Holistic Ecology is partnering with Gaia University International offering Bachelors and Masters Degrees as well as Post Masters Diplomas in various action-learning fields including Green Business Development. The Green Business Development pathway is for anyone who is interested in starting a green business or small cottage industry; consulting with green businesses; investigating fair share, investment networks or cooperative development; or is currently working in the areas of social change or personal empowerment. For more information click here.

Local Affiliates

The Farm Community

The Farm Community has more than fifteen non-profits and associated businesses and is a model for cooperative right livelihood.  Members of the Farm Community are participating in the Financial Permaculture Course as organizers, teachers and students.

The Sonnenschein Committee

The Sonnenschein Committee has hosted three successful green energy fairs in the Town of Hohenwald. The Sonnenschein Green Business Summit is the base layer of the Financial Permaculture course in October.  The Summit will integrate local leaders and business people into the participatory design for local and sustainable businesses.

The Hohenwald-Lewis County Chamber of Commerce

The Hohenwald-Lewis County Chamber of Commerce is a model for intelligent business, and has been a key supporter of the Sonnenschein Green Business Summit and Financial Permaculture Initiative, through the Leadership Lewis Program.

The Center for Holistic Ecology

The Center For Holistic Ecology is leading the USDA Local Economic Development Initiative and has been the keystone organization coordinating the Financial Permaculture Course.  CHE has Seven local and national initiatives to help foster social and environmental justice and eco-social regeneration.

The Emporium

The Emporium is a downtown safe that serves healthy lunch choices and is active in supporting local artisans and the Financial Permaculture Course and Sonnenschein Green Business Summit.

Local Amish Community

Lewis county is home to a vibrant community of Amish and New Amish which provide an amazing agricultural base for the greater county.  Invitations for participation in the Financial Permaculture Course and Sonnenschein Green Business Summit are being extended to the local Amish communities

Sonnenschein Green Business Summit 

One of the layers of the Financial Permaculture Summit is a green business summit brining together local leaders and entrepreneurs. Find out more about the  Sonnenschein Green Business Summit

2nd Annual Financial Permaculture Summit - September 22-26, 2009

Come join us in Hohenwald Sept 22-26, 2009 for the Second Annual Financial Permaculture & Green Business Summit as we explore real options for creating green and resilient communities. More information Coming Soon!

Happenning in Hohenwald

- A post-summit report by Greg Landua

With the National and Global Economies in a downward spiral, people are looking for real life alternatives and the energy generated by the Financial Permaculture Summit is still gathering momentum.  Plans to turn Hohenwald into the first Transition Town in the southern U.S. are percolating, and local community members are pursuing several of the business plans generated at the Summit.  By this time next year, Hohenwald can expect to have a green building supply store, a solar hot water heating company, and potentially several other businesses that were all sparked by conversation and exploration that took place during the Financial Permaculture Summit.

One of the most tangible results from the course was the injection of over $28,000 into the local economy.  When combined with an experiment in local currency issued by the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, the economic multiplier (the number of times money circulates through a local economy before exiting) was raised by an estimated 3.8 percent on $5,000, which boosted the total net economic gain from the course to $47,000.  The Local Currency was a hit at many of the businesses, and there are plans to start consulting with local bankers to work toward making a countywide regional currency to help boost the local economy.

Practical steps that are being taken by the community include the hosting of monthly discussion and screening of informational videos. Read More.