Human Powered

New Cob focused website launched!

Posted on 1 March 2013 by Dave

Cob.Lasqueti.ca is now live and hosting all of our cob workshop and apprenticeship information.

There’s also a couple of brand new videos showing you why we call our method of building Fast Cob.

Not only is it up to 10x faster, it’s fun and sustainable for almost any able-bodied soul.

Our next workshop is on the May long weekend (Cob Ovens: Build and Bake)

And our Apprenticeship Positions are now open for application!

Filed under: Building, Cob, global warming, healthy family, Natural Building, Sustainability, Workshop | Leave a comment »

Parenting with an Open Heart returns to East Vancouver!

Posted on 23 January 2013 by Dave

Are looking to refine and enhance what you’ve been doing as a parent because you just “know” that you can and that both you and your child(ren) would benefit all the more from it?

Or are you a frustrated parent floating aimlessly in a sea of authoritarian how-tos that simply don’t work for you or your child(ren)?

Maybe you have even discovered your own parents in your words and actions and wondered how the heck that happened?!

Parenting with an Open Heart is returning to East Vancouver and is all about empowering the knowledge and wisdom that every human being comes with, passed down for millions of generations, but only recently doubted and suppressed.

(Read what other parents have thought about these seminars below)

Although these past 10,000 years have put many barriers between the civilized person’s intuitive knowledge and day-to-day life, thankfully our innate human heritage remains!

This seminar series is designed to help you reconnect with instinctive and heart-centred parenting…with its joy and success! It will revolve around you and what you need and it’s designed for all parents, care-givers and parents-to-be, of any generation. Sure, there’s lots of information to be gleaned, but we’ll work with your life and use our lives as examples so it will be as easy as possible to Parent with an Open Heart.

Our next sessions will focus on Authoritative Parenting and add a twist of trust. It’s very different than Authoritarian Parenting and is one of many ways to break out of the Authoritarian/Permissive box that civilized parents often find ourselves in.

Alice Miller’s work will help us understand how we ended up in that little parenting box….

On March 10, 2013, we’ll start the session with a look and demonstration of at least 3 different ways to get around by bicycle. We’ll have a tandem that anyone from 4 and up can ride, a front seat that I call the “best seat out of the house”, and a bike trailer for one. And if you bring your bike, you can see if the bike seat or trailer will work with it.

Then we will focus on how we can have fun any moment we choose to, and how those behaviours we’ve learned to dread are really trying to help us discover more…about ourselves and our child(ren).

And all along the way, we’ll keep in mind what we and our children actually need.

In particular, we’ll create a toolbox of tips for compassionate parents to rely on when times get tough.

Parenting with an Open Heart – a Coaching Series by Phone

Posted on 28 December 2012 by Dave

Are looking to refine and enhance what you’ve been doing as a parent because you just “know” that you can and that both you and your child(ren) would benefit all the more from it?

Or are you a frustrated parent floating aimlessly in a sea of authoritarian how-tos that simply don’t work for you or your child(ren)?

Maybe you have even discovered your own parents in your words and actions and wondered how the heck that happened?!

A new parenting seminar series entitled Parenting with an Open Heart is all about empowering the knowledge and wisdom that every human being comes with, passed down for millions of generations, but only recently doubted and suppressed.

Although these past 10,000 years have put many barriers between the civilized person’s intuitive knowledge and day-to-day life, thankfully our innate human heritage remains!

Alice Miller’s work will help us understand how we ended up in that little parenting box….

And all along the way, we’ll keep in mind what we and our children actually need.

In particular, we’ll create a toolbox of tips for compassionate parents to rely on when times get tough.

Learn to Build a Cob Oven and Bake with it!

Posted on 28 August 2012 by Dave

Cobbing doesn’t get any easier than at this 3 day Cob B&B (Build-and-Bake) Workshop, from September 27th to October 1st, 2011 on Lasqueti Island.

We’ll spend the first 2 days learning how to build a beehive oven out of cob, then we’ll learn how to use it and indulge in tasty treats as master baker Nadine Simpson shares her recipes and skill.

You’ll arrive on Thursday, September 27th, pitch your tent and settle in for a welcoming dinner. The next 2 days we’ll hand sculpt an oven in the shape of a frog. You’ll get a basic understanding of how to mix and use cob, an ancient building technique that is not only dirt cheap, it’s insect, rodent, earthquake and fire proof. You’ll also learn how to mix and use natural plasters.

On our 3rd day, we’ll mozy on over to Nadine’s place to:

learn the basics of preparing the oven for baking,
discuss baking practices…mise en place, equipment, tools etc.
learn about breads, (yeasted and pre-ferments – sourdoughs, bigas, levain, etc.)
mix a sourdough bread (Rye)
learn to braid a challah and to make cinnamon buns
make and bake Pizzas/Calzones
bake sourdough and Peasant Breads
learn about using the oven for roasting vegetables, and other oven cooked meals.

Then, on Monday, October 1st, we’ll share our farewell breakfast and depart.

The cost of $350 covers all meals (3 hot, fully organic vegan/vegetarian meals for 3 days, plus the welcoming dinner and the farewell breakfast), on-site camping with running water, and hands-on instruction.

Here’s some of the feedback that we’ve received from previous cob building workshop participants:

“Transformative and empowering!” – Kate ’10.

“Very instructive and hands-on.” – Matt ’10.

“Learning what we needed to know as we put it to practical use rather than spending a lot of time on theory was a useful approach for me.” – Terry ’09.

Your cob oven building facilitator (Dave Olsen) completed a cob workshop in 1996 and has had mud on his hands ever since. He has also led workshops on many other topics since 1994. On Lasqueti Island, he has organized and co-led 5 cob workshops and finished three smaller buildings; he feels very fortunate to have worked with many of the leading cob builders of our time.

Our baking chef, Nadine Simpson began baking professionally in 1979 at Rising Star Wholefoods Bakery in Victoria BC, first as a member of the worker’s collective (PSC) that operated the business and later, (1981) as owner. Since 1994 she has been living and baking on Lasqueti Island and has led cob oven baking workshops locally and in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

What else makes these courses special?

You will see firsthand how humans can build with what nature provides, without destroying the beauty that is offered.
You’ll also have many opportunities to master making cob itself. You’ll learn the “traditional” technique, known to cobbers throughout our wet coast, and we’ll learn how to modify it so that you can mix up to 4 times faster!
Not only will you learn how to build naturally and affordably, you’ll learn how to do it efficiently enough to be empowered to build on your own and keep your community of builders interested and inspired to keep building.

Travel days to get to and from the workshop are Thursday, September 27th (we’ll begin with a welcoming, organic and vegetarian/vegan dinner that evening) and Monday, October 1st (a farewell breakfast will fuel your return to the ferry dock).

Every cob oven building day (Friday and Saturday), we start with a short meditative building session, followed by an organic, hot wholesome breakfast. Two longer hands-on learning sessions sandwich a hot organic, vegan lunch.

Most evenings, after a delicious dinner, we’ll have a discussion or mini-workshop on related activities, from ecologically-sensitive transportation to building a roof with cedar shakes.

There are no machines or motors on site, so it is a safe and quiet place for anyone, younger or older, and interesting conversation and laughter is common. This oven site, and the materials for this oven, were selected to make it as easy as possible to sculpt an earthen oven.

For more information and background, please visit:

https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/2011-cob-building-workshops/

https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/2009-cob-building-workshop/

https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/learn-to-build-naturally-with-cob/

To receive an application form, please email Dave: bike at resist dot ca.

Here’s hoping you can experience the beauty of natural building and cob oven baking soon!

Filed under: bikes, Building, Cob, Deschooling, global warming, Natural Building, Off the Grid, Sustainability, Workshop | Tagged: beehive oven, cob, cob building workshop, cob oven, cob oven building, cob oven building workshop, cob workshop, earthen building, earthen oven, eco building, eco building workshope, Natural Building, natural building workshop, sustainable building, sustainable building workshop, workshop | Leave a comment »

Another 2012 Cob Building Workshop!

Posted on 27 August 2012 by Dave

From September 13th to 17th, I’ll be hosting another cob/natural building workshop on Lasqueti Island. The cost of this 3 day workshop is $300 which covers all meals (3 hot, fully organic vegan/vegetarian meals for 3 days, plus a welcoming dinner and a good-bye breakfast), on-site camping with running water, and hands-on instruction.

Women and families are especially encouraged to apply. Barters or trades are always possible.

Here’s some of the feedback that we’ve received from previous workshop participants:

“I enjoyed how you let us experiment and fail and learn on the fly.” – Luke ’11

“It was empowering! I really feel like in a short week like I can get going on building my own cob house!” – Jodi ’11

“Transformative and empowering!” – Kate ’10.

“Very instructive and hands-on.” – Matt ’10.

“You have no idea how excited I am that I now pretty much know how to build a house out of dirt.” – Kate ’10.

“Learning what we needed to know as we put it to practical use rather than spending a lot of time on theory was a useful approach for me.” – Terry ’09.

Your workshop facilitator (Dave Olsen) completed a cob workshop in 1996 and has had mud on his hands ever since. He has also led workshops on many other topics since 1994. On Lasqueti Island, he has organized and co-led 6 cob workshops and finished four buildings; he has been very fortunate to have worked with many of the leading cob builders of our time.

Here’s some more feedback from previous participants, this time about the food:

“The food was absolutely incredible! I’ve never been to any event where the food was as healthy, abundant, delicious, frequent.” – Jodi ’11

“I was surprised by how much variety there was as my preconditioned idea of a vegan diet was that it would be very plain without much zing. However it was a treat each meal” – Luke ’11

“Exceptional, really top drawer and beautifully prepared.” – Matt ’10

“Delicious and superfluous.” – Kate ’10

“The food was excellent! Thank you Bethany. It was my first prolonged experience with Vegan food and I quite enjoyed it.” – Terry ’09

What else makes these courses special?

You will see firsthand how humans can build with what nature provides, without destroying the beauty that is offered.
You’ll also have many opportunities to master making cob itself. You’ll learn the “traditional” technique, known to cobbers throughout our wet coast, and we’ll learn how to modify it so that you can mix up to 4 times faster!
You’ll experience building walls the “old fashioned way” as well as a hybrid technique that uses reusable plastic “forms” to get our walls up twice as fast and “the brick” which gets them up even faster!
Not only will you learn how to build naturally and affordably, you’ll learn how to do it efficiently enough to be empowered to build on your own and keep your community of builders interested and inspired to keep building.

What will the focus be for this workshop?

We’ll be finishing a guest house/garden shed that started with very short cob walls on a stone foundation. 10′ logs are used to cantilever the sleeping space over the garden shed and we’ll cob up to a metal roof that will collect rain water. The floor is pine, and the roof will be sloped to make the guest house seem like a loft over the garden shed. The 96 sq ft. structure will be done by the end of the month!

We’ll also be plastering with a lovely natural plaster: a cob bench, greenhouse walls, outside and inside. You’ll find the ratio of materials that work best for applying and lasting, which can be used on any type of construction.

On site, there will be the beginnings of a stone foundation to help you understand an efficient way of creating your own. Our time is too short to work on it, but the concepts will be on display so you can absorb it all while you learn to mix fast cob and plaster naturally.

Travel days to get to and from the workshop are Thursday, September 13th (we’ll begin with a welcoming, organic dinner that evening) and Monday, September 17th (a farewell breakfast will fuel your return to the ferry dock).

Every workshop day (Friday to Sunday), we start with a short meditative building session, followed by an organic, hot wholesome breakfast. Two longer hands-on learning sessions sandwich a hot organic, vegan lunch.

Most evenings, after a delicious dinner, we’ll have a discussion or mini-workshop on related activities, from ecologically-sensitive transportation to building a roof with cedar shakes.

Human-powered building is hard work. But since there are no machines or motors on site, it is a safe and quiet place for anyone, younger or older, and interesting conversation and laughter is common. This building site, and the materials for this building, were selected to make it as easy as possible to build an earthen structure.

The pace is casual but determined; the more effort you give, the more learning you will take away. Natural Building is at least 95% experiential learning and you will be expected to self-motivate throughout the various scheduled sessions.

For more information and background, please visit:

https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/2009-cob-building-workshop/ https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/learn-to-build-naturally-with-cob/

To receive an application form, please email Dave: bike at resist dot ca or write a comment below with your contact info (don’t worry, I won’t publish the contact info).

Here’s hoping you can experience the beauty of natural building and cob soon!

Filed under: Building, Cob, Cycling, Deschooling, global warming, Natural Building, neighbourhood, Off the Grid, Sustainability, Workshop | Tagged: cob, cob building workshop, cob workshop, eco building, eco building workshop, Natural Building, natural building workshop, Off the Grid, Off the Grid workshop, sustainable building, sustainable building workshop, workshop | Leave a comment »

2012 Cob Building Workshops!

Posted on 3 August 2012 by Dave

From August 18th to 23rd and August 25th to 30th, I’ll be hosting two independent cob/natural building workshops on Lasqueti Island. The cost of each workshop is $400 which covers all meals (3 hot, fully organic vegan/vegetarian meals for 4 days, plus a welcoming dinner and a good-bye breakfast), on-site camping with running water, and hands-on instruction.

Women and families are especially encouraged to apply. Barters or trades are always possible.

Here’s some of the feedback that we’ve received from previous workshop participants:

“I enjoyed how you let us experiment and fail and learn on the fly.” – Luke ’11

“It was empowering! I really feel like in a short week like I can get going on building my own cob house!” – Jodi ’11

“Transformative and empowering!” – Kate ’10.

“Very instructive and hands-on.” – Matt ’10.

“You have no idea how excited I am that I now pretty much know how to build a house out of dirt.” – Kate ’10.

“Learning what we needed to know as we put it to practical use rather than spending a lot of time on theory was a useful approach for me.” – Terry ’09.

Here’s some more feedback from previous participants, this time about the food:

“The food was absolutely incredible! I’ve never been to any event where the food was as healthy, abundant, delicious, frequent.” – Jodi ’11

“I was surprised by how much variety there was as my preconditioned idea of a vegan diet was that it would be very plain without much zing. However it was a treat each meal” – Luke ’11

“Exceptional, really top drawer and beautifully prepared.” – Matt ’10

“Delicious and superfluous.” – Kate ’10

“The food was excellent! Thank you Bethany. It was my first prolonged experience with Vegan food and I quite enjoyed it.” – Terry ’09

What else makes these courses special?

You will see firsthand how humans can build with what nature provides, without destroying the beauty that is offered.
You’ll also have many opportunities to master making cob itself. You’ll learn the “traditional” technique, known to cobbers throughout our wet coast, and we’ll learn how to modify it so that you can mix up to 4 times faster!
You’ll experience building walls the “old fashioned way” as well as a hybrid technique that uses reusable plastic “forms” to get our walls up twice as fast and “the brick” which gets them up even faster!
Not only will you learn how to build naturally and affordably, you’ll learn how to do it efficiently enough to be empowered to build on your own and keep your community of builders interested and inspired to keep building.

What will the focus be for this workshop?

We’ll be creating a guest house/garden shed that starts with very short cob walls on a stone foundation. We’ll add 10′ logs to cantilever the sleeping space over the garden shed and cob up to a metal roof that will collect rain water. The floor will be pine, and the roof will be sloped to make the guest house seem like a loft over the garden shed. The 96 sq ft. structure will be done in less than a month!

Travel days to get to and from the workshop are Saturdays, August 18th or August 25th (we’ll begin with a welcoming, organic dinner that evening) and Thursday, August 23rd or August 30th (a farewell breakfast will fuel your return to the ferry dock).

Every workshop day (Sunday to Wednesday), we start with a short meditative building session, followed by an organic, hot wholesome breakfast. Two longer hands-on learning sessions sandwich a hot organic, vegan lunch.

Most evenings, after a delicious dinner, we’ll have a discussion or mini-workshop on related activities, from ecologically-sensitive transportation to building a roof with cedar shakes.

For more information and background, please visit:

https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/2009-cob-building-workshop/ https://humanpowered.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/learn-to-build-naturally-with-cob/

To receive an application form, please email Dave: bike at resist dot ca or write a comment below with your contact info (don’t worry, I won’t publish the contact info).

Here’s hoping you can experience the beauty of natural building and cob soon!

Natural Building/Living-Off-the-Grid Apprenticeship Positions now available

Posted on 27 May 2012 by Dave

This was no April Fool’s Day joke: fresh snow!

On beautiful Lasqueti Island, become the person you’ve been longing to be.

Dave Olsen and ethical environmental consulting has been working for 22 years to recreate a lifestyle that enhances and promotes full health AND is easy and enjoyable.

We’ve been hosting Natural Building/Cob Workshops for the past 6 years.

Now we are excited to offer an apprenticeship program, in addition to our workshop lineup this summer!

Choose between a 9 or 13 week apprenticeship, both of which start on July 1st, 2012.

This is an apprenticeship that will help you grow skills that are difficult to grow anywhere else:

living off of the grid (electric, water, sewer, highway, consumer, etc)
building a truly sustainable lifestyle
turning work into play
accomplishing much with ease and joy

Living off of the Grid
You’ll use electric light that is fuelled by solar energy and possibly a small brook
You’ll cook with the sun and/or all parts of dead trees
You’ll use rainwater that is collected by gravity and heated by the sun or compost

Building a Truly Sustainable Lifestyle
You’ll garden with a year long perspective that works with the surrounding environment
You’ll build with the earth: rock foundations, cob walls, cedar shake roofs
You’ll harvest humanure
You’ll build a healthy body and mind by working at a pace that is comfortable and enjoyable

Turning Work into Play
You’ll dance when you could walk
You’ll ride when you could sit passively
You’ll sing when you could talk
You’ll be inspired all the day long

Accomplishing Much with Ease and Joy
You’ll be surprised at how fast the days go by when you’re out in clean, fresh air drinking crystal clean water and eating delicious home-cooked meals
You’ll enjoy our accomplishments because you aren’t overtired and stressed
You’ll realize that you can choose to do anything with joy and ease.

The fee for our 9 week apprenticeship that starts July 1st is $3,975

The fee for our 13 week apprenticeship that starts on July 1st is $4,975.

This fee covers daily facilitation/guidance, accommodation in a prospector’s tent on a wooden platform with a queen sized bed, a basic kitchen and an outhouse. All meals and snacks are included while you are staying with us.

If you are interested in applying for one of these positions, send an email to eec@resist.ca with the following information:

Name and age
contact information (email and phone)
your previous experience and brief personal history
why you are applying
future plans after the apprenticeship
two personal and/or work references with contact information

After this information is processed, Dave will call you by telephone. If we agree to start an apprenticeship relationship together, you’ll be asked to make a $2,000 deposit to hold your spot. Full payment is due before or when you arrive.

The first month is a trial period. If both parties are in agreement to continue, we will. If not, you will receive a refund less the $2,000 deposit. If you can not continue after the first month, please do not expect any refund.

Each week could vary, but the basic schedule is 5 full days from 8am to 6pm with a leisurely lunch and morning and afternoon snack breaks. The sixth day could be a half day if mutually agreed upon. Breakfast and dinner precede and follow every working day. Sharing meals is optional on the seventh day.

You are expected to self-motivate throughout. All lasting learning comes through experience and hands-on activity. Keeping a balanced approach to each day helps keep our stamina strong. By finding joy in everything we do, motivation flows effortlessly.

You will live part of the time with a young child and her small dog. Both are easy to get along with but have their own routines and needs. My daughter’s needs take priority over everything else but also rarely compete for time and space. Our relationship has been formally used to display parenting skills that are often not found in civilization so our hope is that you will benefit from that as well.

You will be an active part of the workshops that we will host this summer. Opportunities include instructing/leading small groups as well as being part of larger group projects. Benefits include meeting motivated and interesting participants and feasting on 3 meals and 2 snacks a day professionally prepared.

You will also interact with the Community, both through neighbours visiting and by attending Community Events. Nothing is compulsory.

We will feed ourselves mostly vegan/vegetarian fare, all organically grown. We will share this task accordingly, both in obtaining the food and cooking/presenting it. You will learn how to use the sun to cook and bake with Cob ovens used mostly as a backup for cloudy days.

Human silence is an important facet of our environment; there are millions of other species that fill the air but we humans will enjoy both silence, singing and anything in between. Listening skills are crucial.

How can building with Cob be easy?

We use a technique that has developed over the course of 6 years of workshops, primarily through the gifts of participants. I call it fast cob, or the 4 corner Korean noodle brick. We’ll have videos displaying the technique up on our website soon. We only use human power.

In essence, we let nature do most of the work, which allows us to build 4 to 8 times faster than the traditional Welsh technique brought to the West Coast of North America by Ianto Evans. Inevitably, strength is marginally compromised for the speed improvement, but the end result is a building strong enough to last for centuries with a good “hat and boots” (roof and foundation).

We will work on all phases of a building project: design, foundation, walls, plastering, natural painting, floors (heated and non), windows, doors, basic 12V wiring, simple plumbing, heating, cooling (natural fridge), and roofing. Every aspect will be using locally sourced and/or recycled/reused materials, which will be an integral part of the design process.

How can gardening/growing your own food be easy?
We garden with a year-round perspective and utilize natural systems in the garden rather than recreating them or fighting against them. We’ll also learn from professional full-time farmers/gardeners on the Island who have been growing successfully for decades.

We will also harvest wild foods where they still exist abundantly and try to relearn techniques for use that were lost when 90% of the indigenous population died within a generation (this is also called genocide).

The location is an inspiration in itself

Lasqueti Island is completely off-the-grid with no car ferry and unpaved roads. The community kept the 3rd wave of clearcutting mostly off the island and the result is a mature forest throughout.

The artistic community is diverse and deeply talented. The women’s community is strong and independent. A weekly Farmer Market brings many together to share food, music, and fun, as do many other festivals and events. The waters surrounding the island are clean and clear with swimming beaches within reach by bicycle.

The weather is usually dry and warm, sometimes hot, and always cool at night. Mosquitoes peak for a week and then are usually not noticed during the day. Horse/Deer flies will regularly visit for a bite but are easily thwarted.

Contact Us

If you are interested in this apprenticeship program for 2012, please contact us by:

phone: 604.216.6700
email: eec@resist.ca
mail: 1 Beautiful Bicycle Lane, En-tay/Lasqueti Island, Sliammon Territory V0R 2J0

No matter where your chosen path takes you, we wish you a life filled with joy and wonder!

Filed under: cob, Deschooling, Natural Building, Sustainability | Tagged: cob, cob building, eco building, Natural Building, Off the Grid, sustainable building | Leave a comment »

Parenting with an Open Heart – next Session on March 24, 2012 from 2 to 4pm

Posted on 13 February 2012 by Dave

Are looking to refine and enhance what you’ve been doing as a parent because you just “know” that you can and that both you and your child(ren) would benefit all the more from it?

Or are you a frustrated parent floating aimlessly in a sea of authoritarian how-tos that simply don’t work for you or your child(ren)?

Maybe you have even discovered your own parents in your words and actions and wondered how the heck that happened?!

Although these past 10,000 years have put many barriers between the civilized person’s intuitive knowledge and day-to-day life, thankfully our innate human heritage remains!

Alice Miller’s work will help us understand how we ended up in that little parenting box….

And all along the way, we’ll keep in mind what we and our children actually need.

In particular, we’ll create a toolbox of tips for compassionate parents to rely on when times get tough.

Self-Propelled film at Fest Film tomorrow night!

Posted on 5 October 2011 by Dave

Human Powered fans and doers rejoice!

The 30th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival includes a documentary called On The Line, a fully human powered journey from beginning to end of the proposed Enbridge Tar Sands pipeline to Kitimat and into 250 Supertankers per year.

Frank Wolf and Todd McGowan have made an insightful film that simply shows where and who will be affected by this insane plan to make a few rich people richer.

What impressed me is how they did this. First riding bikes (that they then gave away!) for over a 1000km, then when pavement and gravel come to an end, they convert to hikers and traverse through pristine wilderness over the Rocky Mountains. When riding becomes an option again, they somehow travel over seriously dangerous logging roads until rafting and kayaking are the only options to get to point where the bitumen would be loaded onto supertankers.

Not only do they show the incredible beauty of the land and all that depends on it along the path of the proposed pipeline, they bring countless stories of the humans who will be affected into the film. One fact, that 37 jobs will be created by the pipeline while 56,000 people currently make their living from fishing in the area, was shocking to me.

Not surprising was the fact that the Environmental Review Panel evaluating this pipeline is set up to approve it at all costs. That a Member of Parliament so plainly stated this fact on film was startling, to say the least.

I’m quite certain that anyone on the fence about this Northern Gateway Pipeline Project proposed by Enbridge (who declines their invitation to speak) will simply not be able to sit comfortably anymore after seeing this self-propelled film.

2 screenings remain for On The Line:

Tomorrow, Thursday, Oct 6th 7:00pm @ Empire Granville 7 Th 2
Tue, Oct 11th 1:45pm @ Empire Granville 7 Th 2

Filed under: Cycling | Leave a comment »

BC Ferries loses another $5.5 million; targets cyclists to recoup loses

Posted on 4 September 2011 by Dave

A search for bicycle facilities at BC Ferries produced this.

A press release issued by BC Ferries on August 24, 2011 states that it lost another $5.5 million during April, May and June of this year.

It also confirms the devastating decisions they have recently made without public consultation: spending half a billion dollars on 3 giant new car ferries made in Germany while vehicle traffic reached an eleven year low.

In an effort to recoup these losses, BC Ferries recently sent 3 security people and a trained German Shepard after a cyclist to ban him for not paying $2 for his bicycle. The only other ways to cross the Salish Sea are airplane or private boat.

After the cyclist explained that BC Ferries own Experience Card allows cyclists to travel without paying the $2 bicycle fare, the Terminal Manager lifted the ban.

However, the security personnel stressed that any cyclist who does not pay the $2 for their bicycle, even if BC Ferries staff sells them a ticket, are considered criminals and will be banned immediately.

BC Ferries press release did not comment on whether bicycle traffic increased or decreased in the last quarter, nor did it comment how customer service practices affected revenues.

David L. Hahn: "Sorry, my hands are tied."

President and CEO David L. Hahn did state that cutbacks will result from this loss, but the salaries and bonuses received by BC Ferries Executives will not be reduced. The press release did not mention that David Hahn’s annual compensation, when added with the other members of the Executive’s, exceed the loss in the past quarter.

The press release stated that steep discounts for motorized vehicles and their drivers during peak travel periods in June did not increase revenues.

However, no mention was made of how a passenger only service would dramatically reduce costs (it currently costs $2,000 in fuel for one of the Giant new ferries to make a crossing of the Salish Sea) while simultaneously increasing service.

The press release also contains financial information that shows that BC Ferries has accumulated a $1.3 billion debt in the past 8 years; a previous press release stated that prior to the hiring of David Hahn as President and CEO, BC Ferries was debt free after the Provincial Government wrote off $1.1 billion in debt that was accumulated over more than 40 years.

For more information, please visit:
https://www.bcferries.com/bcferries/faces/attachments?id=528847
https://www.bcferries.com/bcferries/faces/attachments?id=477419
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Ferry_Scandal

Filed under: Cycling | Leave a comment »

Human Powered

Recent Rants

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Click here to see some communication materials and tools that I highly recommend!

New Cob focused website launched!

Parenting with an Open Heart returns to East Vancouver!

Parenting with an Open Heart – a Coaching Series by Phone

Learn to Build a Cob Oven and Bake with it!

Another 2012 Cob Building Workshop!

2012 Cob Building Workshops!

Natural Building/Living-Off-the-Grid Apprenticeship Positions now available

Parenting with an Open Heart – next Session on March 24, 2012 from 2 to 4pm

Self-Propelled film at Fest Film tomorrow night!

BC Ferries loses another $5.5 million; targets cyclists to recoup loses

Cycling is NOT a crime…

…but it sure is dangerous!

Did you know that…