“ Workshop and training for the Cresset Community Farm and Cresset Farm Development Initiative Saturday march 27, 2010
This training took the board of Cresset Farm Development Initiative through a process of organizational development at our regular board meeting and through a six hour abbreviated process of the training that Leonore does over a course of days.

   We started out doing an exercise in Eurythmy related to movement in a circle passing the energy of the movement of brass spheres in a circle, transferring the energy and movement of inside out correlating the flow of the group in working together and utilizing the gifts that each person has to offer as a team.

   The exercise went through several iterations that repeated the passing of the balls from one hand to the other and from one to another. The exercise is a metaphor for the balance and connection of every person who is related in the organization at this moment and throughout the life of the community.

   It was clear that these exercises have distinct relationships to how we devise a plan of action for the farm. We worked all morning on what elements we see in creating this community and Leonore deftly guided us along the way.

   What struck me most about Leonore’s efforts is that she is aware of the contradictions of members of the team in learning and working together, coming to a meeting of the nature of this feeling many ways about a person who is not a part of the process. We had a new member of the community who had recently been hired as an educator and worker on the farm and it is incumbent upon Jess to work together with people she does not know. In all fairness to Jess, she was thrust in a difficult situation but because we were all new to the work that we were doing on the organization Jess was no less an authority and able to contribute thanks to the skills of the facilitator.

   Our community has been struggling to find a way to decide what we want and how to achieve these rudimentary goals for over fifteen years. Leonore made some bold decisions regarding the way that we visualize the structure of the farm based on laying out the paradigm on paper and having everyone make a commitment to the process. The farmers were skeptical about how willing we are to follow through on the commitments having done this process twice beforehand. One challenged whether we were, “going to put this plan on the shelf?” Clearly that was not the spirit of the three others, or me as we drove back to Denver afterwards. All of us were delighted and felt a sense of urgency and determination to take on the tasks that we had agreed to steward. In fact, many of us had been involved in the process since the inception of the farm and we all felt a commitment to greater depth and understanding of the roles that we chose to accomplish.

   I personally have been a farmer and worked on farms in many places here and in Puerto Rico. Thinking about the work that we had accomplished I wish I had had this set of skills when I was considering creating a farm community to Bucks County, Pennsylvania twenty years ago. Leonore has many insights into what one has to do in order to create a farm organization that is sustainable. Her resolve and sure handed leadership were a key factor in my feeling that this training makes a difference in the outcomes. What is most interesting about the abbreviated training is that it was as thorough, meaningful and incorporated as the regular board meeting by including our purposes and interests. The paradigm of this meeting is something that we are able to carry over into our regular engagement as a community.

   Leonore’s blending with our issues and barriers made these exercises fulfilling for every person involved with the farm whether they were present or not because the plan of action can be adopted by everyone who is involved in the farm community.

   As I sit here in the early morning the day after the board meeting and on the cusp of the birth of my sixth grandchild I can only imagine with Leonore’s consciousness how fortunate we are to have this opportunity to create sustainable agriculture for succeeding generations thanks to her deft hand.”

Randle Loeb
 Cresset Farm Development Initiative
Board Member

“ Having Eurythmy in the Workplace was truly an enlightening experience. The exercises broke down the barriers between the offices and manufacturing floor. Strengths and weaknesses of the individuals and the group were immediately brought to light in an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. As a result communication improved and all individuals were made to feel that they were an important part of the whole organization. ”

Lance Cheney
 President, Braun Bush Co.
lance@brush.com

“ A high point was: “finding someone capable of bringing this work to this group and managing us in such a fun and competent way; the freshness of the activities; also, the moments when we all came together in harmony.

   I learned: “how to listen better when working in a group; how to focus form point to periphery, how important it was to break out of our usual forms of interaction and move together; how different people’s perceptions and sensory methods different and yet are equally valid and important”.

“ The struggle to go from self awareness to group awareness was worth it: to work locally, think globally”

Green Meadow Waldorf School, Chestnut Ridge, NY.

“ Leonore added a tremendous amount to this undertaking through her intimate knowledge of Waldorf Education, leadership models, and broader concepts of organizational development. Her use of eurythmy as a therapeutic and group building exercise was invaluable as we worked on building an increased sense of trust, aligned purpose and common values. The effectiveness of “Eurythmy in the Workplace” was dramatically evident as the entire faculty, staff, board, and a large group of parents moved through the intricate patterns together.”

Upper Valley Waldorf School, Quiche, Vermont

A high light was: “ How integration happens during the seemingly chaotic moments leading to the ability to go forward.”

“ Observing the dynamics in a group helps us to find humor and perspective in conflicting attitudes.”

“ Pathways was tremendously helpful in getting to rally know my colleagues on a deeper level than I could have in the day
to day working together.”

“ I would recommend this kind of work to schools and organizations: Moving together has a tremendous impact on any group working together”.

Hartsbrook Waldorf School, Amherst, MA.