For participants in Yestermorrow's Design/Build in the Dominican Republic course, building structures became a subtext for building community. For 17 days, the class worked to create a transition that would bridge the psychological gap between the tiny village of San Cristobal and the surreal underworld of the Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve, which houses one of the most important collections of pre-historic pictographs and petroglyphs in the Western Hemisphere.

The creation of the structures -- an undulating, curved wall providing an anticipatory glimpse at the caves, and a shaded bench area allowing for reflection upon departure -- gradually drew more and more local villagers to the site, until dozens literally rolled up their sleeves to help move 90 yards of earth. A dedication ceremony at the conclusion of the course brought the entire community out to celebrate, dance and accept these architectural gifts from the class.

On April 14th Yestermorrow will join with more than a dozen local, regional and national groups to call for action on global warming. This is all part of a national effort, Step It Up 2007, a day conceived by Bill McKibben, the first lay writer to bring the world?s attention to the threat of global warming. Yestermorrow has taken a key role in organizing this event in addition to a series of happenings here in the Mad River Valley known collectively as 7 Days for the Earth.

Our involvement and active role in these events not only demonstrates our commitment to green earth principles, but our desire to be a leader in sustainability and design/build advocacy. Moreover, we are in the process of changing our by-laws to allow staff, faculty and board members to lobby elected officials on issues of importance to the school and the greater Yestermorrow community. With these efforts, the school moves one step closer to fulfilling our promise of establishing an advocacy, research and policy center here at Yestermorrow.

Long-time Yestermorrow instructor Lizabeth Moniz is emblamatic of all that the school represents: she is a self-sufficient do-it-yourself-er, she is empowering, she is skilled at multiple trades, she is a fabulous teacher, and she treads lightly on the earth.

Lizabeth teaches a wide array of courses at Yestermorrow. She just competed co-instructing our Natural Building in Costa Rica course. In June she will head up a 3-day Landscape Design workshop, and a week later, she'll be back at Yestermorrow co-teaching the ever-popular Carpentry for Women course. In July, she will merge her design, carpentry and landscape architecture talents together for a new course called Designing Outdoor Spaces.

Lizabeth's experience is equally broad. She has worked in the building trades for much of the last 20 years. She has taught in various capacities including Step-Up, Women Build, Youth Build, in public schools, and via experiential education, wilderness guiding, and the Peace Corp. She possesses a Masters of Landscape Architecture, and the home she and her partner designed and built was featured in the book, The House the Jill Built. Quite a resume.

For most of us tax time is a pain, just like going to the dentist. But just as that dental trip is all about healthy teeth, people tend to forget that taxes are about ponying up to support public institutions and services that we all rely on and enjoy. More importantly it is also about providing for those less fortunate than ourselves.

We at Yestermorrow hope that during this time of providing for the public good that you also think about institutions such as ours that do not receive direct federal or state support. While course tuition covers the lion?s share of the school?s operating expenses, it does not cover our costs of providing: subsidies for Yestermorrow-built structures placed at schools, parks and other non-profit facilities; scholarships, internships and work-trade options for students of lesser means; public lectures and events enjoyed by students and the surrounding communities; and meeting space and promotional support for numerous design, sustainability and advocacy groups working on topics ranging from green building and affordable housing to food security and energy independence.

So after writing your checks to the IRS and state department of taxes, look to see if there might be just a little left over to help Yestermorrow continue to be more than just a school. We will put your hard earned dollars to good use.

Speaking of donations, you may recall our special appeal in support of two gentlemen from Cameroon, West Africa, who put themselves into deep debt in order to take a Yestermorrow Home Design/Build class. Thanks to you, Yestermorrow's alumni and friends, we were able to raise enough to cover all of Yen and Tebong's expenses while here at the school, as well as send them on their way with greatly diminished financial concerns (in addition to the design and building skills they acquired in the course). Thank you for your generous support. It is heartwarming to know the Yestermorrow community stands ready to help people in need.