An Overview of Earthville’s Key Accomplishments, by Year

Chapter 1
Earthville is born at an international crossroads in the Himalayas

1997

• Established Dharamshala Earthville Institute (DEVI) in Dharamshala, HP, India (exile home of H.H. the Dalai Lama).
• In the interest of creating a financially self-sustaining model to support DEVI, also launched the nonprofit KhanaNirvana Community Café (a plant-based natural foods restaurant and community center) to generate revenue to support DEVI’s charitable initiatives and provide employment and vocational training for refugees.

1997-2001

• Collaborated with the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics to establish a computer training program for Tibetan refugees in Dharamshala and across India. Developed a syllabus, taught the first courses, trained two of the Institute’s employees as teachers and then turned the program over to them in 1999.
• At the request of local community leaders, Dharamshala Earthville Institute established a volunteer placement program recruiting hundreds international participants to perform voluntary service work for nonprofits, schools, and refugee community agencies in the Dharamshala area. (This volunteer placement program was actively managed by Earthville from 1997-2001, and then was handed over to DEVI’s Tibetan refugee staff, who continued to operate it from 2001-2012.)
• With the blessings of H.H. the Dalai Lama, the Dharamshala Earthville Institute hosted a five-year series of cross-cultural programs and interfaith dialogues in Dharamshala attended by a total of over 4000 participants and garnering international media coverage. A highlight of this was a group meeting with the Dalai Lama to discuss issues related to education and peace in the Middle East.
• Dharamshala Earthville Institute also hosted an ongoing series of weekly community programs including a lecture series, documentary film screenings, and cultural and artistic events from 1997-2001 (and continuing under Tibetan refugee management until 2012).

Chapter 2
Earthville Network incorporates in USA, develops US-based programs

2000

• Incorporated the Earthville Network in California as a 501(c)(3) public charity and commenced US operations.

2001

• Turned over Dharamshala Earthville Institute and KhanaNirvana completely to local management by its Tibetan refugee staff (who continued to run them successfully until the lease terminated in 2012 and DEVI’s assets were transferred to a new eco-campus in the Himalayas — see below).

2002

• Launched the Earthville Umbrellavator project to incubate promising new charitable projects in the US and worldwide.
• Established US branch of the Sulha Peace Project as the first Earthville Umbrellavator initiative, providing support for Sulha’s grassroots peacemaking programs in the Middle East as well as “Sulhita” workshops for youth in the US and elsewhere. Annual Sulha conferences attract 3000-4000 participants and international media coverage.

2003

• Launched Earthville Arts (originally called “CreatioNation”), an altruistic arts and media project established to leverage the power of creativity, the arts, and media technologies to improve our communities and our world. Produced and released first music CD, with proceeds divided between the artist and Earthville’s charitable programs.
• Established the Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC) as an Earthville Umbrellavator project to help “green” the multi-billion-dollar action sports industry. Initiated ongoing educational and awareness-raising programs.

2004

• Launched the Acupressure Bead Research Project as an Earthville Umbrellavator project to conduct research into the promising use of nontoxic treatments for children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

2005

• Formed strategic partnership with the Vietnam Fund for Education, Music, and Infrastructure to support village development and the preservation of traditional music in Vietnam. Conducted audio and video recordings in Hanoi and surrounding areas.

2006

• Conducted “Plus 3 Degrees” drive, which collected and distributed warm winter clothes and blankets for the houseless population in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Partnered with the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) of the US to help establish a affiliated branch in New Delhi, now called NADA India, an Earthville Umbrellavator project.

2007

• Repeated “Plus 3 Degrees” campaign, which collected and distributed warm winter clothes and blankets for the houseless population in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Chapter 3
Earthville expands its international charitable and educational activities

2007

• Launched Lotus and Lightning project in collaboration with the Vietnam Fund for Education, Music, and Infrastructure and Naked River Films. Produced and released two CDs of traditional music, with proceeds to benefit charitable projects in Vietnam. Began production of documentary film.

2008

• Earthville, with its Indian partners, established Dharmalaya Charitable Society in the Indian Himalayas to promote sustainable development and compassionate living in the region.

2009

• Established the Human Family Peace Project as an Earthville Umbrellavator project working to facilitate mutual understanding and collaboration between peoples of the Middle East and the US. Conducted conference for international participants in Istanbul, Turkey.
• Developed plans for eco-campus in the Indian Himalayas, in collaboration with Dharmalaya Charitable Society.

2010

• Began construction of Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living in the Indian Himalayas, to serve as a model eco-campus for integrated service-learning programs spanning the fields of sustainable development, culture, ecology, health, and traditional wisdom.
• In partnership with Dharmalaya Society, launched the Earthville Orchards, an initiative to create green jobs, cultivate organic food, and facilitate carbon sequestration by planting thousands of trees in India.

Chapter 4
Evolution in experiential education, sustainability, music & the arts

2011

• Initiated service-learning programs in sustainable and compassionate living in collaboration with the Dharmalaya Institute in the Indian Himalayas.
• Commenced publication of the Earthville Education Blog, featuring ongoing explorations of education as a catalyst for the development of conscientious global citizens, healthy communities, and a more harmonious and sustainable world.

2012

• Established a vocational training program in earthen masonry, in partnership with the Dharmalaya Institute, to train a green building workforce in the Indian Himalayas and support rural villagers — especially women and villagers from backgrounds formerly referred to as “low caste” — to earn a better livelihood through means that support rather than disrupt their traditional lifestyles and natural environment.

2013

• Launched a formal academic Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture in collaboration with Didi Contractor, an award-winning eco-architect in India. Accepted nine interns within the first month (and hundreds more in the months and years to follow).
• Developed a new Earthville website to facilitate greater engagement and community building, both online and on the ground.
• Launched Earthville Music, an innovative, artist-driven, nonprofit record label leveraging the power of music to uplift people and communities, channeling proceeds to support the artists and  charitable projects across the globe.

2014

• Earthville Music released Skyland, a record album by Earthville artist Dara Ackerman, with some proceeds supporting Earthville’s charitable projects.
• Program development continued at Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living, Earthville’s eco-campus in the Himalayas, including the expansion of the Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture and an annual series of meditation retreats, yoga courses, and other programs supporting holistic well-being.

2015

• Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living continued construction of new adobe and bamboo structures on the campus, and diversified its program offerings to cover a broader range of topics related to sustainable and compassionate living.

2016

• Dharmalaya Institute was featured in the Swiss documentary film Didi Contractor: Marrying the Earth to the Building, which made its world premiere at Dharamshala International Film Festival. The film includes interviews with Earthville founder Mark Moore and others from the Institute.

2017

• Dharmalaya Institute‘s Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture expanded to a four-month programme with the option to study for up to one year, building links with universities around India and attracting working architects as well as students of architecture from around the world.

2018

• Earthville welcomed Spring Up Foundation as a new educational project rising in the Earthville Umbrellavator.
• Program development continued at Dharmalaya Institute, including expanded offerings for well-being and personal and professional development.

2019

• Celebrated Educator (and Earthville Board member) Arnie Langberg and Earthville founder Mark Moore ramped up their work to compile a new book on Arnie’s life and work as an educator and reformer. The two also began designing a companion website and activities to engage the public around the topics explored in the book.
• Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living continued construction of adobe and bamboo structures on its campus (now seven buildings in total) and ongoing curriculum development.

Chapter 5
A new US campus and a new era of experiential education programs

2020-2021

• On May 1st, 2020, Earthville Network turned 20 years old! See this page for how it all began.
• Earthville responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on providing safe outdoor employment for rural Himalayan villagers (many of whom were the sole income-earners for their families) throughout the pandemic, while also providing online courses, remote counseling, and other forms of support worldwide.
• During this time, Earthville relocated its HQ from California to Colorado to prepare for establishing a new eco-campus there, completed the formalities to become a Colorado nonprofit organization, and commenced the planning stage for the new campus.

2022

• Earthville ushered in the development stage of its upcoming eco-campus in Colorado with a series of natural building workshops attended by over 100 participants from the US and beyond.
• Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living (Earthville’s Himalayan eco-campus) launched an innovative one-year residential course in Natural Design and Contemplative Architecture, with Earthville Directors Daphne Charles and Mark Moore as the senior faculty.

2023

• Earthville Director Mark Moore served on the planning committee for the 2023 Moore Humanities Symposium at TCU on the topic “What Is Well-Being?” The keynote speakers were leading neuroscientist Dr. Richard Davidson (University of Wisconsin, Madison), author of The Emotional Life of Your Brain and Altered Traits, and Rhonda Magee (University of San Francisco), author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice.
• Launched Earthville Press, a nonprofit imprint publishing books related to Earthville’s mission, and released its first publication, To Create the World That Ought to Be: Memoirs of a Radical Educator, by Arnie Langberg with Mark Moore.
• Formalized Earthville Institute as a Colorado nonprofit organization and soft-launched its programming with a natural building workshop.
• Sulha Peace Project brought together more than 2000 Israelis and Palestinians for in-person gatherings focused on peace. In response to the outbreak of war in Gaza, Sulha held bi-monthly gatherings in Jerusalem for both Jews and Muslims to come together to mourn, grieve, and make shared aspirations for a peaceful future. Sulha also provided humanitarian aid to 200 Palestinian families in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the form of food baskets supported by donations made to Earthville.

2024

• Launched new website for Earthville Institute (earthvilleinstitute.org), and expanded the institute’s programming with its first summer internship in sustainability as well as several workshops and retreats on its newly developing Colorado eco-campus.
• Launched Building a Better World, a 15-month experiential education program developed as a collaboration between Earthville Institute in Colorado and Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living (Earthville’s Himalayan eco-campus) in India.

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