Mohawk valley freedom school

Mohawk Valley Freedom School is an organization striving to empower people of the greater Utica, New York area with knowledge, skills, and community.

Working out of The Other Side, a non-profit 501(c)(3) space/organization with no paid staff, we offer classes in many topics to community members free of charge (but with requests for donations to help The Other Side).

Past classes have included: A People’s History of Utica, Community Entrepreneurship: A Workshop on Developing Alternative Business Models, An Introduction to Permaculture, What is Social Justice?, an Edible Food Forest Tour, Mushroom Cultivation for Food Sovereignty, and a screening of the documentary “Final Straw”.

We also have an associated book club, the Antifascist Book Club, that meets bi-weekly to discuss different books over a potluck dinner. Past books have included the “Antifascist Handbook” by Mark Brey, “Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?” by Mumia Abu-Jamal, “Anarcho-Syndicalism” by Rudoplh Rocker, “Island” by Aldous Huxley, “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “Homage to Catalonia” by George Orwell, “Chomsky On Anarchism” by Noam Chomsky, “The Monkey Wrench Gang” by Edward Abbey, “People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn, and “Post Scarcity Anarchism” by Murray Bookchin.

In November 2019, we also kicked off our MVFS Ecology Study Group. The group will be studying articles, books, and other materials related to farming, gardening, nature, human caused climate disruption, and related topics.

We are looking for people to teach classes with any of the follow skills, but this list is not exhaustive:
Chemistry, biology, ecology, taking good photographs, making short documentaries, creating audio interviews, writing compelling press releases, graphic design, conflict mediation, first aid, grant writing, business planning, or “know your rights” training.

We plan to continue offering one-off classes and workshops, while looking forward to offering on-going/multi-part classes and workshops, with the goal of reaching further into the community to make new connections and help spread helpful knowledge, skills, and friendship.

Feel free to contact us via The Other Side’s Contact Page.

We can also be found on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/mohawkvalleyfreedomschool/

Today

Photos Of Past Events:

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