Press Contact:   Debra Strick
Millers River Educational Cooperative 
strickdebra@yahoo.com 978-263-9425 C 978-844-0120
www.campcaravan.org High-resolution images available 

Interviews available with George Bennett 
Please phone to arrange appointment at 978-544-5225

STANDING ATTRACTION

Millers River Educational Cooperative Offers Opportunities to Study the Ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff and J.G. Bennett at Camp Caravan

Royalston, Massachusetts—A center for lifelong learning, The Millers River Educational Cooperative is based in central Massachusetts at Camp Caravan, 255 South Royalston Road, about 65 miles west of Boston. The Cooperative offers group meetings, summer seminars, tools for inner development, intensive practical skills sessions, enneagram studies, psychological theme study, community gatherings, concerts, and more.  For more information visit www.campcaravan.org, or contact registrar@campcaravan.org.

In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, John G. Bennett, philosopher, scientist, and educator, founded the International Academy for Continuous Education (IACE) at Sherborne House in Gloucestshire,  England, dedicated to teaching practical ways to bring balance to human life and spiritual development. Bennett taught from his understanding realized from his work with G. I. Gurdjieff and others;  providing the know-how for preparing ordinary people for spiritual work and transformation, in order to serve the future. 
Many Americans attended Sherborne and returned to the United States after completing the program, with a large group settling in Massachusetts. Some attended a
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similar program at Claymont Court in Charles Town, West Virginia and relocated to the Boston area after the program. Bill Bleak, together with other Sherborne graduates, began a group on Pearl Street in Somerville, Massachusetts, and was the first to move out to the        
Athol-Royalston area. Over the years, many from the Somerville group relocated to the area, creating an “invisible village”, choosing a rural life providing many opportunities for a deeper connection to nature as an ideal setting for group work.  

In the spring of 1989, this group incorporated as Millers River Educational Cooperative, Inc., and founded the Village School, an independent elementary school. 
 In 1998, Millers River Educational Cooperative purchased the Camp Caravan property in Royalston, Massachusetts for use as the site for the future home of the Village School, and as an ideal campus for practical adult education. 

From June 20 through July 31, 2010, the Millers River Educational Cooperative invites students from around the world to attend a six-week residential Intensive Study Program in the ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff and his student, J.G. Bennett, at Camp Caravan in Royalston, Massachusetts. Pianist Elan Sicroff, historian George Bennett, and scientist and gardener Nanji Davison share in the leadership of the program, among others. Participants explore the practical teaching handed down from Gurdjieff through Bennett’s pupils at Sherborne, including work with the Gurdjieff movements, psychology, practical work, gardening, art, music, meditation, and community life. These tools for “continuous education” can fuel inner work for a lifetime. Pianists also have the opportunity to study with Elan Sicroff. Those interested in the Intensive Program may access an online group at webmaster@campcaravan.org or contact the registrar at registrar@campcaravan.org. 		                                                                                                      END