Today Butte Biofuels located near Slim Butte on the Pine Ridge Reservation received a loan from Village Earth’s Revolving Loan Fund to help expand the production of biodiesel from a plant they built on the reservation using local materials and labor. 
Butte Biofuels’ newly devloped biodiesel production plant, capable of producing over 400 gallons of biodiesel each day from recycled or unused vegetable oil, will not only create jobs but also provide a low-cost and non-polluting source of fuel for residents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. According to the National Biodiesel Board “biodiesel can be used in any concentration with petroleum-based diesel fuel in existing diesel engines with little or no modification.” Bryan Deans, tribal member and president of Butte Biofuels would like to eventually purchase seeds from Lakota farmers on the reservation to be used for the raw material to make biodiesel. The purpose of Village Earth’s revolving fund is to help catalyze innovative grassroots entrepreneurial projects that support the broader movement of land-recovery, energy independence, food sovereignty, and/or sustainable housing on the Pine Ridge Reservation. To learn more about this initative contact David Bartecchi – [email protected]. To get in touch with Butte Bio Fuels call Bryan Deans at [email protected]
Spring II Session
GSLL 1517 – Community-Based Organizing
Taking a practical “hands-on” perspective, this course will explore the theories, tools, styles and challenges of community-based organizing. It will discuss practical strategies for developing community leadership and working with marginalized communities, exploring the ideas and examples from Evo Morales, Paulo Freire, Saul Alinsky, Sub-Comandante Marcos, the Bridge Immigrant Rights experiment and Martin Heidegger.
