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Founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

A non-profit university with on-campus and online degree programs

Home of Consciousness-Based Education

Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission

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Founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

A non-profit university with on-campus and online degree programs

Home of Consciousness-Based Education

Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission

Request Info > Apply > Visit Us >
Request Info > Apply > Visit Us >

Molly Haviland

Molly Haviland, an MIU Sustainable Living alumna, will be teaching the upcoming Living Soils course this June. Joining her in the class will be David Fisher, PhD and SL Department Head, Loida Vasquez, an MIU alumna and graduate of the Dr. Elaine Ingham method course and Ben Ice, Owner of Ice’s Soil Regeneration in Otsego, MN.

Born in North Dakota, Molly spent most of her adult life in Colorado. She was attracted to Maharishi International University when she discovered the Sustainable Living program. After taking the Permaculture course at MIU in the Fall of 2010, Molly decided to spend some time on the banks of the Des Moines river. With only a few days before beginning Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Living Soils class, Molly was considering the information she had just learned about soil erosion. “The acceptable rate of erosion in the US is 5 tons per acre, per year.” says Molly, “However, some experts believe it takes nearly 100 years to build just one inch of topsoil, so at our current rate of erosion we have less than 60 years before the topsoil is gone.” Just as Molly was considering these numbers, a massive chunk of the riverbank slid off the shore and into the river.

“I was heartbroken,” says Molly, “but, more than that, I was angry. I knew I had to direct this energy I had toward being part of the solution.” Molly took on Dr. Ingham’s class with this passion and made it her personal mission to be the change she wanted to see in our world. Shortly after completing the Living Soils course, she began working in the MIU Compost Laboratory and eventually took over management of the space. Once she began providing training from the lab, she felt a natural draw toward teaching the material and built this confidence into what would later become her agriculture consulting company, Haviland Earth Regeneration (HER).

Molly credits her time at MIU for the success of her consulting business. “There was a lot of support on intuitive levels. Being in touch with my greater Self and my goal on the planet. So that gave me a lot of energy to put behind what I was doing, and I definitely learned that skill from MIU,”says Haviland.

The June block course expands beyond soil biology by incorporating the mineral component with the organic component of soil. “This course has been one of my dreams. My first dream was being able to work directly with Dr. Ingham, and supporting her by using the knowledge to give back to the community. But this course has been my other dream because I was able to develop a teaching team.”

For more information on Molly, please visit Haviland Earth Regeneration.

For more information on the other Living Soils teachers for the June Block class, please visit the Living Soils Course page.

Chris Vasques is currently working on his BA in Sustainable Living with a focus on Community Building and Psychology. Chris has been a musician for the last 20 years and has developed professional skills in writing, marketing, and design.