Hosted by the 7ABCs cooperative business association. Twelve Units of summer on the Lunar Zodiac — Horse to Snake — anchored by Buerge's Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name. Children represent their family businesses; together we generate capacity for a cooperative global land trust.
DWNS Summer 2026 is a Youth Business Intensive Camp — an educational seminar series hosted by a business association cultivating cooperative infrastructure. It is not childcare. Children attend as family business representatives; together they design, make, study, and steward artifacts that contribute to their family's economy and to the wider cooperative's growing land trust.
The cohort reads David M. Buerge's Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name (Sasquatch Books, 2017), one chapter per Unit. Each Unit's quote becomes its anchor. Field-study days visit the book's seven map regions.
The Search — for the elder who carries the Culture-and-Earth-sustaining secrets — runs across all 12 Units. Cousins appear along the way (Mermaid & Kirin, Selkie & Kitsune, Bunyip & Pukwudgie, Wáasgo & Onyx); more revealed in-program.
HalfBall league spine + an "each one teach one" open commons. Children share sports across cultures, AND study the business + material aspects — where equipment comes from, who makes it, what economy supports the tradition, how a child enters that economy as a representative.
Each Unit pairs a Lunar Zodiac sign with one Buerge chapter. The Crystal Cycle (insert coin → music → gather → craft → quest → rest → play → map → yield → close) carries the day from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
| Unit | Lunar | Anchor | Chief Seattle line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Horse | Prelude · land & maps | (opening epigraph) |
| 01 | Goat | Ch 1 · prehistory–1792 | "There was a time when our people covered the whole land." |
| 02 | Monkey | Ch 2 · to 1832 | "Why should I murmur at the fate of my people?" |
| 03 | Rooster | Ch 3 · to 1847 | "Your God seems to us to be partial." |
| 04 | Dog | Ch 4 · to 1852 | "I am glad to have you come to our country." |
| 05 | Pig | Ch 5 · to 1854 | "How then can we be brothers?" |
| 06 | Rat | Ch 6 · to 1856 | "The Great Chief above who made the country made it for all." |
| 07 | Ox | Ch 7 · to 1858 | "I want you to understand what I say." |
| 08 | Tiger | Ch 8 · to 1866 | "Shake hands with me before I am laid in the ground." |
| 09 | Rabbit | Ch 9 · to 1887 | "Dead, did I say?" |
| 10 | Dragon | Ch 10 · to the present | "The dead are not altogether powerless." |
| 11 | Snake | Epilogue · LA 2028 → Brisbane 2032 | (cohort-authored closing line) |
The Seattle face-to-face cohort is one node. Two more doors stay open year-round: a hybrid track for older youth + adults, and the wider cooperative + land trust for families, partners, and contributors of any age.
Twelve Units, Jun 14 – Sep 5, 2026. 24 slots reserved for 8–12-year business reps. Parents welcome any time; parents of youth under 8 attend with them. Sliding scale $0 / $150–200 / $450 / $650 per week — no family turned away.
Enroll your family rep →Evergreen seminars from across the 7ABCs / SAGA fellowship. Join the global voyage on a flexible cadence. Discussion, recordings, and live convocations as the summer unfolds.
Join skool.com/7abcs · $1/mo →The wider TEK8-powered business association cultivating a cooperative global land trust. Become a member, contribute a stewardship, or partner an initiative.
Join the cooperative →The face-to-face cohort is co-led by Cody Lestelle (educator · game designer · 8 years of experience running after-school and summer programs) and Hannah Frelot (artist · herbalist · cook · apothecary at kuaikuaiapothecary.io). Wider curriculum support from the 7ABCs / SAGA cooperative fellowship — meet the fellowship at saga.7abcs.com.
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