For those interested in making the journey north one to truly remember, there are a string of pre and post APC10 events.

Have you done a PDC? Want a refresher course? You can't go wrong with world renowned permaculturalist Darren J. Doherty. This 2-week residential Permaculture Design Course will be held from the 5th - 19th September at FreeRange Permaculture’s small acreage demonstration site Rosella Waters on the banks of the Barron River. Truly a slice of paradise to nourish the soul and stimulate the way you think about design.

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Geomantica is proud to present two post-event workshops which will be hosted on the Tablelands featuring;

Sensitive Permaculture, with Alanna Moore, Wednesday Sept 29th




Living Architecture, with Peter Cowman, Thursday Sept 30th


Early bookings are strongly recommended.
Email: sheltermaker@gmail.com

Don't miss out on inspiring workshops with New Zealand's Robina McCurdy.

Download her poster for details.

AND

‘Tools for Awakening Sustainable Culture’
- a post-APC10 (Australasian Permaculture Conference) workshop
in CAIRNS, Queensland

Wed 29 September, 9am – 9pm - includes dinner (local food)

Facilitator: Robina McCurdy (Aotearoa/NZ)
Assistant: Robin Clayfield (Australia)

- a workshop for permaculture and environmental educators, community development facilitators, visual & performing artists and people-of-the-land.

Natural patterns and cultural lore underpin any sustainable system. We are all rooted in culture, however deep the delving...

This workshop will share methodologies and tools to access appropriate cultural wisdom and practices. It offers the opportunity for facilitators and educators to strengthen the social fabric of their work, at this culturally sensitive and poignant time in Australian (and global) history. It gives permaculture and environmental educators a chance to embrace and practice new tools shaped by cultural intelligence, to bring forward into their work.

The workshop will be taught using interactive methods, individual and group work, artistic expression, stories and images of the facilitator’s experiences in working with indigenous peoples of different cultures. The methods are very practically based, and handouts will be given.

Cornerstones include: cultural intelligence, astute observation, understanding and using symbolism, living with the seasonal cycles, the vital importance of indigenous language, the role of the arts in holding and passing on traditional knowledge. Knowledge gained is pertinent to how we live, make decisions, shape communities, design farmlands, rejuvenate natural ecosystems or express ourselves artistically…

The workshop will revolve around Robina’s sharing of the some of the approaches, practices and tools that she and her co-workers have developed and applied to awaken and anchor sustainable culture within the following situations:

(1) S.E.E.D, Schools Environmental Education & Development (visit: www.seeed.org.za) a programme she pioneered in Brazillian and South African schools (Tswana and Xhosa communities). S.E.E.D. brings relevant traditional and contemporary culture (eg song, art, dance, story) into Permaculture design methodology, to transform school grounds into productive learning environments. Robina discovered that the cultural aspect was a significant motivator for students engagement – and also increased academic success in all subjects!.

(2) Permaculture Design Certificate course – an annual course in Golden Bay, Aotearoa/NZ, taught by Robina and her Permaculture co-facilitators, Gary Williams (water engineer) and Pariri Rapata (Maori health educator). Their course infuses deep ecology, indigenous teachings, bioregional knowledge, and community development into the standard curriculum themes. Practical applications of indigenous knowledge include: restoration of natural ecosystems, watershed management, local food self reliance and land-use design working with nature’s ‘surges and pulses’ and earth-energy fields.

(3) Victory Community Gardens, located in a low-income, multi-cultural area of Nelson city, Aotearoa/NZ. Robina’s work as the garden co-ordinator there included working with a Maori traditional carver on appropriate symbolism for artistic features in the landscape, designing a garden curriculum around the Maori cultural calendar and with striving to propagate crops traditional to Maori, Burmese and Pacific peoples.

In this workshop, we will learn how to facilitate selected approaches and tools used in the above.

Robin Clayfield (Australia) will assist us in exploring their relevance and adaptability to the Australian context. For more about Robin, visit: www.dynamicgroups.org

Venue: TBA

Facilitators Background
Robina McCurdy from Aotearoa/New Zealand, is founder/trustee of the Institute of Earthcare Education Aoteraoa (www.earthcare-education.org) and a co-founder/resident of 26 year old Tui Community, and a Trustee of its legal entity, Tui Spiritual & Educational Trust (www.tuitrust.org.nz). She is a passionate organic-biodynamic gardener, and currently financed by the District Health Board in her position as co-ordinator of Victory Community Gardens.

For the past 20 years, Robina has worked internationally and nationally as an community development facilitator and Permaculture educator/designer, including with a diversity of indigenous cultures. Throughout this time, she has evolved her own methodology and created accompanying resources for participatory decisionmaking and collective action - culminating in the facilitation manual 'Grounding Vision: Empowering Culture'. Robina has taught and applied these powerful techniques with households, neighborhoods, schools, farms, ecovillages and bioregions. She continues to discover their value in 'un-developed' and 'over-developed' and countries, with highly-educated to illiterate people, and to people of all races.

Upcoming Soil Health

courses through the Network for Sustainable and Diversified Agriculture.
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