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permaculture - Ecovillage workshop in Australia

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  • From: Pacific Edge Permaculture <pacedge@magna.com.au>
  • To: Permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Ecovillage workshop in Australia
  • Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 19:25:36 +1100


Hi friends & colleagues
you might be interested in promoting the following workshops at Crystal
Waters Ecovillage, Australia:
Warm regards
Robina
---------------
3 Days of Workshops with Earthcare Education Aotearoa

at The Kiosk, Crystal Waters Ecovillage, near Maleny, Queensland

Day 1: Mon 27 November (9am - 5pm)
'Taking Down the Fences'
- creating community from just where you are!


Days 2 & 3:
Tues 28 & Wed 29 Nov (9am - 5pm)
plus public slideshow Tues eve 8pm - 10pm.

Introduction to Ecovillage Design & Development

Cost
Day 1: $60 - $95

Day 2 & 3:: $95 - $160

All 3 Days:: $160 - $230
(on a sliding scale according to income).
Lunch is being provided for an additional $7

Registration: By Fri 17 Nov, send a non-refundable deposit cheque (made
to Earthcare Education) for $35 total, with your name, contact details,
name of specific workshop/s, lunch - yes/no?

to: Earthcare Education Aotearoa,
C/o Robin Clayfield, Lot 58,
Crystal Waters, Maleny 4552, Queensland, Australia.

Receipts issued at workshop.
Note: No number limits, once you register, just come!
'Taking Down the Fences' - creating community from just where you are!

This workshop is for urban dwellers who want to stay where they are, and
still experience the richness and benefits of community life, or for
permaculturalists and community development workers who want to facilitate
this happening. It is divided into two parts:

Community Development through 'Small Space' Permaculture

An introduction to Earthcare Education Aotearoa's multi-tier community
development strategy underlying the methodology they have developed for
accelerating the 'permaculturising' of suburban properties. 'Taking down
the fences', the neighbourhood amalgamation of arable urban land and joint
sharing of labour and food production related resources is a natural (and
encouraged) outcome of the approach that Robina McCurdy and Margaret Kwok
facilitate throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand, under various titles:
'Permaculture for the Suburbs'/'Small Space' or 'Backyard' Permaculture.
These workshops are for urban dwellers with small sized properties, who want
to work in harmony with nature to produce an abundance of food, in an
environment of beauty.

The methodology works with low cost overheads and happens on the property to
be designed and developed. The outcome of the weekend is a permaculture
design of the host's property, based on their wholistic goals. Part of the
workshop strategy is an efficient and effective approach for collective
implementation of the design and further workshops tailored to people's
interests, with an emphasis on organic methods of production. The 'Small
Space Permaculture' workshop provides the potential of part time employment
to local permaculturalists who have the flair for both education and design.
A 'package' of resource materials, including teaching aids, visuals and
participants handouts is available for people who attend a full training
course.

Resource Centre's for Community Outreach

An introduction to the range of neighbourhood resource & recycling centres
and community gardens that Margaret and Robina have worked in or visited.
Such centres play a valuable demonstration role, providing education and
offering resources (eg plant materials and composting systems) for purchase.
They work as a catalyst for, or an outcome of, the 'Urban Permaculture'
workshops. We will look at how to go about setting up a community resource
centre. This will include forming the group, local networking, the legal
structures and funding support mechanisms which make them work effectively,
and ownership, labour and sustainability.

Introduction to Ecovillage
Design & Development

This workshop is for anyone who is interested in ecovillages/intentional
communities, from those who want to apply the concept to a new or existing
settlement to those who want to better understand the broad implications of
the ecovillage movement. It will especially benefit people living in
land-based communities, permaculture designers and community development
workers. The workshop is designed to work as a consecutive one, but people
can attend just one day if they choose.


1st Day: Participatory Approach to Ecovillage Design

• An overview of Earthcare Education Aotearoa's entire design process, using
slides of Robina's work with ecovillage design in New Zealand, Ireland and
South Africa.

• Ecovillage & Intentional Community
Range: Communal - Private
- examples of 7 Community-Villages which illustrate a wide range of
options, from kibbutzim to freehold 'ecological sub-division', and how to
find where a (your) group is placed within this range.


• Social design, for clarity and workability on consequent rights,
responsibilities, ownership and power (these social issues will be addressed
from the angle of 'being in it' on Day 2).

• Wholistic goal setting using Earthcare Education Aotearoa's three
templates: Community Culture, Social Structure and Physical Environment.

• Site Analysis, involving all generations (children, adults, elderly) in
the process.

• The Use of Models in participatory design.

• Approaching Ecovillage Zoning from several perspectives, to arrive at a
marriage of tthe needs of the people and the needs of the land.

• The Web of Ecovillage Infrastructure - integrating natural, social,
cultural, physical and economic elements.

Day 2: Skills for Living in an Ecovillage

• The Ingredients of a Successful Ecovillage, including methods to develop
the following: social & physical action planning, capital investment and
internal financial systems, skills, labour and time management.

• 13 key Issues of Social Design
Robina, together with Robert Gilman has researched and unearthed thirteen
major issues which block the success of intentional communities and
ecovillages worldover. Robina will share these, then we will address the
issues most pertinent to the participants, using interactive processes they
can adapt to working with their own groups.

• The Group as an Organism - phases and cycles of a group; forming new
groups; defining group identity; shaping a healthy code of behaviour;
clarifying and activating common purpose; creating alignment; building
group power for effective action.

• Group Process Skills - some keys to good communication; designing out
conflict and designing in trust and safety; conflict resolution strategies;
leadership and power; meeting facilitation; formats for successful meetings;
decisionmaking methods; working with the consensus process.


TUTORS

Robina McCurdy, has been working in permaculture design and community
development for the past fifteen years with households, schools, farms and
communities in NZ, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Brazil and USA.
Through this experience she has developed a powerful and effective
facilitation methodology for creating sustainable community, anywhere.
Robina lives at Tui Community in Nelson Province of Aotearoa/New Zealand,
where she manages the orchard and is part of the community garden team. She
is currently organising and will tutor in two international training courses
within her bio-region: 'Design for Sustainable Community' and 'P.L.A.N.E.T.
Organic'. Robina's bio:
http//www.context.org/PEOPLE/RMBio.htm

Margaret Kwok (Day 1 only) is an experienced and highly creative
permaculture designer and organic gardener. She has worked developing the
St Benedicts Community Gardens and the Beachlands Resource Depot in
Auckland. Margaret has co-facilitated hands-on workshops in urban
permaculture strategies, and taught in permaculture design courses.






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