permaculture

["Darren Doherty" <ozfx@bigpond.com>]

Hello Robyn,

Does one need to enrol for this gathering that you are putting on or do we
just turn up? Since we are only a couple of hours away it would be an easy
trip to make and besides it sounds interesting.

Cheers,

Darren Doherty
Project Manager
Fountainhead @ Maleny
----- Original Message -----
From: <permed@nor.com.au>
To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 12:49 AM
Subject: Re: [permaculture] about the Gathering


Pc Designers Gathering  - Edging into the Mainstream
Keynote Speaker: David Holmgren
Friday 23-Sat 24th August 2002
PLUS
* David Holmgren Workshop Sunday 25th
* Pc Teachers Seminar Monday 26th
at Djanbung Gardens, Nimbin, Nthn NSW

an open letter about the Gathering from a personal perspective.....

This is the 3rd Annual Permaculture Gathering at Djanbung Gardens.
These gatherings have been offered to provide an opportunity for us to come
together to share what we are doing and thus enrich our own knowledge,
strengthen our networks and support systems, collectively address issues
that effect us as a movement and identify ways in which we can cooperate to
further our work and permaculture generally in creating a more sustainable
society.

These gatherings have been initiated to help fill the void created by an
absence of offers to host a full Convergence. The last Australasian
Permaculture Convergence (APC7) was in 1997. Big events are a huge task to
take on and I fully understand the reticence to take on such a venture.
Perhaps the big convergence format is being gradually relaced by smaller,
more localised events such as the Sth Australian Permaculture Festival and I
hope that more groups will be inspired to host such events. Still I harbour
the desire to see (and participate in) larger Convergences and hope that
someone out there will take the challenge on board in the not too distant
future.

Meantime I have a venue (Djanbung Gardens) which can comfortably cope with
short events of a few days with 50-150 people, conveniently located on the
edge of a vibrant little village with plenty of accommodation outside of
peak holiday and tourist times. My overheads are low, most of the
infrastucture already exists and we can meet in a beautiful environment
where our Otalk is walked¹ - eating vegies from the gardens and eggs from
the chickens around us, dodging wallabies in the camping area and battling
with that stroppy gander OBongo¹!!!

As a practicing permaculturist (teacher, designer, activist etc) I
personally have a great need for these occassions to come together with
collegues and fellow permies to update myself on what is going on elsewhere,
to expand my knowledge base, renew old friendships and make new ones, and to
participate in a collective process that embraces the big picture of
permaculture and where we¹re going as a movement. I find these occassions
are essential to maintaining relevence in my work and in sustaining the
passion for what I do. It has been disconcerting seeing the fragmentation
that has occurred in recent years and I can¹t simply stand aside and let
things slide away. Permaculture is more relevent today than ever and it is
only through concerted cooperative effort  that we can make the impact that
will bring the kind of change that¹s required.

The future doesn¹t simply unfold - the future is what we make it.
We need to think seriously about the future of permaculture, our collective
efforts, of what kind of organisational structure and support will sustain
our endeavours and how we can harness the  wealth of experience, knowledge,
skills and insights we collect along our individual journeys to enrich each
other as a collective voice that has real solutions to offer a world
struggling with inequities, fear and dislocation.

It¹s not just for ourselves we do this, but for all peoples on this
beautiful planet that express a need that we can help fulfill. What are we
doing for the refugees? where are the competent teams to help rebuild
Afghanistan? what assistance is needed in East Timor? who is helping IDEP
with village education in Indonesia? And when someone asks for help, who do
they go to and do they know who is available for the job with the right
skills and experience? How do we find each other to form project teams and
how can we fund our work in these situations? These are but a few of the
bigger questions we need to find answers for, and while we work in isolation
and fragmentation it remains difficult to meet these needs effectively.

There are initiatives like Permaworld raising funds for PIL, but PIL is
struggling with basic administration. For these kinds of fundraising efforts
to continue and to grow we must begin to organise ourselves on a more
professional level so that we can harness the opportunities that present
themselves. We need to be professional to attract funding from mainstream
aid agencies who are seeking the solutions we offer, in short we need to get
organised and we need people with good organisational skills to facilitate
this.

The chaos of the movement has highlighted the need for us to reorgaise
ourselves to take permaculture to the next level and into a future where it
can truely make a difference. Thus I am inviting those concerned and
available to come together in August to explore pathways of cooperation to
harness and coordinate the immense human resource that we as a body of
permaculturists represent.
See you there.....

love, peace and compost
Robyn Francis

Djanbung Gardens Permaculture Education Centre
home to:
Permaculture Education
ERDA Institute Trust
Nimbin Eco-Village Project Office
Robyn Francis - permaculture designer & educator
PO Box 379, Nimbin NSW 2480 Australia
Ph 02-6689 1755 Fax 02-6689 1225
permed@nor.com.au  www.earthwise.org.au

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