permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

Sustainable World Radio: Friday mornings at 9:00-10:00 am PST on KCSB 
91.9 FM in Santa Barbara, California and streaming live on 
www.kcsb.org. Also found on  www.sustainableworldradio.com, or 
www.radio4all.net later in the week.

        Join Jill Cloutier of Sustainable World Radio Fri. Mar 14, 
9am , Interview  with Andre Soares and Lucy Legan, co-directors of 
the Instituto Permacultura Ecologica Cerhado (Ecological Permaculture 
Institute of the Savannah) in central Brazil. Ecocentro IPEC 
http://www.ecocentro.org/en/ began on a bare, degraded cattle pasture 
in 1998 to teach and demonstrate permaculture and to apply this 
information in the construction of a prototype ecological village.

        While attending the 8th International Permaculture 
Conference/Convergence  2007 in Brazil last May www.ipc8.org , Santa 
Barbara Permaculture Network visited IPEC where the Convergence was held.


        Lucia Legan, M.Ed. candidate in science and environmental 
education at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and diplomate 
of the Permaculture Institute of Australia, has worked in community 
development for more than 15 years with Aboriginal communities, 
women's groups, young people, and farmers. Since arriving in Brazil, 
she has co-founded both IPEC and the Mollison School for Sustainable 
Studies where she remains as Executive Director. Lucia has authored a 
nationally selected prize-winning environmental education guide 
called "Escola Sustentavel" ["Sustainable Schools"] which is 
currently in its second edition. She has recently launched a 
nationwide program, "Habitats na Escola," which empowers students, 
parents, and teachers with the skills to create sustainable habitats 
in school.

        Andre Jaeger Soares, master's candidate in environmental 
education at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, is a 
cofounder of Ecocentro IPEC,  Instituto Permacultura Ecologica 
Cerhado (ecological permaculture institute of the 
savannah)  http://www.ecocentro.org/en/ trilingual teacher, natural 
builder and permaculture designer. He founded the Permaculture 
Institute of Central Queensland in Australia. As national coordinator 
with the United Nations Development Program, Andre taught more than 
2000 people throughout the country in permaculture design. Andre was 
given the Casa Claudia award for innovative design in natural 
construction and is acknowledged as one of the 50 most important 
people in environmental development in Brazil. His leadership in 
sustainability has attracted a partnership with the Swiss foundation 
AVINA creating new projects in the area of low impact architecture 
and social development in South America. In 2005, Andre also worked 
as an international aid worker in Haiti as a team leader in 
sustainable development. He is a diplomate of the Permaculture 
Institute of Australia.

        IPEC  exists on 25 hectares (60 acres) of land and is 
located in Pirenopolis in the state of Goias, central Brazil. 
Ecocentro IPEC is connected to the national university in Brasilia as 
well as many government ministries, schools and other non-profit 
organizations. Through the dedication of community members, students, 
adventurers and volunteers working together,

        Ecocentro IPEC has become one of the most important 
reference centers for sustainable living in Latin America, 
demonstrating that another future is possible. Ecocentro IPEC 
presents practical solutions with over 15 ecological buildings, 
composting toilets, water treatment system, ecological gardens, food 
forests and renewable energy system on a site that is less than 10 years old!

        Ecoversidade is IPEC's educational arm and is dedicated to 
education for sustainable living by fostering a profound 
understanding of the natural world, grounded in direct experience, 
that leads to sustainable patterns of living. Ecoversidade functions 
as a model of viable rural settlement, incorporating the realities of 
appropriate technologies, living systems and sustainable community 
life from a holistic perspective.

Links and Resources
Ecocentro IPEC - http://www.ecocentro.org/en/
PAL (Permacultura America Latina) - 
<http://www.permacultura.org>http://www.permacultura.org
RBP (Rede Brasileira de Permacultura) - 
<http://www.permacultura.org.br>http://www.permacultura.org.br
Living Routes Program 
<http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/e_ecoversidade.htm>http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/e_ecoversidade.htm 



Sustainable World Radio: Friday mornings at 9:00 am PST on KCSB 91.9 
FM in Santa Barbara, California and streaming live on www.kcsb.org. 
Also found on  www.sustainableworldradio.com, or www.radio4all.net 
later in the week.