permaculture

["Scott Pittman" <scott@permaculture.org>]

FYI

 

Scott Pittman

Director

Permaculture Institute

www.permaculture.org

  _____  

From: ipc-support-bounces@ipcon.org [mailto:ipc-support-bounces@ipcon.org]
On Behalf Of Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 7:52 AM
To: ipc-support@ipcon.org
Subject: [Ipc-support] The 9th International Permaculture Conference and
Convergence Report. By Mugove Walter Nyika

 

hi everyone

   Just recently found this article/report by  Mugove Walter Nyika IPC9
Secretariat about the IPC9 that happened in Malawi in 2009 published by
Space of Love Magazine

wes

 

The 9th International Permaculture Conference and Convergence Report.

  By Mugove Walter Nyika

http://www.spaceoflovemagazine.com/article_6_2.htm


         "Africa is rich and has the potential to lead the world out of the
mess in which we are all finding ourselves. The barrier between Africa and
prosperity is in the minds of its people. Education is therefore key in
moving forward and the more home-grown this can be the better. I believe
that this scenario is also relevant to many other parts of the world."

The International Permaculture Conference and Convergence (IPC) is a
biennial global but grassroots gathering that took place in Africa for the
very first time during October and November of 2009. The 9th IPC was a
series of four events and was coordinated by the RESCOPE Programme from the
warm heart of Africa, Malawi. IPC8 happened in Brazil in 2007 and IPC10 will
take place in Jordan in 2011. The year between the respective IPCs is left
for regional convergences and conferences. (Additional information:
www.ipcon.org)

The first event was the IPC9 International Permaculture Design Certificate
course hosted by Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, where
37 participants from 19 countries attended the two week course taught by an
international permaculture training team. The course was a key part of the
process of defining an appropriate permaculture curriculum for Africa.
Feedback from many of the participants contained glowing praise for the
spirit at the course, many of whose graduates went on to attend the
Convergence and Conference in Malawi.

The graduation ceremony for the course was officiated by the Minister of
Environment and Natural Resources Management in the Government of Zimbabwe,
Honorable Francis Nhema, who made an impassioned plea for a return to all
things natural.

The second event was the IPC9 Convergence which took place thereafter at
Kumbali Lodge in Lilongwe, Malawi. 170 participants from all five continents
converged in Lilongwe and spent the first two days of the Convergence
learning from each other under the theme Designing Solutions for a
Sustainable Future.

 

The sub themes were Plan Africa - Food and Empowerment, Education and
Training; Green Economics, Health, Gender and Climatic Change.

The outcomes of the thematic discussions at the Convergence include the
following:  
* A commitment by many participants to take the Plan Africa initiative
forward. Data collection for the initiative started at the Convergence and
the main aim is to give the ecologically sustainable thrust in Africa a
major push.
* The development of a curriculum for training in Permaculture in Africa.
The development of the African Permaculture Institute received support and
was felt to be overdue.
* The potential role of Permaculture as an effective tool for addressing
many of the global challenges ranging from Climatic change to HIV and AIDS
was highlighted in many of the deliberations.

The third and fourth days were organized using open space technology to
allow the participants to follow their energies to work on issues of their
choice. (Key people to contact about the list and outcome of the thematic
discussions are: John Wilson at spiritvaults@yahoo.co.uk and Mada Siebert at
madalief@googlemail.com.)

Event number three, the IPC9 Conference, was attended by more than 300
participants. It brought together farmers, government officials, teachers,
children, extension and development workers among other stakeholders. The
Permanent Secretary for Nutrition and HIV and AIDS in the Office of the
President and Cabinet for Malawi, Dr. Mary Shawa officially opened the
conference in which she expressed support for Permaculture as a "useful tool
for achieving human well being." The conference also included a variety of
informative displays put up by participants from all over the world.

 

The last event consisted of the IPC9 Site Tours which started in Lilongwe,
Malawi and ended in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photographs and video clips of the
sites visited will be available on the web site (www.ipcon.org).

 

The Future.
Bids to host the 10th International Permaculture Conference and Convergence
(IPC10) in 2011 were received from Cuba, Jordan and Nepal. The International
Support Group facilitated a transparent process to select the host for IPC10
during the Convergence: Congratulations to Jordan!

Lessons learned.  
* Permaculture in Africa is about putting food on the table. It is also
about livelihoods and health and everything in between.
* Permaculture design in Africa focuses on water and a lot more needs to be
done in this area.
* Design for local self sufficiency in energy is also important.
* The future is here and it is "in school" now and one of the best things
that we can do for the future is to equip the younger generations with
land-use design skills and to empower them with an appropriate mind set.
* Africa is rich and has the potential to lead the world out of the mess in
which we are all finding ourselves. The barrier between Africa and
prosperity is in the minds of its people. Education is therefore key in
moving forward and the more home grown this can be the better. I believe
that this scenario is also relevant to many other parts of the world.

Conclusions.
IPC9 was a momentous occasion for Malawi, Africa, and indeed the world. The
energy that ran through the events was amazing and to think that this was
put together by volunteers operating on a zero budget until the last few
weeks prior to the events was incredible. IPC9 was another lesson that
showed us that anything is possible with determination and that small is not
only beautiful but it can also be powerful. What matters are the
interconnections between the small elements and you have a resilient system.
The Conference and Convergence gave recognition to the work done by June
Walker, among others, in promoting Permaculture in Malawi and across the
world. Finally, it is no coincidence that IPC8, 9, 10 and possibly 11 are
happening in the so-called Two Thirds World. I think that this is where the
keys to the future of our planet can be found. Please keep checking the
website www.ipcon.org for new information that will be uploaded from time to
time.

 Mugove Walter Nyika

IPC9 Secretariat; The RESCOPE Programme (for regional schools and colleges)
P.O. Box 32280, Blantyre, Malawi;
Tel: +2651 831 373; Email: rescope@sdnp.org.mw; zipscope@yahoo.co.uk and
www.seedingschools.org
Copyright C Space of Love Magazine, 2010  All rights reserved

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